Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Apple's MacBook (2,1) Now Can Boot With Coreboot

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #11
    Originally posted by liam View Post
    Matthew garrett's, on going, work getting macs to work with linux seems to indicate otherwise.
    No I'm not going to read yet another anti-Apple troll thread, but I will thank MatthewG for his work on Macs. To be clear, my MacBook was that first laptop that I have bought where *everything* worked under vanilla Linux. Even my "eeePC" laptop that actually shipped with Linux pre-installed had BLOBs for wireless drivers and suspend/resume issues (as well as having totally thrash hardware).

    I'll actually go as far as *thanking* Apple for the iPhone/iPad and for using OpenSource WebKit and Unix. If it wasn't for Apple, realistically we'd still be in a world trying to reverse engineer IE6, Flash and ActiveX controls.

    P.S. Sorry for ranting - the pointless anti-Apple stuff really annoys me, having lived through the days when you didn't have any choices *at all* when buying your computer. Even now Linux isn't really available as an option for most people - certainly I can't find the Linux aisle in my local computer shop. Like it or not - it's Microsoft or Apple.

    Comment


    • #12
      Originally posted by OneTimeShot View Post
      I'll actually go as far as *thanking* Apple for the iPhone/iPad and for using OpenSource WebKit and Unix. If it wasn't for Apple, realistically we'd still be in a world trying to reverse engineer IE6, Flash and ActiveX controls.
      Isn't that rewriting history a bit? It was Firefox, not Safari, that forced ie/activex websites to be more standards-compliant. Apple can only be thanked for helping to kill Flash out of those three.

      Comment


      • #13
        Originally posted by OneTimeShot View Post
        No I'm not going to read yet another anti-Apple troll thread, but I will thank MatthewG for his work on Macs. To be clear, my MacBook was that first laptop that I have bought where *everything* worked under vanilla Linux. Even my "eeePC" laptop that actually shipped with Linux pre-installed had BLOBs for wireless drivers and suspend/resume issues (as well as having totally thrash hardware).
        The Broadcom WiFi card in the Macbooks uses blobs. End of discussion.

        Comment


        • #14
          Originally posted by curaga View Post
          Isn't that rewriting history a bit? It was Firefox, not Safari, that forced ie/activex websites to be more standards-compliant. Apple can only be thanked for helping to kill Flash out of those three.
          No, actually I believe he is right (however Opera also was campaigning at the same time for the same thing). Mozilla seemed to join in later on in the game.

          Comment


          • #15
            Originally posted by Sonadow View Post
            The Broadcom WiFi card in the Macbooks uses blobs. End of discussion.
            Ok - not sure if I'd blame Apple directly for Broadcom's or NVidia's Linux support, but my Macbook wireless just works without additional blobs. I presume that your issue would also affect Dells or HP if they used those Wifi cards?


            Re: Firefox - I definitely don't want to undervalue the fantastic work Mozilla did in the darkest of hours, but sadly my recollection of history is this:

            Firefox users: Could you fix line 1234 of xxx.html so that the website works in Firefox?
            IT: This website is supported on Windows XP in IE6 running as Administrator.
            CEO: I bought a Macbook Air, why doesn't this website work?
            IT: Yes, Sir!

            Linux users: We don't like Flash much.
            IT: This website is supported on Windows XP in IE6 running as Administrator.
            CEO: I bought an iPhone, why doesn't this website work?
            IT: Yes, Sir!

            Comment


            • #16
              Originally posted by OneTimeShot View Post
              Ok - not sure if I'd blame Apple directly for Broadcom's or NVidia's Linux support, but my Macbook wireless just works without additional blobs. I presume that your issue would also affect Dells or HP if they used those Wifi cards?
              Apple has always used Broadcom Wifi. And all Broadcom wifi cards require firmware blobs to even initialize, and most require the proprietary wl driver to run, which some distributions already package out of convenience and out-of-the-box functionality (because compiling the wl driver is a pain in the @$$).

              All the vital firmware blobs needed for things like 3D acceleration, WiFi, etc are conveniently stored in /lib/firmware, out of sight from the average user. Even the open-source friendly Intel has firmware blobs for all its wifi cards hidden there.

              Just because you don't see the blobs doesn't mean they don't exist.

              Try installing a firmware-less, de-blobbed distribution like Trisquel into your Macbook (or even any computer) and see how virtually NOTHING works.

              Comment


              • #17
                Originally posted by Sonadow View Post
                Try installing a firmware-less, de-blobbed distribution like Trisquel into your Macbook (or even any computer) and see how virtually NOTHING works.
                Ah I see, yes - Apple's hardware is not gonna be for you. Apple definitely isn't an OpenSource company. It's more: "my enemy's enemy turns out to be Apple". That's not necessarily "friend" because I also think: "my enemy's enemy was Ballmer"

                In terms of "decent hardware that is reasonably well supported in Linux and doesn't automatically include a Windows license" I normally go for Apple - and that's usually the only choice unless you build the box yourself (maybe Chromebooks are ok these days?). I also push most people towards Macs because I know that Linux isn't going to be the right answer for them.

                Comment


                • #18
                  Originally posted by OneTimeShot View Post
                  No I'm not going to read

                  Ditto

                  Comment


                  • #19
                    Well, could you stop this "trolling" nonsense ? Liam is not a troll, and has talked about perfectly valid issues about Apple hardware, even if he could have been more specific.
                    I installed Ubuntu on a friend's macbook recently, and I had to download a blob for the wifi card. Pretty much everything needs a blob on this hardware. I don't think thunderbolt ports are working either.
                    However, I must admit, apple knows how to produce great pieces of hardware. Maybe a little overpriced (definitely too much for me), but well-designed and well-usable. Definitely more than any lambda windows computer, at least. And, I would like to have the same GUI for my OS selection menu as the one I installed on his computer (maybe it is related to the fact that I have only a non-UEFI BIOS ?).

                    Originally posted by OneTimeShot
                    Ah I see, yes - Apple's hardware is not gonna be for you. Apple definitely isn't an OpenSource company. It's more: "my enemy's enemy turns out to be Apple". That's not necessarily "friend" because I also think: "my enemy's enemy was Ballmer"
                    I really dislike Apple for that, though.

                    As a final note, I would add that, with a bit of research, you can find some well built computers, with better value for your money than apple's macbooks, and more friendly to the Linux kernel. I even remember having heard recently about one chromebook that felt into this category, too.

                    Comment


                    • #20
                      Originally posted by M@yeulC View Post
                      I really dislike Apple for that, though.
                      Hey... don't get me wrong - I am not an Apple fanboi lost on the wrong website or anything... If there is high quality hardware - and a cool brand would be a nice touch - from a proper Linux supporting company, I'd be interested in recommendations.

                      I'm just not sure why Apple (with their 8% market share) gets all the hate - as well as providing an alternative to Windows, bringing Unix to a mass market, they have released all sorts of bits and pieces of OpenSource (LLVM, fixes for WebKit). It seems that everyone really cuts Microsoft slack at the moment, and I don't get it.

                      Maybe now that Jobs has gone Apple will crumble and we'll get back to 99% Windows again. I am pretty sure that won't help Linux in the slightest, though...

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X