Archive for the ‘MacBook’ Category

Ubuntu 10.04 to support iPod, iPhone, iPad out of the box

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Just came across this article about something a lot of us into free and open source software have been wanting to happen: (The main reason I don’t use iPod, iPhone and probably not planning to use iPad in the future is because they don’t use free and open source software. But that will soon change ;) )

“Another barrier to Linux adoption is set to fall with next month’s major Ubuntu release – version 10.04, otherwise known as Lucid Lynx – bringing iPod support right out of the box.

This breakthrough is bound to be a game-changer in the land of Linux and if anything in Ubuntu 10.04 is set to make the fabled “year of the Linux desktop” come closer, this is it.

We’re talking about a new level of hardware compatibility, and not the likes of finding the right printer or WiFi adapter. Support for Apple’s range of devices will make Ubuntu more accessible to legions of potential users in one move.”

Read more of the article by By David M Williams at ITWire
http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/the-linux-distillery/37290-ubuntu-1004-to-support-ipod-iphone-ipad-out-of-the-box

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Ubuntu in MacBook: Dual Screen or Connecting to a LCD/Mutimedia Projector

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

To connect my MacBook to an LCD/Multimedia Projector using a vga to mini-DVI adapter connected to the mini-DVI port, I use xrandr. [for more info do a $man 1 xrandr]

First, you need to check on the available resolutions.
With the other screen/monitor or multimedia projector attached to your MacBook do:

$ xrandr -q

(more…)

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Upgrading from Ubuntu Gutsy (7.10) to Hardy (8.04) in MacBook: Screen Resolution – x server does not support the xrandr; problems with dual and extended screen

Sunday, July 6th, 2008

Changing Screen Resolution Problem

After updating from Gutsy (7.10) to Hardy (8.04), I noticed the utility for changing the screen resolution (System -> Preferences -> Screen Resolution) does not work anymore in Hardy as it did in Gutsy. It gave an error message:

The X Server does not support the XRandR extension. Runtime resolution changes to the display size are not available.

Xrandr Problem

Likewise, when I tried xrandr -q on the command line I got the following X BadRequest error:

$ xrandr -q
X Error of failed request: BadRequest (invalid request code or no such operation)
Major opcode of failed request: 151 (RANDR)
Minor opcode of failed request: 6 ()
Serial number of failed request: 9
Current serial number in output stream: 9

(more…)

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Upgrading from Ubuntu Gutsy (7.10) to Hardy (8.04) in MacBook: The missing “right mouse click / button”

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

In my former post: Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) on a Macbook … Part 1, I mentioned:

“I noticed some of the devices/hardware does not work properly on Ubuntu “out-of-the-box” (default install of Ubuntu 7.10 for intel) like sound volume control, iSight, sound recording through the built-in mic. To some of us who are used to doing “right clicks” on the mouse, we need to have an alternative way of doing it given that all Mac laptops only has one built-in “mouse” button that works as a “left button”.

Well, the website:
How to install Ubuntu on a MacBook
[url: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook] has been useful since following the instructions have made sound (volume control and recording through the built-in mic and iSight (built-in webcam) worked in my MacBook. I also have converted the lower “enter” key to be a “right mouse button.”

While everything continued to work even after upgrading from Gutsy (7.10) to Hardy (8.04), I noticed my lower “enter” key doesn’t worked anymore. So, based from the instruction on the above website, I tried to do again:
(more…)

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My Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop on MacBook Black

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

This is what my Ubuntu Desktop on MacBook Black looks like.
The “Think Linux” wallpaper came from ftp.linux.org.uk.
The “Mac look alike” icons on the “dock”, actually bottom panel came from the desktop theme given to me by my Indonesian friend Utian.

I like the “Think Linux” wallpaper because it reminds you that you’re running Linux even though you’re using a MacBook Hardware (with all the “eye candies” including “genie” effect and cube rotate and functionalities that are comparable with MacOSX or even better than Vista :-) ). Try Compiz-Fusion (now with Gutsy).

The image below which I already used in my previous postings is actually my MacBook’s splashscreen:

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Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) on a Macbook … Part 2 (On iSight)

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

To continue from my previous post on the reference site:
How to install Ubuntu on a MacBook
[url: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook]:

I got the iSight working with additional steps (which the site failed to mentioned). After following the instructions from the abovementioned site on iSight:

a. You need to install isight-firmware-tools.

$sudo apt-get install isight-firmware-tools

b. If you have the isight-firmware-tools already installed you need to do a:

$sudo dpkg-reconfgure isight-firmware-tools

to “point” to the location of the firmware you copied from your MacOS installation/partition.

c. You need to install the module uvcvideo:

- Optional step just to remove any old modules and back up any existing uvcvideo.ko:

$sudo modprobe -r uvcvideo

$sudo mv
/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/ubuntu/media/usbvideo/uvcvideo.ko
/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/ubuntu/media/usbvideo/uvcvideo.ko.original

- Update your Ubuntu archive/repository if you haven’t done recently:

$sudo apt-get update

(more…)

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Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) on a Macbook … Part 1

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

Just got into playing with a Macbook Black from the office last December 2007. Since I’m more comfortable with Ubuntu Linux (than MacOSX Leopard :-) ), I did a dual boot install using rEFIt [url: http://refit.sourceforge.net/] as a dual (or multiple) boot menu.

I noticed some of the devices/hardware does not work properly on Ubuntu “out-of-the-box” (default install of Ubuntu 7.10 for intel) like sound volume control, iSight, sound recording through the built-in mic. To some of us who are used to doing “right clicks” on the mouse, we need to have an alternative way of doing it given that all Mac laptops only has one built-in “mouse” button that works as a “left button”.

I saw a very good reference at the Ubuntu Community Documentation:
How to install Ubuntu on a MacBook
[url: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBook].
The site does not only contains instructions on installing Ubuntu on a Mac but also on making Ubuntu work on the Apple Hardware and some tweaking instructions:
(more…)

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