Linux on MBA?

[Gadgetman99]

I did a search and did not really see anything on it, but has anyone installed a linux distro on an MBA yet?

 

[Angelo95210]

I sure you can install a Ubuntu distro on it. It has so many common elements with the MB and MBP which run it perfectly well.

But as you probably know there is always a little fine tuning with this king of experiment. If I were you I would test it first from a bootable CDROM. Go to the Ubuntu forums as well.

 

[Scottsdale]

With OS X being the best user friendly *nix OS, why in the world would you wish to downgrade your Mac?

Actually curious to read your reply? Looking for free apps? Why buy a Mac then with crazy pricing?

 

[Gadgetman99]

With OS X being the best user friendly *nix OS, why in the world would you wish to downgrade your Mac?

Actually curious to read your reply? Looking for free apps? Why buy a Mac then with crazy pricing?

I am just a curious soul. I was one of those kids that took everything apart to see how it worked (and really still do). Some of the new linux distros are pretty nice, Ubuntu being one of them. As Angelo pointed out, booting from a live CD is a great way to see how it works. I forgot about that and think I have one laying around somewhere.

 

[Angelo95210]

I forgot about that and think I have one laying around somewhere.

Yeah but no. Download the last one with all the new drivers etc.

And I understand why you do this. I love Linux as well because you get hands in the gears, but I hate the design of PC laptops 😛

 

[ayeying]

Last time I tried Ubuntu 9.04, it didn't fair out so well on my MBA.

 

[Gadgetman99]

Last time I tried Ubuntu 9.04, it didn't fair out so well on my MBA.

Did you just boot off the live CD or install it to the HD or SSD? By now I am sure we all understand if it was not installed to an SSD, the likelihood of it being completely useless is pretty high 🙂

 

[Angelo95210]

9.04 didn't work ? Try the 9.10 and the 10th is planned for April.

I love Ubuntu but maybe some other distros are more compatible... Suse ?

 

[tom.96]

I did a search and did not really see anything on it, but has anyone installed a linux distro on an MBA yet?

Hi - I had the same thought a while back but I use a regular Macbook. Look at Virtualbox - it allows you to use a variety of different operating systems on your machine. I have installed Ubuntu and Fedora and both work really well. If you switch to full screen mode it is just like using a linux machine.

Speed and compatibility are both good for my machine (C2D, 2ghz, 2.5gb RAM) so should hopefully be fine for yours too.

 

[ayeying]

Did you just boot off the live CD or install it to the HD or SSD? By now I am sure we all understand if it was not installed to an SSD, the likelihood of it being completely useless is pretty high 🙂

It was booting off a live cd to be installed, that didn't go that far either.