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April 22, 2007

rivals

Ubuntu 7.0.4 adds more Intel Mac support

Posted Apr. 22, ’07, 9:06 AM PT by Aaron Freedman
Category | Apple » Rivals

Picture 2-2 While OS X is still my all time favorite operating system, I do occasionally like to dabble in Ubuntu Linux, which I dual-boot on my Mac. Well, for Mac-Ubuntu dual-booters like me, the release of the new Ubuntu “Feisty Fawn” 7.0.4 brings good news. In addition to the usual bug fixes and new features, Ubuntu 7.0.4 also adds better Intel Mac support.

There are several Intel Mac fixes in Ubuntu 7.0.4. One is the bootloader. On 6.10, the Ubuntu installation would fail on an Intel Mac because the default bootloader, GRUB, would not install. This would then require a somewhat complicated process (if you’re not used to the command line) of installing the LILO bootloader. Fortunately, in 7.0.4, GRUB installs perfectly, saving a lot of hassle. 7.0.4 also adds extra sound support, with the ability to use the built-in speakers on my iMac in addition to the headphone jack (which was the only way to play sound in 6.10). I’m not sure about improved sound support on other Macs, but it worked fine for me. Finally, Ubuntu 7.0.4 also adds a Restricted Drivers panel, which is useful for installing proprietary hardware drivers. If you’re like me and have an ATI card in your Mac, 3D acceleration requires the proprietary fglrx driver, which installed very easily using this new panel. Ubuntu was also able to automatically use my iMac’s native resolution when the fglrx driver was enabled.

While I love Ubuntu and its now even better Intel Mac support, it still will never take that place in my heart devoted to OS X.


3 Comments

trevor said:

I just got my first mac (a black macbook) last Monday, and on Thursday I installed Feisty Fawn (dual booting). It works perfectly, I got wifi working, native resolution working, trackpad works. I am very suprised at how great the installation went.

April 22, 2007 1:15 PM
ANT Link said:

First, the obligatory pointing out of a minor mistake: it's 7.04 (indicating 2007, April), and not 7.0.4.

Second, how do you dual boot Ubuntu on your Mac? Do you use Boot Camp and then install Ubuntu instead of Windows?

April 22, 2007 3:58 PM
Moe said:

I attempted to boot Ubuntu 7.04 "Feisty" this weekend on my MacBook Pro and got an error trying to launch X windows on the LiveCD. I was not using the beta, this was the final release downloaded from the official Ubuntu site, main mirror. This is a documented problem. Apparently the "adding of more support" doesn't extend to the Pro notebooks.

April 23, 2007 5:39 AM

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