I've been using Xubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” on my Macbook Pro Penryn (Early 2008 model) for several months now. Although there are few minor issues left unsolved, I'm quite happy with Xubuntu on my Mac because it simply works for me.However, these past days, I've been considering replacing Xubuntu with a distro that hopefully has a much better hardware support out-of-the-box and could unleash the optimum performance of my Macbook Pro. --Like perhaps a distro that can magically help increase the battery life while decrease the hardware temperature when running.
At the moment, I have a short list of Linux distros that could replace Xubuntu Hardy on my Mac:
Fedora 10
I dual-booted Fedora 9 and Xubuntu before but ultimately decided to just use Xubuntu since it performed a lot better than Fedora. Right now, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Fedora 10 will do wonders for my Mac.
Mepis 8.0
I have great memories using Mepis Linux, so I want to take the plunge and test the upcoming version.
Sabayon Linux 4
Putting this Gentoo-based distro on my Mac can be suicide since I’m probably on my own when I do this. But since danger is my middle name, I will most likely try Sabayon Linux on my Macbook Pro.
Xubuntu/Ubuntu 8.10
To avoid extreme danger, I’ve been thinking of just upgrading to "Intrepid Ibex" and see what happens.
As always, any suggestions are welcomed via comment.
To some Linux-on-mac users out there, I would like to ask this question: What Linux distro works best with your Mac?
If you are interested in testing out the latest technological innovations stable or not, use Fedora.
All my hardware is recognized. Rock stable and really beautiful and flexible interface (using KDE 4.2 but gnome looks good too).
When you install (if you do), first, install all updates before complain because battery level is not recognized properly before updates.
See forums.fedoraforums.org for whatever problem you have.
HTH
On that note, I've personally got Mandriva 2008.1 running on my aluminum iMac. There area few issues with the sound that I had to work through but everything else works great. Even my bluetooth mouse and keyboard. I tried Ubuntu but it did not provide the best out of the box experience. If you really want a great desktop experience then OpenSuse, Fedora, Mandriva, possibly Ubuntu...
Good luck in your quest
even though i don't have a mac, i'm a fan of it's hardware and textmate. as for OS X, and from trying it from my friend's mac, i find it hard to use, or maybe i'm just not used to it =)
Chris
Go for Intrepid!
Yellow Dog is for PPC architecture. Macbook 2008 is intel based.
other than fedora and yellow-dog, none of the distro's mentioned will work with ppc architecture.
I haven't dared to install Yellow Dog or Ubuntu PPC on my Powerbook, but I have a partition on an external Firewire drive set up for it. Is there any chance that this will work? Can you boot Linux from an external FireWire drive on a G4 Powerbook?
http://www.mepis.org/docs/en/index.php/Mactel
If you are interested, I run a website dedicated to this:
http://applelinux.org / http://mac.linux.be
But that question doesn't refute using Linux still. Someone would want to use Linux because they don't want to buy the next OS to keep up anymore. Someone would use linux because they fucking want their computer back. Someone would use linux because the security is a hell of a lot better. Someone would use linux because it has more room for a user to LEARN what makes their OS operate, while Apple slowly takes learning technology away from the user. Apple is going to lose ground when they have made using a computer too easy and no one is around to develop their technology anymore. Linux offers the user a chance to get under the hood.
You might want to install Linux in a Mac because you already have the computer and you have discovered/understood that Mac's coolness is harmful for society, for you countries software industry, etc. Because Apple is not a socially responsible.
company.
etc, etc.
It's so annoying. Please Get your own "I love OSX thread" and take you pointless ranting elsewhere.". You are just spoilng a perfectly good thread.
BTW, there a a number of reason to dual boot on a MAC. One of them is to access software that isn't available on a MAC. There is more to computers than just entertainment, music and watching youtube. Try is installing Teamcenter, Visio, Websphere, NX or Catia...... Some people use their laptop for business.....
Get a life!
Also, everyone here ranting about why "Linux works for them" and feeling the need to include their own personal distro of choice, ever just think using mac or windows and even dual booting mac and linux "Just works" for other people?
No one really needs your personal opinions, especially if it seems forced. Let the person asking the question decide what "works" for them.
@Jun Auza:
I just dual booted Ubuntu 11.10 alongside Mac Snow Leopard. I really haven't noticed any performance issues or anything like that. To me it's always seemed that Ubuntu was more regular everyday use friendly where a distro like Fedora or Red Hat's always been more business friendly.
The one thing you should remember though is that it seems the farther along distros get the less customizable they are to really "make it your own"...at least with Ubuntu anyway.
To be honest, there are ton of Linux distros that are pretty much all the same, just have a different look or feel to them so I guess it just depends on what you would like to use it for?
http://pearlinux.fr/