Archives for April, 2009

5
Apr
Posted by Derek@TheDailyLinux » 3 Comments »

Fedora 11 Beta on MacBook Aluminum 5,1

UPDATE 05/09 (2) – I just installed Fedora 11 on my MacBook. I’ve also created another post which will deal with taming this beast. Please refer to it here: http://www.derekhildreth.com/blog/fedora-11-leonidas-on-macbook-aluminum-51-guide/.

UPDATE 05/09 – It’s the big day today. Fedora 11 was just released to the public. I’m in the process of downloading it and soon I’ll be able to update the steps that I’ve taken to get it working on my MacBook. I hope this will be of help to somebody.

UPDATE 05/07 – So, I’ve updated a few things and I was able to use RPMFusion’s repo to install the wireless and video card drivers. Unfortunately, the one last system update I ran totally destroyed my Fedora installation. I’ll just be waiting for the big release day.

UPDATE 04/22 – Nothing new to see here. I’ve tried to install the wireless and video card drivers using RPMFusion’s repo, and I keep getting these dependency errors. I’ll try again when the Release Candidate comes out.

The purpose of this post is to 1.) provide an update from the last time I posted on the progress made with Fedora on a MacBook Aluminum and 2.) serve as documentation while I fiddle with this and that trying to get everything to work. Things will change around here, so check back as you get the chance!

As of now, I’m tying this from my Fedora 11 Beta installation on my MacBook via Ethernet. Here’s what seems to work right from the box:

  1. Ethernet Port
  2. Graphics (Thanks to nouveau.)
  3. Volume keys bring up the volume notification, but no sound.
  4. USB Ports (Why wouldn’t they?)
  5. CD-ROM Drive (Eject button works too!)
  6. Web Cam (Needs color calibration badly)

Things that aren’t working:

  1. Trackpad (Worked on the LiveCD)
  2. Function keys (backlight, etc)
  3. Sound from Speakers
  4. Sound from Headphone Jack
  5. Wireless
  6. Desktop Graphics
  7. System Restart (you’ll just get a black screen if you try, but hey, no beeping this time!)
  8. Battery Status (GNOME Power Management thinks it’s a dead battery)

Gripes:

  1. Keyboard keymap is strange.
  2. Full screen flash is still unusable with Nouveau drivers. (Haven’t tried Nvidia drivers yet)
  3. Seems to me that the MacBook is running hot.
  4. Fonts seemed stretched vertically.
  5. Battery life isn’t as good as in Mac OSX.

So, for right now, I’m going to use my old guide as far as I can and then report back here with what works. Check back if you’d like, because this post is going to be updated as I get things working.