Macbook without OS X?

[NightLord]

I have a macbook 1.83Ghz Core Duo, running 10.4.8, but I also want a laptop running Linux.

I've considered getting myself a second macbook (either second hand or otherwise), and putting linux on it.

But is there any way of removing OS X from it and having the whole hard drive dedicated to linux?

Just curious (Although this does strengthen the argument that some people will buy a mac and just put a different OS on it so they can have the style of a mac).

Thanks for any help.

 

[Ale-500]

I read somewere in this forum that getting linux to work needs a bit of work to make it install and that getting sound was so far not possible. be careful before you get a machine that will not work fully with it. Is not a problem to wipe osx and in principle install linux. A patch for the firmware (released at the time of the first bootcamp) brings booting from hds with pc partition tables and mbr, but is in fact not needed. search around before you buy !

 

[adiosk8]

Just boot off of the linux cd and wipe the hard drive and BAM, OS X is gone....I thought about doing this too when I get my macbook pro, but I really like OS X, a lot more then I thought I would.

 

[yg17]

Unless you find a really good second hand deal, you'd probably be better off with a Dell or HP or something like that if you have no intention of running OSX on it. It would be cheaper and probably more Linux friendly when it comes to drivers and all that.

I tried Ubuntu on my PowerBook, and the wireless drivers for the Broadcom chipset were real spotty. I couldn't get WPA working, and despite being an 802.11g network, speeds seemed to be limited at around 1mbps. And I believe the Intel Macs are still using the same Broadcom chipset.

 

[iW00t]

It is called a PeeCee...

 

[thugpoet22]

The irony of course is that both linux and mac os x is UNIX based and yet they are so different. I wonder if the bulk of mac users care about this at all? There seems to be a huge following for the open source community for PC users, but these are mostly people who are fed up with the inferiority of windows and sought a more open approach to computing. Does the same desire exist for mac users?

 

[richard4339]

Parallels works wonders.

 

[Tork]

Parallels works wonders.

This is true, it works great. I think you can still get a 15 day trial of Parallels to see for yourself.

 

[MisterMe]

.... Does the same desire exist for mac users?

No. And for the Mac users who want to run Linux apps, we can use Fink or Darwin Ports to install them under MacOS X.

 

[arcobb]

Parallels works wonders.

OMG, I got the newest one that is beta at the moment. I love it! This build has a couple of bugs, but can't wait until they unbeta it! It has drag and drop!

Now if they only gave it firewire support it would be perfect!

 

[richard4339]

I like the new features of the new Parallels, but it crashes almost every time I launch Windows through it now.

Anyway, in all seriousness, I get my Linux fix through Parallels. If you're a novice (which I'm assuming the OP is not), Parallels even has direct images which are preinstalled with all the drivers and everything working perfectly. You can get them on the Parallels forums. The torrent files are slow as dirt to get them, so they give you a S/H only option to order a CD (which I did).

 

[bodeh6]

Just spend half as much and get a PC laptop and format that.

 

[sycho]

why don't you use rEFIt and dual boot OS X and Linux. Thats what I am doing, works good, I might complie a custom kernal today.

 

[dpope]

I have a new C2D MBP and want to run linux as well but it seems like its a lot more work then I initially invisiged. I'm a long-time linux user but I'm tired of running on unsupported hardware. I thought I would be happy with OS X but there are too many things I miss from Linux, particularly in the GUI. I'm considering running X windows (in OS X) in root mode and could probably do this but I also like Beryl/Compiz and I don't think Apple's X-window's supports these 3d effects. I'm guessing parrallels won't let you do anything this hardware intensive either.

Sadly it looks like I was too brief in my linux compatibility research: apple's power managment system (SMC) is not well supported as is the wireless card. If you're thinking of buying a second laptop to run linux I think I would recommend something else (since you already have a Mac which should give you your nice hardware fix). Contrary to popular opinion Linux _can_ be very simple and easy to work with if you make sure to get only well-supported hardware. Lenevo has promised to support linux on one of their laptops so that might be a good bet. Go to the linux laptop page and just look for a laptop which the user says has everything running well. Its good to also email someone whose running linux on it already (which you can find by going to the linux laptop page) and ask about all the little things you won't know until you get the laptop yourself like: how long does the battery last in linux vs other OS's, how well does resume/suspend work, etc...

Make sure you get a laptop with nvideo or intel graphics cards - ati's linux support sucks (unfortunate for MBP owners like myself). If you're deadset on installing linux on a Mac (like I am since its my main laptop) check out the mactel linux site (google it) and the ubuntu forums.

How functional is Parrallels btw? What are the things I can't do with parrallels that I can do with a real install (e.g. get 3d graphics effects like compiz/beryl)?

 

[Ale-500]

I thought I would be happy with OS X but there are too many things I miss from Linux, particularly in the GUI.

The GUI is what is do not miss from linux. I miss the console and Midnight commander, plenty on them. Nothing so far beats them (4 or 5 at the same time). And Macs do not have an insert key !!!

The GUI in OSX is ok. Much better than wblows, in any flavor. But I do not think thats the way. mc beats them all

Get an ASUS pc, or an Acer. ANd try to stay away from late ICHx, they are normally quite unsopported when fresh.