Dual Boot Mac + Linux

Really Easy Installing Ubuntu alongside

OS X (Dual Boot, no rEFIt)
Edit by techflat

Idea taken from http://www.isriya.com/node/1804/ubuntu-on-macbook-air-~

Note: This worked under OS X Leopard, it could work on Tiger but I haven't
tried that.

The site from where the idea was taken talked about installing Ubuntu on a
MacBook Air but it made sense and the installation seemed very easy and
straight forward. After trying the suggestion, it worked fine. The installation
was made on a system with OS X Leopard already installed and up to date.
Because of the nature of the installation, I think it could work on all MacBook
models and on all MacBook Pro models with Leopard installed.

So, here are the steps:

1. Boot into OS X Leopard

2. Use BootCamp to partition the drive, the size depends on your
needs but 10GB should be fine, 9 for the ext3 partition and 1
for the swap one. (There is a manual on how to use BootCamp
to install Windows, the steps are very similar except the
Windows install part, so if you need to know how to partition
 the drive with BootCamp, this is a good resource: http://
manuals.info.apple.com/en/Boot_Camp_Install-Setup.pdf)
3. Restart the computer with Ubuntu 8.04 Desktop CD inserted
(64-bit or 32-bit version), just when the computer starts keep
pressed the C key (that's for booting from the CD). Stop
pressing the key when the screen goes black. ~-(Strange
behavior I got: Holding the key for too long made the keyboard
and mousepad unresponsive)
4. Boot Into the live CD, Click on 'Install' icon on the desktop.
Select the appropriate language, select 'Keyboard Layout' as
'Macintosh', select 'Manual' partitioning, then 'Forward'.
5. BootCamp will have created '/dev/sda3' which should be
roughly the size of the partition you created. Write down the
exact size of the partition and the size of the free space made
by BootCamp because using this space left for your partitions
"could harm" MacBook's partition table. Select 'dev/sda3' and
delete it by clicking 'Delete Partition'. This should now be 'free
space'. (Note: IF someone can verify that using the free space left by
BootCamp doesn't matter, please edit this part)

6. Select the 'free space' and click 'New Partition'. Set the size of
the partition in wich Ubuntu will be installed leaving the free
space for the swap partition if needed plus the free space that
you wrote down before. Set the formatting to occur at the end.
Format it as an 'ext3' type partition and set the 'Mount Point' to
'/'. Click OK. (Note: After finishing partitioning, the free space left by
BootCamp should be the same)

7. Select the free space and click 'New Partition'. Format it as a

'swap' type partition and select the size needed. Set the
formatting to occur at the end. Click OK. (Note: After finishing
partitioning, the free space left by BootCamp should be the same)
 8. Now click 'Forward'.
9. Set your user settings and click 'Forward'. Click 'OK', and
'Install'.
10. When installation is complete, reboot.
Important: When using this method, Ubuntu will not be selected by
default on boot. Nor it will be selectable by default; that means that
if you don't press anything, the computer will boot on OS X Leopard.
To be able to select wich system to use at boot, just after the
system starts, keep pressed the Option (Alt) key, then, two images
will appear, representing both OS' installed; select the one you need
to use. The image called Windows is Ubuntu, a small price for an
easy install.

For more information on installing specific components, take a look

at the menu on top of the page.

Installing Ubuntu alongside OS X (Dual

Boot)

Note: This is for a MacBook Pro with OS X already installed

1. Install the rEFIt Boot Menu from (http://refit.sf.net).

2. Use BootCamp to partition the drive (if using Tiger, don't
bother burning a Windows boot CD; if using Leopard, it won't
ask you).
3. Restart the computer with Ubuntu 8.04 Desktop CD inserted
(64-bit or 32-bit version). rEFIT should recognize the CD and
 give you option to "boot Linux from CD". Scroll to this option
using the down arrow or click on it with your mouse.
4. Boot Into the live CD, Click on 'Install' icon on the desktop.
Select the appropriate language, select 'Keyboard Layout' as
'Macintosh', select 'Manual' partitioning, then 'Forward'.
5. BootCamp will have created '/dev/sda3' which should be
roughly the size of the partition you created. Select 'dev/sda3'
and delete it by clicking 'Delete Partition'. This should now be
'free space'.
6. Select the 'free space' and click 'New Partition'. Set the size to
approximately 1 GB less than the total amount of free space.
Format it as an 'ext3' type partition and set the 'Mount Point' to
'/'. Set the formatting to occur at the beginning. Click OK.
7. This should leave approximately 1 GB of free space. Select this
free space and click 'New Partition'. Format it as a 'swap' type
partition. Set the formatting to occur at the beginning. Click
OK.
8. Now click 'Forward'. This will give some scary warnings about
FAT 32 not being partitioned correctly. Click 'Ignore' and
proceed with the install. After being prompted for a user and
computer name, check to make sure that the formatting is
occurring at partitions #3 and #4 and click 'Install'.
9. Set your user settings and click 'Forward'. Before installing,
click on 'Advanced' and change '(hd0)' to '(hd0,3)' . Click 'OK',
and 'Install'.
10. When installation is complete, reboot into Ubuntu Linux OS. Go
to 'System' > 'Administration' > 'Software Sources'. In the
'Third-Party Software' tab, check them. In the 'Updates' tab,
check 'Pre-releases Updates' and 'Unsupported Updates'. Click
'Close' and 'Reload'.
 11. Go to 'System' > 'Administration' > 'Update Manager' hit
'Check', 'Install Updates' and restart.
12. Read the following Video section for choosing which video
driver to use.
To adjust Fans speed in OS X install: http://homepage.mac.com/
holtmann/eidac/software/smcfancontrol2/index.html

To access Linux partition in OS X see: http://fuz2y.blogspot.com/

2008/04/how-to-mount-ext3-partition-on-os-x.html

Preparing to Install Ubuntu alongside OS

X & Windows Vista (Triple Boot)

Note: This is for a MacBook Pro with OS X & Windows Vista allready
installed

1. Install the rEFIt Boot Menu from (http://refit.sf.net).

Also to access Linux partition in Vista install 'Ext2 IFS': http://

www.fs-driver.org/download.html

And to access OS X partition in Vista install 'Mac Drive': http://

www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/

To ajust Fans speed in Vista install "inputremapper" before the

leopard dvd drivers: http://www.olofsson.info/index.html?
inputremapper.html
To ajust Fans speed in OS X install: http://homepage.mac.com/
holtmann/eidac/software/smcfancontrol2/index.html

To access Linux partition in OS X see: http://fuz2y.blogspot.com/

2008/04/how-to-mount-ext3-partition-on-os-x.html

Ubuntu Installation (Triple Boot - Vista)

1. Startup your laptop with Ubuntu Desktop CD inserted into the

drive.

2. In rEFIt menu, choose to boot the Ubuntu CD.

3. Select English as the language to be used.

3. Select the 2nd option, the one that says : "Install Ubuntu"

4. After the loading, on the install screen, select the O.S. Language
(English) and hit "Forward" button, then select your country location.

5. On the Keyboard layout, choose your keyboard language, and on

the other window select the variant Macintosh (mine is Portugal -
Macintosh), and test the typing if you want.

6. On the "Prepare Disk Space" menu, select the 1st option: "Guided
- Resize SCSI3 (0,1,0), Partition #3 (sda) and use Free Space", and
with your mouse select the desired partition size (I set mine to 80%
Windows Vista & 20% Ubuntu), and hit "Forward" button.

8. On "Migrate Documents and Settings" menu, just hit "Forward".

9. On "Ready to Install" menu, select "Advanced..." and select to
install Grub boot loader to the last partition "/dev/sda4" and hit
"OK" button, and then hit "Install" button to begin the installation
process.

10. After the installation as finished, hit "Restart Now" button, it will
exit the installer and eject your CDROM, then press "Enter" key to
restart. After the reboot, select the Linux icon on rEFIt to boot into
Ubuntu.

11. Don't forget not to install the ATI accelerated graphics drivers,
that is auto-detected by Hardware Drivers application, we'll cover
the installation of the latest and official ATI drivers on the next
section.

6. Go to 'System' > 'Administration' > 'Software Sources' and check

all boxes on the "Third party software", and also on the "Updates"
tab. Then hit "Close" button to reload the sources.

7. Go to 'System' > 'Administration' > 'Update Manager' and check

and install the new updates.

Preparing to Install Ubuntu alongside OS

X & Windows XP (Triple Boot)

1 - Make sure you use Leopard and have it updated (10.5.2).

2 - Start BootCamp and create a partition for Windows XP (15G is
enough).

3 - Don't install it through Bootcamp.

4 - Insert Windows CD and reboot holding C when you hear the

beeping sound.

5 - Windows installation should start, follow the usual installation

process of Windows.

6 - If it reboots during installation, you press ALT during reboot so

that you can pick Windows installation.

7 - After Windows is installed, insert your Leopard DVD and it

should install all your Apple drivers and stuff.

8 - Update your Apple Software (there will be an option on the start

menu to do so).

9 - Update Windows XP.

Ubuntu Installation (Triple Boot - XP)

1 - Now that Windows is installed, get back to MacOS, we are going

to install Linux now.

2 - Start Disk Utility and create a new partition on Machintosh HD,

name it Linux
3 - Insert Linux CD and reboot holding C

4 - On Linux installation, delete the partition you created (Linux)

because its HFS, and set it as ext3 and mount /. Don't need to
create swap (I know its going to warn you, but ignore it).

5 - At the last step of setup, click advanced because you need to

change where GRUB is going to be installed, choose sdaX (which X is
your Linux partition).

6 - Let it install Ubuntu.

7 - Get back to MacOS, install rEFIt, reboot and run the partition
manager of rEFIt, which should take care of every detail of booting
for each OS.

8 - Reboot and that's it.

Video

The following only applies to the 1st and 2nd Generation MacBook
Pro models. If you are using a 3rd Generation MacBook Pro (Santa
Rosa), see MacBookPro SantaRosa Guide. You have 4 choices for the
video driver:

1. The default vesa driver, which is automatically installed

2. The fglrx driver, ATI Proprietary, which is automatically detected
in the Hardware Drivers and installs if selected, supports 3D
acceleration, but note that it is not the most recent version

3. The most recent fglrx driver, ATI Proprietary, witch fully supports
3D acceleration, we'll cover the manual installation procedure ahead

4. The open source radeonhd driver, the current version does not
support 3D acceleration, that will also be covered the manual
installation procedure ahead

To disable auto screen brightness buggy adjustments, go to

System > Preferences > Power Management > General Tab > at
the Extras, and uncheck the "Use ambient light to ajust LCD
brightness" option.

3. fglrx (ATI Proprietary)

Using Synaptic, completely remove any packages containing "fglrx"
in their name.

If using 64bit make sure to collect package "ia32-libs" and "

libGL.so.1" before proceeding!

3.1. If running 64-bit Ubuntu, do this:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs libGL.so.1

3.2. To install latest ATI driver (ATI 8.4 / FGLRX 8.47.6) with 3D
acceleration support do this:
cd ~/Desktop
mkdir ATI
cd ATI

sudo apt-get update

sudo rm /usr/src/fglrx-kernel*.deb

sudo apt-get install build-essential fakeroot dh-make debhelper

debconf libstdc++5 dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r)

wget -c --no-check-certificate https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/

674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/ati-driver-installer-8-4-
x86.x86_64.run

sudo sh ati-driver-installer-8-4-x86.x86_64.run --buildpkg

Ubuntu --autopkg

gksu gedit /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common

3.3. Add "fglrx" to the line "DISABLED_MODULES" File: /etc/default/

linux-restricted-modules-common

DISABLED_MODULES="fglrx"

3.4. Install the new fglrx debs

sudo dpkg -i --force-overwrite xorg-driver-fglrx_8.476*.deb

fglrx-kernel-source_8.476-0*.deb fglrx-amdcccle_8.476-0*.deb

sudo apt-get install -f

3.5. Configure the driver:

Note: Before you carry out this step you must reboot your
machine ( sudo shutdown -hr now ) Or else the fglrx driver will not
be in use on xorg.conf and using the aticonfig options will cause a
memory dump and not intialise the Driver properly.

sudo aticonfig --initial

sudo aticonfig --overlay-type=Xv

Note: If configuring the driver fails, go to Step 3.9, and use my

xorg.conf file

3.6. 3D desktop effects (Compiz Fusion)

sudo apt-get install git git-core compiz-dev compizconfig-

settings-manager emerald fusion-icon

Go to System > Preferences > Sessions and add "fusion-icon" to the

Startup

3.7. Restart again (sudo shutdown -hr now); CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE

wont work correctly!

3.8. Verifying

fglrxinfo

display: :0.0 screen: 0

OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.

OpenGL renderer string: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600

OpenGL version string: 2.1.7415 Release

glxinfo | grep direct

direct rendering: Yes

3.9. Here's my /etc/X11/xorg.conf file > my.xorg.conf

If you get errors concerning "LibGL.so.1", or if OpenGL games fail to

start, then the application is searching for libGL in the wrong place.
You can create a symbolic link to libGL by running this command:

sudo ln -sf /usr/lib/libGL.so.1.2 /usr/lib/libGL.so.1

sudo ln -sf /usr/lib32/libGL.so.1.2 /usr/lib32/libGL.so.1

Note: See http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/

Ubuntu_Hardy_Installation_Guide for more info if needed!

Note: Use ATI Catalyst Control Center > Applications >

Accessories > to change any of this mods(such as clone, single,
big desktop) or to change screen resolution or to disable/enable
monitors.

Also see this guide that concerns video playback issues with
Compiz Fusion : http://wiki.compiz-fusion.org/VideoPlayback

4. radeonhd (Open Source)

You can choose between the stable version (only available in 8.04)
from the official repository or the latest (unstable) version from a
PPA repository.

8.04 from official repository (stable version)

a. Make sure you have not installed the fglrx (ATI proprietary) driver
(check under System -> Administration -> Hardware Drivers).

b. Open a terminal and install the radeonhd driver:

sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd

c. The driver is not automatically selected by the xorg server. Then,

edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf and change the line

Driver "ati"

with

Driver "radeonhd"

d. Reboot. You are now using the open source radeonhd driver.

8.04 from unsupported PPA repository (latest version)

The backported version for 8.04 can be found at: https://
launchpad.net/~tormodvolden/+archive

Installation is simple:

a. Make sure you have not installed the fglrx (ATI proprietary) driver
(check under System -> Administration -> Hardware Drivers).

b. Open System -> Administration -> Software sources. Go to

"Third Party Software" tab click Add and add one of these line:

For 8.04:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/tormodvolden/ubuntu hardy main

and enable it.

c. Open a terminal and install the radeonhd driver:

sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd

Make sure you are installing version 1.2.1 or later and not the 1.1.0
(8.04) version found in the official repository. Else redo step 2.

d. You can now disable the repositories enabled in step 2 if you

don't want any more updates from that repositories.

e. The driver is not automatically selected by the xorg server. Then,

edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf and change the line

Driver "vesa"

with

Driver "radeonhd"
Option "AccelMethod" "ShadowFB"

Note that currently the ShadowFB AccelMethod is recommended

over XAA (the default from 1.2.0) and EXA, which are also supported
but are a lot slower in current code.

f. Reboot. You are now using the open source radeonhd driver.

Screen Colors

MacBook Pros can use a program called xcalib to emulate the screen
coloring calibration of OS X. This isn't available in the Ubuntu
repositories, so you'll have to download it and compile it.
sudo apt-get install libxxf86vm-dev libxext-dev
wget -c http://www.etg.e-technik.uni-erlangen.de/web/doe/xcalib/
xcalib-source-0.8.tar.gz
tar -zxvf xcalib-source-0.8.tar.gz
cd xcalib-0.8/
make xcalib
sudo mv xcalib /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/xcalib

sudo mount -t hfsplus /dev/sda2 /mnt

#(this mounts the mac partition [/dev/sda2] on /mnt)

sudo cp /mnt/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays/* /usr/local/

etc

Then, do an "ls /usr/local/etc" and note the name of the profile (for
the next step).

Finally, add the following line to the end of either /etc/gdm/Init/

Default (for standard Ubuntu/Gnome) or /etc/kde3/kdm/Xsetup (for
Kubuntu/KDE), before the final "exit" statement:

/usr/local/bin/xcalib "/usr/local/etc/<insert name of profile

here>"

Restart X (Ctrl-Alt-Backspace) and your Mac OS X color profile will

load as X starts.

Sound / Audio & Microphone

1. Double click on the Volume icon (it opens Volume Control), Select
Edit > Preferences > enable Master, PCM, Front, Surround, Capture,
Capture 1, Input Source, Mux, and Mux 1.

2. In Playback TAB -> Increase the volume to 100% and unmute

(Master, PCM , Front, Surround).

3. In Recording TAB -> Unmute all and set 'Capture' and 'Capture 1'
Volume to 95% and 'Mux' and 'Mux 1' to 50% of volume(higher
results on static)

4. In Options TAB -> Set Input Source as: 'Mic'

5. Right-click on the volume applet and choose Preferences. Select

"PCM" as the device to control.

6. Open the Sound preferences (System-Preferences-Sound in

GNOME). Select "PCM" as the device to control.

Wireless

The MacBook Pro uses an Atheros wireless chipset that is not

compatible with the current stable MadWifi driver. However, the
prerelease version of the driver is compatible, but is unstable in
some cases. With proper installation and some modifications, it is
adequate for everyday use. However, the Atheros HAL is binary and
is not considered open-source software.

To install the prerelease MadWifi drivers, you can chooose to use

daily snapshots or Subversion.

Using Subversion (be patient with the checkout, it may take a while):

sudo apt-get install build-essential subversion automake

autoconf
svn co http://svn.madwifi.org/madwifi/trunk madwifi
cd madwifi
make
sudo make install
sudo sed -i~ 's/^exit 0/modprobe ath_pci\nexit 0/' /etc/rc.local
sudo sed -i~ 's/^exit 0/modprobe wlan_scan_sta\nexit 0/' /etc/
rc.local
sudo sed -i~ 's/^exit 0/iwpriv ath0 bgscan 0\nexit 0/' /etc/
rc.local

At this point the driver is installed and should work and the internal
wifi will be enabled after reboot. Alternatively, you can skip the
reboot and use these commands to insert the driver into the
running kernel:

sudo modprobe ath_pci

sudo modprobe wlan_scan_sta
sudo iwpriv ath0 bgscan 0

Finally, the MadWifi driver will prevent you from resuming after
suspend-to-ram. To fix this, edit /etc/default/acpi-support and
add the ath_pci driver to the MODULES variable, like so:
# ...
MODULES="ath_pci"

# ...

Temperatures & Fan Speed

Hard Disk Temperature

sudo apt-get install hddtemp

Select 'Yes', then 'OK', and 'OK' again.

CPUs Temperature

add this to /etc/rc.local :

modprobe coretemp
sensors -s
To install lm-sensors and sensors-applet type in terminal :

sudo apt-get install lm-sensors sensors-applet

Right Click in the main panel menu and 'Add to Panel...' the
'Hardware Sensors Monitor', then right click on Hardware Sensors
Monitor applet and go to 'Preferences' > 'Sensors' and Enable >
'hddtemp' > '/dev/sda', and also Disable > 'libsensors' > temp2 to
temp11 .

Manual Fan Speed Control

It is not recommended to set the fan speed manually, because the

Linux kernel automatically adjusts the fan speed proportionally to
the CPU temperature. If you really need to set it manually, this is the
method to use. This method does not carry over through a reboot,
so rebooting the computer reverts the fans to automatic speed.

This assumes you have already installed applesmc.

sudo modprobe applesmc

echo applesmc | sudo tee -a /etc/modules

Copy the files to your home dir: fan_speed1 , fan_speed2 ,

fan_speed3

And to execute: gksu bash ~/fan_speed1 (...2 or 3)

To see the fan speed, Enable 'Left Side' and 'Right Side' in the
Sensors Applet Preferences.

This way, you have three different configurations of fan speeds to

use for different activities. It is recommended to set the fans to a
minimum of 3500RPM (fan_speed1). When you are doing CPU-
intensive activities, set the fans to 4000RPM (fan_speed2) or even
5000RPM (fan_speed3).

Reducing Power Consumption

PowerTOP is a program that monitors a Linux system and gives

suggestions on reducing power consumption. To install PowerTOP,
enter this command in a terminal (there is also an updated version
on UbuntuBackports):

sudo apt-get install powertop

PowerTOP should be run as root to have detailed informations, so

use the following command to run it:

sudo powertop

Keyboard Fixes
The MacBook Pro Keyboard doesn't have a Alt GR / Right Alt key, so
there is no way to type Third Level Keys, such as "@" and "[" (these
vary from country to country). Here is a solution:

Go to System > Preferences > Keyboard. On the Layout Options tab,

select "Third Level Choosers" and check "Press Enter key on keypad
to choose 3rd level".

Now you can use the Left Enter key (on the MacBook Pro keyboard)
as a Alt Gr Key to access these Third Level Keys.

Alternative: Select form System > Settings > Keyboard > Layout
> Model "MacBook Pro" and function keys should work. Also,
buttons F11 and F12 simulate 2nd and 3rd mouse buttons. Left
Enter simulates Alt Gr button.

Right / Middle Clicking

Go to System > Preferences > Keyboard > Accessibility tab >

General - and enable "Allow to turn accessibility features on and off
from the keyboard"

Go to System > Preferences > Keyboard > Mouse Keys tab > and
enable "Allow to control the pointer using the keyboard"
Create a text file as ~/.xmodmap containing the following text
(Note: This sets Right Apple key as Right mouse click and Left Enter
Key as Alt Gr key)

keycode 116 = Pointer_Button3

keycode 108 = ISO_Level3_Shift

Add a call to xmodmap to your startup applications (System >

Preferences > Sessions) [example]:

xmodmap /home/fuz2y/.xmodmap

Restart X (Ctrl+Alt+Backspace) for the changes to take effect, and

load the xmodmap.

You can use xev in order to see the keycodes associated with each
key.

Alternative: Select form System > Settings > Keyboard > Layout
> Model "MacBook Pro" and function keys should work. Also,
buttons F11 and F12 simulate 2nd and 3rd mouse buttons. Left
Enter simulates Alt Gr button.

Function Keys
Pommed is a daemon to support extra keys on apple computers.
These include the brightness, eject, volume and others. Releases of
Pommed 1.8 or up fully support the MacBook and MacBook Pro
keyboards. It can be installed with this command:

sudo apt-get install pommed

You can check your pommed version number with this command:

pommed -v

The default behavior on Apple keyboards is to have the top row keys
primarily function as media keys (brightness, volume, etc), and have
the expected function keys (F1, F2, etc) accessible with using the fn
keys.

To reverse this behavior, edit the pommed configuration file with

this command:

sudo gedit /etc/pommed.conf

Change the value of fnmode to "2", and save. At any time, you can
change this value back to "1" to return to the default behavior.

Touchpad Fixes

Edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf and replace :

Sections "InputDevice"

• Identifiers "Synaptics Touchpad"

 • ..
• ..
EndSection

With :

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Synaptics Touchpad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "LeftEdge" "10"
Option "RightEdge" "1200"
Option "TopEdge" "10"
Option "BottomEdge" "370"
Option "FingerLow" "10"
Option "FingerHigh" "20"
Option "MaxTapTime" "180"
Option "MaxTapMove" "220"
Option "SingleTapTimeout" "100"
Option "MaxDoubleTapTime" "180"
Option "LockedDrags" "off"
Option "MinSpeed" "1.10"
Option "MaxSpeed" "1.30"
Option "AccelFactor" "0.08"
Option "TapButton1" "1"
Option "TapButton2" "3"
Option "TapButton3" "2"
Option "RTCornerButton" "0"
 Option "RBCornerButton" "0"
Option "LTCornerButton" "0"
Option "LBCornerButton" "0"
Option "VertScrollDelta" "20"
Option "HorizScrollDelta" "50"
Option "HorizEdgeScroll" "0"
Option "VertEdgeScroll" "0"
Option "VertTwoFingerScroll" "1"
Option "HorizTwoFingerScroll" "1"
Option "SHMConfig" "on"
EndSection

To disable the touchpad while typing, configure syndaemon to

startup when you login. To make syndaemon start up by default
each time you login, add it to the list of Startup Programs in System
> Preferences >Sessions. Add the following command:

syndaemon -t -d

Log out and back in to see the changes.

WebCam ( iSight )

The internal iSight now requires firmware from the

AppleUSBVideoSupport (found in OSX) file to be loaded in userspace.
A let of tools has been developed to accomplish this. A HOW-TO has
been posted here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?
t=764616
Access OS X, Windows Partition &
Network Shares

To do so edit /etc/fstab , here's what you need to add :

#...
################################################################
###########
## Macintosh
##############################################################

/dev/sda2 /media/Macintosh hfsplus rw,exec,auto,users 0 0

################################################################
###########
## Windows
################################################################

/dev/sda3 /media/Windows ntfs defaults,uid=1000 0 0

Then do the following in terminal:

sudo gedit /etc/nsswitch.conf (change the line "hosts: file

dns ..." to "file dns wins ...")
sudo aptitude install winbind samba smbfs

sudo mkdir /media/Macintosh

sudo chmod 755 /media/Macintosh

sudo mkdir /media/Windows

sudo chmod 755 /media/Windows

And to apply:

sudo umount -a

sudo mount -a

Allow Writing to HFS+ (OS X) Partitions

The hfsplus drivers for Ubuntu cannot handle journaling, and thus
can't write to HFS+ partitions with journals, though they can still be
read. To allow writing, journaling must be disabled in OS X.
However, please note that this may increase the risk of filesystem
corruption, even in OS X itself. To disable journaling, use diskutil in
a terminal in OS X (this can also be done with the installation
media), replacing / for the desired volume if applicable:
sudo /usr/sbin/diskutil disableJournal /

With this change, the partition will be writable in Ubuntu, and will
automatically be mounted to allow writing. However, if the drivers
detect any filesystem corruption, writing will be disabled. This can
be remedied by either booting into OS X, which will attempt to
repair the damage, or (in hardy) running fsck.hfsplus, found in the
hfsprogs package in universe.

Apple Remote Control

Apple's Remote Control is working by default in Ubuntu 8.04, but

only allows you to control the Volume. So here's the tweaks to get it
working on with other applications:

sudo apt-get install inputlirc lirc lirc-x

At the prompt select apple's mac mini ir.

And edit /etc/rc.local and add:

/etc/init.d/inputlirc start
/etc/init.d/inputlirc restart

Then go to > System > Preferences > Sessions , and add the
following to the Startup list by this order:
/usr/bin/irexec $HOME/.lircrc
/usr/bin/irxevent $HOME/.lircrc

Note: $HOME = your home directory. Must be written out, e.g. /

home/janedoe

To make it work on the startup you have to change the file access
mode so that the user can run it, but it still executes in root mode:

sudo chmod +s /usr/bin/irexec

sudo chmod +s /usr/bin/irxevent

Then to create the .lircrc file in your home dir do this:

gedit ~/.lircrc

Here's my lircrc_file , select all and copy to ~/.lircrc

Reboot for it to work!

sudo shutdown -hr now

Apple Wireless Keyboard

• Reboot your system

 •
Right the bluetooth icon in the menu bar
•
Select preferences
•
Goto the service tab
•
Check "input service"
•
Click on "Add"
•
Select the bluetooth keyboard that should appear
•
Click on connect
•
A balloon should appear asking for a PIN: enter whatever you
want (0000 works just fine) and validate
• On the bluetooth keyboard type the same PIN and press enter
• You should now be able to use your keyboard

Desktop Tweaks

Fonts like Mac OS X

By default, Ubuntu uses a style of font rendering different than that

used on Mac OS X. You may prefer fonts similar to those on Mac OS
X, and you can have these on Ubuntu by doing the following:

1. Open the Appearance preference panel (System-Preferences-

Appearance)

2. Click Fonts, and click on Details..., on Hinting select the "Slight"

option.
Troubleshooting

Bootsplash fix
I experienced a blank screen during booting and shutdown (with a
C2Duo-15"-MBP).

After searching the web and messing around with the vga=XXX
kernel parameter without success, I found the following procedure
to help:

Edit file

/etc/usplash.conf

and replace the resolution there with your display's actual resolution
(for the 15" this is 1440 by 900)

It should look like {{{xres=1440 yres=900 }}}

After editing, enter

sudo update-initramfs -u -k `uname -r`

Happy Booting!

Battery state not working

I had a problem with the acpi value of my battery.

It was due to a hardware problem.

To solve it :

• Shut down your Computer

• Disconnect the AC Adapter
• Remove the computer's battery
• Press the power button for 5 seconds
• Insert the battery and reconnect the AC Adapter
• Turn your computer on