Ubuntu 18.04.4 on older Apple hardware

[Niels Dettenbach]

Am Dienstag, 7. April 2020, 02:51:03 CEST schrieb James Linder:
> I’ve got a new MBP which does not play at all nicely with linux (no
> trackpad, keyboard, network I did not even try bluetooth. 
hmm,
i use Linux natively on MBPs since long time and it is a bit usual that on 
very new MBP models few things does not work "out of the box", but at least 
with some manual modifications within kernel or driver builds / config. So it 
taked me usually few days to get anything up what i need and/or want with 
such "Fresh" MBPs. Sometimes hardware "IDs" have to be added to kernel source 
by hand and some patches are around too for different purposes, efi workarounds 
for switching graphic adapters etc.. For audio, i had to test around with 
different module parameters of the driver.

Because i personally prefer (beside *BSDs) source build distributions like 
Gentoo ("bit BSDish") on my workstations it is bit easier to adapt such 
things.

But it might overwhelm lesss killed users who expect a simple installer 
process or "auto recognition" who did that all (for people familiar with 
NetBSD less the case i assume ß)..

Due to the high amount of natively (bare metal) Linux users on MPB things 
usually get "working" after a while in the main distributions. But for exotic 
features like the touchbar i have no overview if there is any solution (but 
thats no real limitation in my view)..

From what i know, the newer keyboards as trackpads are supported in newer 5er 
kernels.

If you use binary distributions with binary packages only this might not work 
well for such very new models, but few monthes later things usually change 
even there.

I have a MacBookPro11,5 here which works completely since 2016 (incl. 
thunderbolt, almost all audio stuff, cam, bluetooth, trackpad which was to 
fiddle with initially after MPB release). Except Thunderbolt networking seems 
not working hot plug.

For netbSD (natievly) older MBPs are usually much more suitable or even the 
only change to get it running "wide enough".


just my .02$
good luck,


niels.

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 Niels Dettenbach
 Syndicat IT & Internet
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