Planning a new MBP 13" 2.53GHz with Linux

I'm planning to purchase a MacBook Pro 13" ( the higher end one ) and putting Linux on it. I understand its a pretty sweet machine. So does anybody have any experience with Ubuntu running on the latest MBP? I *need* Linux. BTW I checked the forums and found only 1 post pertaining to Ubuntu and the MBP.

 

Why do you need linux? You pretty much already have it with OS X.

 

I have my reasons.

Anybody have experience with Linux?

 

I use to run Ubuntu 9.04 & Sabayon 4.1 natively on my old AluMBP w/o any issues. Ubuntu forums has a nice small Apple Community their if you're into that. I did end up deleting the linux BC partition and just ran Linux from a VM since I was using OSX more.

 

I wouldn't mind experimenting with Linux but I'm not comfortable enough to try it full time yet. I tried Ubuntu for a bit before making the switch to a Mac.

 

In other words, you're a l33t hacker and you have nothing better to do.

 

If he was l337 H4XOr he wouldn't be using ubuntu XD

 

Or he could be bluffing altogether and just messing with Mac owners.

 

Can't you just give OP a break?
He is free to run any OS he wants.(Not violating any Apple EULA)
He just want to know any hardware compatibility issue on Mac with Linux Kernel.
Don't brand him as some kind of traitor just because he prefers Linux.
Linux is good for learning OS design because it is fully opensource.

 

pretty useless to run linux unless you just dont know how to use OSX well

 

There is a recent thread about running linux natively on MBP over in the linux Compatibility and Software forum.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5319083&postcount=1

Going back to an earlier comment, what's it like running linux in one of the Virtual Machine programs? I've run Qemu on my Debian linux PC, but my AMD processor isn't quite new enough and missed out on the virtualisation hardware support, and I don't know if that makes much difference?

 

Linux runs fantastic on VMware... as long as your using a distro that can run the VMware tools for Linux correctly.

Virtualization support in the processors does make a big difference, but its not required.... but the processor in the MBP supports it fine.

I'm much happier running Linux in a virtual machine than doing a dual or triple boot.... there isn't much I can do in Linux that I can't do in OSX (including Linux software, or even running KDE or Gnome), so its more for play than anything else.

 

I beg to differ.
One case is when you need to compile code that uses OpenGL (and actually run it with decent performance). Apple is notorious for having some really non standard OpenGL development libs.

Apple is almost Linux but for a few peculiar cases...

 

I use Debian with a light weight windows manager (no desktop icons, a gray background) and shortcut keys to bring up various terminal windows. It's difficult to know what fantastic means, is running an application in a VM just like running a native linux port? (It is a noticeably slower experience with Qemu here, but I'm not sure how much is due to not having cpu virtualization support and how much maybe due to hardware emulation such as the emulation of the virtual graphics chip).

 

a VM will always slow your machine down some, because it uses a lot of resources and permanently holds what amount of RAM you have specified... Its hard to give you some type of accurate rating though. Much of a virtual machine is still emulated, but current VMs for Macs are pretty good, even able to do some 3D rendering. If all you need is terminal windows, I don't think its going to push it very hard.... but I'd suggest at least 4GB of ram in the machine if your going to run a VM a lot.

 

uh...guys lets leave the "why" out of the question for the time being. I love VMs, I personally use VirtualBox and VMWare but I like Linux as my primary OS. Thats it.

I'm a grad student and a big Open Source enthusiast ( that doesn't mean I hate Windows or OS X ). For me, shelling out $1500+ for a 4 gig machine with a 2.53GHz processor is a big deal more so because I own an amazing dell with the same specs.

The reason I'm contemplating purchasing a MBP is because of its hardware, its amazingly crisp display, I love the fact that it doesn't heat up much and its durable - everything I need in the hardware is right there.

If I could I would probably reject Apples EULA and get money back for the software part as I seriously dont require it - Linux has everything I require. The only concern I have is certain drivers are missing or at times its a pain to get them going so I wandered into this forum for advice!

BTW I used a MBP at work ( one generation older ) and found its screen to be pretty amazing. I saw a friend's MBP 13" ( 5,5 generation ) and the display wasn't as crisp and vibrant as I expected and it had that horrible bluish tinge that most non-Apple notebooks have. Apple generally has a purer and more vibrant whitish-yellowish tinge to the screen. What gives???!!

 

The MBPs can get plenty hot, even with the integrated 9400m GPU. Mostly noticeable when using anything flash related because of how much of a resource hog it is. I watch MLB.tv in fullscreen with the "nexdef" plugin with the machine (a 15") on a table. The case close to the screen (where the vents are) gets so hot that you can't touch it for more than a few seconds with out feeling that you may suffer a burn.

I've had trouble with drivers on most Macs that I have tried to install Linux on including the MBP. Some are easily resolved such as the wireless drivers (broadcom), but I've never had success getting audio working.

The 15" MBP used to have a better screen. With the recent revision to change the 13" unibody from a "MacBook" to a "MacBook Pro" Apple also upgraded the screen in the 13" to the better quality one.

 

Does a 13" MBP get a little hot and bothered when it is asked to do anything slightly demanding?

I'd never of thought that playing video would be a problem for a modern laptop, now my four year old non-apple laptop with integrated graphics that likes to spin up the fan for video or 3D.

Atlguy, I guess you'll also want to find out how well the temperature control works under native linux.

 

yeh i dont know why you think the macbook pro doesnt get hot. it does...

 

Hmm...thanks for all the replies guys. I thought the newer hardware generates far lesser heat than my current platform. In any case, I ordered a MBP 13". Lets see if I'm satisfied with it ;-) If not, I'll return it and stick with my dell.

@claudius753, Have you tried Ubuntu 9.04 LTS with MBP 13" 5,5 ? It apparently works with a few tweaks!