MacBook1,1 and Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)

This page aims to describe the steps needed, to fully enable all features of the 1st Generation MacBook (release date: early 2006) when using Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, Lucid Lynx.

You can find out, what model you have by typing at the terminal:

sudo dmidecode -s system-product-name

• If you have a different model, please go here and find the right wiki.

Overview

Anything not mentioned here probably already works out of the box. If not, please refer to the Ubuntu Apple Users forum.

• Feature	Support status
  Sound
  Suspend & Hibernate
  Desktop Effects (Compiz)
  HFS+
  Keyboard functions (Brightness,volume,...)
  CD/DVD Writing
  Bluetooth
  External Monitor
  Wireless (AirPort)
  iSight
  Touchpad (appletouch)
  Mic
  Apple USB 56K Modem
  Apple Remote Control
  Firewire

(works out-of-the-box)
(works, with remarks)
(needs manual install)
(won't work)
(not yet documented)

Basic Installation Instructions

Common things about installing and maintaining Ubuntu on Intel-based Macs: Intel CPU-based Macintosh Generic Installation Instructions

Sound

You must use alsamixer to unmute "Speaker 1" for headphones to work. It also changes the way the built-in speakers sound.

What's you'll need to do is run Terminal, type alsamixer and press Enter. Navigate to "Speaker 1" with the arrow keys and press 'M' when it is highlighted. Then just press Esc and it'll work.

Keyboard

You should install pommed, then read about whether you would like it to be used in mode 0, 1, or 2 and how to configure this mode.

To enable Alt Gr/Right Alt, you'll need to modify the keyboard preferences as follows: select the "Layouts" tab and click on "Options". Expand "Key to choose 3rd level" and check "Enter on keypad". This will change the little Enter key next to the Right Option key into Alt Gr, which layout-wise is just how it needs to be! Additionally, you'll need to change the keyboard layout to "Apple laptop" because the "MacBook..." presets erroneously interpret Alt Gr+7 into "|" instead of "{".

Touchpad

Select the "Touchpad" tab from the mouse preferences window and enable "Two-finger scrolling". This will prevent the cursor from jumping when you place two fingers on the touchpad, and is thus useful for simulated right-clicking. You'll probably want to "Enable horizontal scrolling", too.

The "two fingers on pad while clicking the button" way of simulating the right click doesn't work very well on Ubuntu, though. In an environment that allows scrolling, such as a web page, the cursor has a tendency of jumping up:

When you move the cursor down and quickly right-click on e.g. a link (two fingers on pad and normal click), you'll probably find that your fingers immediately move back up the pad slightly before clickdown. This is because it's natural for a human being to have their fingers up the pad when they press the button down with their thumb. This will result in right-clicking the wrong spot. What's worth noticing is that the fingers return back to the top of the pad with only light pressure. Thus, the cause of the erroneous behaviour is presumably Ubuntu's inaccurate pressure detection of the Apple Touchpad. On Mac OS X the light pressure described above would never surpass the scrolling threshold.

Most Mac-users still have the Ctrl-click reflex, though, so setting that should provide a bearable workaround for the time being.

iSight

Follow AppleiSight.

CategoryMac