[sf-lug] Hello

[Aaron Borden]

On Wed, 2012-07-04 at 21:45 -0700, Andrew Udvare wrote:
> I actually had to use a dd'd copy of the ISO to USB drive for the latest
> Ubuntu to boot up the MacBook Air I got from work into a state from which I
> could install Gentoo (another cool feature of Gentoo installation). Nothing
> else, even if properly converted, would boot without freezing (that
> includes Arch Linux on USB).
> 
> Still I run into issues I'm not sure about regarding the Air, like if it
> stays on for more than 24 hours it seems to either freeze or the mouse is
> moving extremely slowly. Linus according to one interview not too long ago
> uses an Air as his laptop (because it is quiet), so I am actually quite
> surprised at this issue.

+1 Gentoo. At work I have Ubuntu 12.04 running on a macbook pro. For
each hardware release Apple makes, it gets harder and harder to get a
stable Linux install running and in the near future with UEFI secure
boot, it won't be possible at all. They already have a custom
implementation of UEFI and it is not compatible with the nvidia card on
this HW rev, so no hardware acceleration if booting through UEFI.

I've got it running well now when booting with "legacy" grub,
suspend/resume works, wifi works (although with 11.10 I had to compile
the staging drivers manually), bluetooth, printing, etc. Ultimately I
don't recommend using mac hardware with Linux. Unfortunately even
ZaReason doesn't have a great selection of laptops. Their lightest model
is still 4.5 lbs!!! Something I've been meaning to write to them
about :/

-Aaron