Full Circle Magazine FR

The last piece on Ubuntu and the Mac in our favorite magazine seems to be Darkmaster’s “Ubuntu on the Mac Mini”, back in June 2007’s FCM#02. Since there has been some progress both on Apple’s and on Ubuntu’s sides, let’s take a fresh view of the process. Before installing a GNU/Linux on an Apple computer, be it Ubuntu or some other distribution, perhaps the first question we should ask ourselves is: “why?” After all, the original operating system on these machines, Apple’s OS-X, is a first-class BSD derivative that is known for its stability, and has benefited from what is generally considered one of the nicest graphical interfaces around. Nowadays, it is essentially free (as long as you buy the hardware), and even integrates many Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) packages such as Apache and OpenSSH. Others, such as Gimp and Inkscape, are easy to add. So, if it ain’t broken, why fix it?

Perhaps the first reply that comes to mind is: “because it is possible to do so.” It does have some technological interest. But we are also combining what is - in my perhaps subjective opinion - one of the best hardware platforms available (Apple’s computers) with one of the best options for software: GNU/Linux in general, and Ubuntu distributions in particular. Is changing from OS-X to Ubuntu really a step forward? After all, Apple’s people are the ones who make the hardware, so, from a logical standpoint, they should also be in the best position to make the software for it. Actually, this is perhaps not quite the case any more. Apple’s computer hardware is nowadays a mix of commodity components built by other manufacturers (that can easily be acquired off the shelf), and some specific parts that are designed and built to Apple’s specifications. These specifics include some – such as “logic boards” in Apple’s parlance (“motherboards” for everybody else) – that definitely help maintain their reputation for quality. However, even the motherboards are built using well-known chipsets that are also used by other manufacturers, and thus catered for the Linux kernel. So Apple’s operating system no longer has an edge over FOSS alternatives as regards hardware support.

On the other hand, do GNU/Linux and Ubuntu have an advantage over Apple’s OS-X from a software standpoint? I advance that yes, they do - and that the advantage is two-fold. In the first place, FOSS has a wide-open code base that can be audited in full. This may or may not be an important point for the security-conscious, but it certainly is so as far as bug-tracking and program quality go. The more eyes can examine the code, the more errors are detected and corrected - fast! The second advantage is a centralized software repository, that programs can easily be located in and downloaded from. This may seem minor at first glance, but consider: which other operating system allows us to easily install complex applications with a one-line terminal command - or, should we prefer, a choice of (at the very least three or four) different graphical software managers? Bashing Canonical for more-or-less imposing Unity as default desktop has been in vogue for the last couple of years. Their commercial policies may also rub the wrong way. But, on the other hand, they have shown much common sense and rendered the user community a good service in choosing Debian’s apt package management system, and in providing both updated packages and a repository to download them from.

From this point of view, using Ubuntu on an Apple computer does make sense: we immediately and easily access a large repository of up-to-date applications. They are also available in more languages and locales than much of Apple’s offering, though it must be said they too have made progress in recent years. But even today, some languages are not readily available: for example, Euskara (Basque) is still not officially supported by Apple (http://www.apple.com/osx/specs/). No such problem with Ubuntu - which shows us the real power of FOSS is that people can participate and help out in many ways, not only programming. On a further note, using Ubuntu on Mac hardware can help maintain compatibility between Mac and PC machines that must work together in the same environment. The applications would be the same on both sides - and, if they are not, it is a simple matter to install whatever is needed. So, now we have discussed why install Ubuntu on a Mac, let’s see how to actually do so. Before beginning, the customary word of warning: we will be modifying extensively the computer’s hard drive. Things can go wrong - not very often, but the possibility exists.

If you wish to retain Apple’s OS-X just in case, you may be better off swapping the hard drive and using a second one - that way, you will always be able to come back to your original configuration if needed. Otherwise, make sure you have the OS-X installation DVD handy. In any case, please do make sure you have your user data fully backed up, perhaps even in more than one place. Running both OS-X and Ubuntu is possible on a Mac, using either Apple’s Bootcamp or the open-source rEFInd boot menu software (http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/) to switch between them at boot time. However, if we are installing Ubuntu on an older computer, its hard drive will probably be rather smaller than on more recent machines, and perhaps too small to comfortably fit both operating systems as well as user data. Double-booting between the two operating systems is not something I would recommend as a first-time experience.

As you could imagine, the installation process is easy and painless. In the first place, we will need an install CD. For Ubuntu 13.10: • for the PowerPC architecture (G3, G4 and G5 Macs), server ISO images are available at http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/13.10/release/ • for the more recent Intel architecture (Macbooks and Macbook Pros since late 2006), 64-bit server and desktop ISO images are available at http://releases.ubuntu.com/saucy/ - choose the “amd64+mac” images for Intel Core Duo-based computers with 64-bit processors. There are some models with early Intel processors that have only the 32-bit architecture. These include early 2006 Macbooks and Macbook Pros with the Yonah Core Duo. If you have one of these, you will need the Ubuntu i386 ISO images that support Intel 32-bit architecture. The more recent versions (since 2012) support the GUID Partition Table (GPT) disk tables used by Macs, though earlier versions may not. I had an Ubuntu 12.10 CD from the Canonical shop lying around that I could throw at my mid-2007 white Macbook, the test machine. If you prefer using a USB stick you will find clear instructions at http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/create-a-usb-stick-on-mac-osx .

With the CD inserted and the “C” key pressed, the BIOS reads in the CD and from that point onward the boot process is strictly as usual on Intel machines. If you are using a USB drive, you will need to keep the “Alt” (“Option”) key pressed instead. If you are using the original hard drive, it will probably already have a GPT partition table. Whether you are using a new hard drive or a recycled one, if it already contains a MS-DOS partition table you will need to create a GPT table instead. Simply boot the Ubuntu as a LiveCD, open a terminal and use the command: sudo gparted to fire up the gparted disk configuration tool. The partition creation tool may be found in the Device menu.

From that point onwards, you can start the installer and follow the usual process. The only point that needs attention is to choose the specific Mac keyboard, especially if you are installing on a Mac laptop without an external PC-type keyboard. Once the computer has ejected the CD and rebooted, the system comes up and configuration may be performed in the usual way. Several tweaks may be useful to get the best out of the user interface. In the first place, keyboard symbols accessed through the “Alt” (“Option”) key do not work as expected by users of OS-X. This can be configured, through the System Settings > “Keyboard” application. At the bottom of this screen, choose “Options” to get to Keyboard Layout options, where you can choose which key combination activates the “3rd level” interpretation for each key: choose “Any Alt key” to replicate the normal Apple keyboard usage.

If you are using a laptop, the touchpad may, by default, not accept touchpad taps for mouse clicks, and may also use touchpad side scrolling as on many PCs. This needs some additional configuration to work in the same way as under OS-X. While in System settings, you can go to the “Mouse and Touchpad” application, choose “Touchpad”, and configure things the way you prefer. To replicate normal OS-X touchpad usage, choose “Enable mouse clicks” and “Two-finger scrolling”. Going with other variants of Ubuntu or simply installing other desktop managers is naturally also an option for those so inclined. On older computers, as always, Lubuntu or Xubuntu may come in handy to reduce desktop effects and speed up your workflow. On the other hand, Apple’s hardware is known for using middle to higher-end graphics cards - compared to other offerings of the same age - so installing Kubuntu with all the desktop effects activated is quite feasible. In such a case, however, you may be well advised to swap the existing hard drive for a newer model, an SSD if at all possible. The difference in drive access times will make for a noticeably more fluid interface.

If at any point you need help, there are several interesting articles on the Ubuntu wiki (http://wiki.ubuntu.com). The folks at the Mactel Support Team (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MactelSupportTeam/) have also put together comprehensive documentation. Though it may seem a little outdated (the last version mentioned is 10.04), please bear in mind that more recent versions of Ubuntu have progressively ironed out many of the technical difficulties that remained with Macs. The aforementioned GUID Partition Table and the companion EFI boot system, both used on Intel Macs, are now well-known in the GNU/Linux world due mainly to the appearance of Windows 8. However, this was not always the case in the first days of using Ubuntu on Macs. As we have seen, putting Ubuntu (or variant) on a Mac is a simple proposition nowadays. If you have a spare machine lying around, perhaps one that is no longer supported by recent versions of OS-X, why not give it a try?