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Running Ubuntu Linux Is Messy On The 2013 MacBook Air

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  • Running Ubuntu Linux Is Messy On The 2013 MacBook Air

    Phoronix: Running Ubuntu Linux Is Messy On The 2013 MacBook Air

    Earlier this month, shortly after Intel announced their latest-generation Haswell processors, Apple rolled out their new 2013 MacBook Air laptops. From a hardware perspective, the new MacBook Airs are incredible. The 13-inch MacBook Air can get a 12-hour battery life with Intel Haswell CPU. The 11-inch model continues being an ultra portable computer and has excellent performance with its Core i5 Haswell processor and HD Graphics 5000. As soon as the Haswell MacBook Airs went on sale, I bought an 11-inch model for Linux testing. Ubuntu can be installed and run on the new Apple MacBook Air, but the experience is less than desirable.

    Phoronix, Linux Hardware Reviews, Linux hardware benchmarks, Linux server benchmarks, Linux benchmarking, Desktop Linux, Linux performance, Open Source graphics, Linux How To, Ubuntu benchmarks, Ubuntu hardware, Phoronix Test Suite

  • #2
    Thanks for pointing out how to get a Broadcom ac wireless adapter to work. I've had a Netgear A6200 wireless adapter for a while and wondered how to get the bloody thing to work properly.

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    • #3
      Thanks for testing Michael. Pity the result is so inferior since W8 was recently tested as faring much better than OSX on Apple's own hardware.

      I guess Unity is a dead-end as for battery life. KDE 4.10 is now significantly more power efficient, Gnome 3.8 is ok too but much hungrier than Gnome 2 was.
      Now OSX is not a lightweight OS either.

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      • #4
        I don't think there are any Macbook owners who would like to use Ubuntu as their primary OS. You buy Macbook for macOS mainly.

        If you buy Macbook for its hardware and you want to use Ubuntu, then why not buy an Asus Zenbook or a Dell XPS?

        It is good though to see Ubuntu working on Macbooks (for experimental purpuses)

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        • #5
          Originally posted by verde View Post
          I don't think there are any Macbook owners who would like to use Ubuntu as their primary OS. You buy Macbook for macOS mainly.

          If you buy Macbook for its hardware and you want to use Ubuntu, then why not buy an Asus Zenbook or a Dell XPS?
          Do those alternatives come with a backlit keyboard, full-metal body, and a power plug that doesn't destroy your laptop if you trip on it? Higher-res screens are still Apple only too, though not in the Air.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by verde View Post
            I don't think there are any Macbook owners who would like to use Ubuntu as their primary OS. You buy Macbook for macOS mainly.


            (apparently he now uses a Chromebook Pixel)

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            • #7
              Originally posted by verde View Post
              I don't think there are any Macbook owners who would like to use Ubuntu as their primary OS. You buy Macbook for macOS mainly.

              If you buy Macbook for its hardware and you want to use Ubuntu, then why not buy an Asus Zenbook or a Dell XPS?

              It is good though to see Ubuntu working on Macbooks (for experimental purpuses)
              Most people who (still) buy Macs buy the Mac/Apple brand and don't know what an OS is. The smoother-than-PC experience is very expensive but people are blitzed into wanting it even if they cannot really afford it. And maybe only 5% of the adult population are willing to try Linux as their main OS (mostly objective reasons), and yet they may fancy a certain type of hardware (mostly subjective reasons).

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              • #8
                Originally posted by curaga View Post
                Do those alternatives come with a backlit keyboard, full-metal body, and a power plug that doesn't destroy your laptop if you trip on it? Higher-res screens are still Apple only too, though not in the Air.
                High res screens are not mac only

                Samsung QHD display 3200 x 1800 :: pixel density 276 ppi.
                Chromebook Pixel 2560 ? 1700 :: 239 ppi
                Retina MacBook Pro 2560 x 1600 :: 227 ppi

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                • #9
                  I hope you didn't use the Ubuntu ISO that's labeled for Mac use. It removes the EFI boot and will cause most modern Macs to not run correctly.

                  Look into the standard desktop image and boot with EFI if so.

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                  • #10
                    I wouldn't call it a messy install

                    Running a pre-release of course is going to have its problems. First thing first is an `lspci` and confirm if you're stuck with a broadcom wifi chipset. I'm actually surprised the "quality" hardware in the Mac would even have such a chipset.

                    I'm curious as to how a 13.04 *buntu release fares in the same hardware, perhaps trying a daily with updates rolled in to the disc. If I had money to burn, I'd replace OS X on it just to stick it to Mac folks, ah sadism.

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