Vista only or Linux only on Mac Alu.

[semitry]

Just for the sake of argument, Samsung and Micron memory is the same as Hynix? (only memory Dell uses) And GDDR2 video memory found paired with most Dell & HP machines, is the same as GDDR3 which apple uses? In some aspects you are right, Apple does at times focus on form over function, but they DO tend to use better quality/higher end components.

Lenovo uses Samsung memory and they use better SSD drives than Apple, ie a real 128GB SSD vs Apple's not so 128GB SSD. Does one example prove the rule like you're trying to do?

 

[Thunder82]

Robust, yes. Polished? Yes, but not as polished as OS X. Apple is almost without peer for user interface and user experience.


The Mac is still arguably better.
Drag and drop, most apps run straight off a disk image.
Due to the .app packages, the files are far better encapsulated for a single application. You don't need to worry about package conflicts for example.
Sparkle is a great system for keeping stuff up-to-date and Omni and other vendors have their own versions.


The same could be said about the Mac.

I'm not trying to knock Ubuntu, but I fail to see how many of the advantages you have mentioned don't count equally for Mac OS X.

One advantage is that it will run on more hardware, but if someone is choosing a Mac anyway then…

In no way was I trying to say Windows or any linux distro was better than OS X. I was only giving him reasons why one linux distro would be better to start with than another. I use OS X for everything but work VPN and select games.

 

[Thunder82]

Lenovo uses Samsung memory and they use better SSD drives than Apple, ie a real 128GB SSD vs Apple's not so 128GB SSD. Does one example prove the rule like you're trying to do?

Jesus christ, I was just trying to say that Apple uses good components, often times better than your run of the mill PC. I never said that there weren't other laptops in existance that use high quality/high spec components.

 

[Tex-Twil]

please stop this discussion here and focus on the OP question. If you want to continue your OSX vs Linux vs Windows argue, open a new thread.

 

[kenn]

A linux install CD would be able to read, re-partition, and reformat the drive itself. If your going to install Windows, you'd want to boot off of the Mac OS Install CD first and repartition the drive so Windows Setup will be able to recognize and alter the hard drive. (boot from Mac Install CD as if your going to install OSX, open disk utility from the options menu, repartition the drive without GUID or Apple partition types - will be in the options menu under the partition drive tab)

As for your other questions, loading Windows or Linux will not necessarily wipe out your OSX partition, but depends completely on how you partition the drive. If you wipe out every partition with Disk Utility, Mac OS would be gone entirely.

There are many good Linux distros that will run on the new MBPs. I would suggest starting with Ubuntu personally, its simple, easy to install, and has a big support forum if you'd need help. Of course, there are many other great linux distros you could try as well. (Mandriva, Suse, Redhat/Fedora, etc)

From your answer (thanks) it sounds like Ubuntu is a good option. So, do you know for a fact that it'll install on a Mac Alu 13" 2008? I ask because I was wondering whether the latest Ubuntu distribution can deal with the new graphics hardware etc. etc., that is, are all the required drivers available in Ubuntu?

 

[Tex-Twil]

From your answer (thanks) it sounds like Ubuntu is a good option. So, do you know for a fact that it'll install on a Mac Alu 13" 2008? I ask because I was wondering whether the latest Ubuntu distribution can deal with the new graphics hardware etc. etc., that is, are all the required drivers available in Ubuntu?

I think that the gpu drivers should be ok since there are drivers for nvidia chipset for ubuntu. I think though you might have problems finding drivers for the trackpad and the keyboard keys (brightness, volume, eject key ..). I'd have a look in the ubuntu forum and I'd also 1st install it in bootcamp just to test that everything works fine. There is a special section for Apple users in the Ubuntu forum. (check the FAQ)

Regards,
Tex

 

[kenn]

I think that the gpu drivers should be ok since there are drivers for nvidia chipset for ubuntu. I think though you might have problems finding drivers for the trackpad and the keyboard keys (brightness, volume, eject key ..). I'd have a look in the ubuntu forum and I'd also 1st install it in bootcamp just to test that everything works fine. There is a special section for Apple users in the Ubuntu forum. (check the FAQ)

Regards,
Tex

I looked into the link you provided and found this one myself.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook Aluminum

There seems to be problems in various areas with Ubuntu. For example, short battery life which might be related to brightness. Of course it takes some time for the Linux community to create drivers for new machines. I wonder if any in this thread has a guess as to whether one can expect Ubuntu, just to name one OS, at some point will be able to utilize all the features of a machine like a Macbook. Will a Linux distri. ever work as comfortable as the native Mac OS?

 

[Tex-Twil]

Will a Linux distri. ever work as comfortable as the native Mac OS?

I fear not. Even Windows XP, which has drivers developed by Apple, is far from being as comfortable to use as OSX. On the other hand, I haven't tried yet Ubuntu or any other distribution (I use and recommend Linux Mint which is an enhanced Ubuntu) on my MBP.

If you can, just try it first in Bootcamp to see the things are. For instance, you were talking about the brightness and Im pretty sure this can be set in Ubuntu. I had a Vaio before with a nVidia and Ubuntu on it and I could adjust the brightness using the smartdimmer utility.

Good luck,
Tex