Triple Boot on MacBooks Working

MikeTheMan writes "By now, everyone probably heard that Apple's recently-released Boot Camp software allows users to install Windows XP alongside OS X. But now, people at OnMac.net have discovered how to triple-boot OS X, Windows XP, and Linux. There are instructions on the Wiki for getting Gentoo running, but it is probably trivial to get other distros working as well."

Why boot linux here?

[arexu]

I'm a linux noob, but i'm not clear why you'd WANT to boot Linux in this case, other than maybe if you are a multi-OS admin.

Re:Why boot linux here?

[peragrin]

some people just don't like OS X or Aqua. To each their own. I personally prefer it. It is well integrated. Finder kinda of sucks, but hey nothing's perfect. At least it's better than windows. and keeps KDE on it's toes. Now if i was running non mac hardware then it's Linux and KDE.

With Apple now shipping x86 computers people are starting to realize that yea Apple hardware really is higher than average PC quality. Apple x86 machines are jumping to the top of the list for performance vs price. Something that Apple Fanatics have been saying for years but no one really believed them.

OS X... why Linux

[DiscoNick]

Why would one bother using Linux if OS X offers all the features (well ok, most) of Linux, and the only feature Windows has -- some games (WoW anyone?). I've finally made the switch to Ubuntu on my work PC, but would be just as productive in the OS X environment w/o the need to ditch Aqua. Besides, XOrg can easily be installed in OS X...

WoW Mod:Speed up World of Warcraft Load Times! [filenuts.com]

Perfect opportunity for NetBSD.

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a perfect opportunity for the NetBSD crowd. They're experts at creating an OS that runs very well on very specific machinery. With some effort and direction, they could produce the premiere alternative UNIX for these Mac systems.

We haven't seen a comparably standardized system since the SGI Indy, and that was over a decade ago. This time around the system is far more affordable, too. It'll lower the participation barrier for your average Joe and Jill Developer.

This might be a silly question, but...

[TooMuchEspressoGuy]

...why might one need to triple-boot three OS's?

I'm not trying to flame or anything, but it seems like you can get pretty much anything you want out of simply dual-booting OSX and Windows without throwing Linux or BSD into the batch.

Re:MacIntel - CHRP?

[rhesuspieces00]

Thats not bad, but virtualization is coming and that will be better.

Imagine, instead, an 8-core Mac, possibly with a handful of drives attached, running OS X as its primary OS, with some subset of {Win98, Win2000, WinNT, WinXP, Linux (your choice of distribution), *BSD, etc.}, simultaneously each in a window of its own. Ideally, you could even virtualize another layer of OS X as a testing sandbox. If any OS goes down, you kill the process and load from some previously saved memory state. Screw rebooting.

"Get it Working"

[BoRegardless]

For life to get easier, we get OUR tools RIGHT for the job and "Get it Working", meaning efficiently.

Lots of different work is out there for different people.

For me, Boot Camp simply means efficient work with one fewer laptops being paid for, maintained & carried around, while still being able to run at virtually native hardware speed...no more, no less.

End of Subject.

Re:This might be a silly question, but...

[teslar]

Oh, and cross-platform developpers will naturally be happy. One machine, 3 systems.

Re:What a waste of money

[crossmr]

I'd like to see laptops have an "MP3" player feature. Where you slap it in your shoulderbag or backpack and plug in your headphones. A certain directory on the harddrive will be designated the "mp3 file storage" directory and there will be a set of basic external controls on the side of the laptop, say play, next, back, stop, shuffle.
The laptop battery will provide power to the hard drive to spin and to operate the head phones. It would be an awesome use for the person on the go who doesn't want to go gadget crazy.
 

Re:MacIntel - CHRP?

[Florian]

Such a computer would exist outside of Operating Systems - it could and would run anything.

You must have got something wrong. CHRP simply was a specification for an open standard PowerPC hardware platform, just as the IBM PC is an open standard for x86-based hardware.

Re:Why boot linux here?

[peragrin]

Um I only bought my first Mac with in the last year. I had been switching myself out of windows hell and into Linux for years, so the switch wasn't all that hard. When my last to machines(a custom built athlon and a dell) both died I decided to stop wasting money trying to cobble to together random hardware and let the experts do it for me. As I said I tried Dell but the only thing they have going for them is price. frankly one dell machine my roommate is afraid to reboot(and hence patch) it. it only boots about 10 percent of the time. Others broke down after just a year, or came DOA.

If a package feels better physically then there is a good chance the rest of it isn't bad either. Apple spends more on quality packaging limiting damage to shipping. That doesn't mean there has never been a DOA or bad a Mac. But the percentage is a hell of a lot lower than Dell's. A fact that has been shown numerous times. it's not about making a perfect product it's about making the best one you can not just the cheapest like HP and Dell do.

Re:FAT32?

[Benzido]

That latin phrase you keep saying - I do not think it means what you think it means.

Re:Why boot linux here?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you have no experience of developing on a Mac, why do you feel the need to comment on it?

HW not better, HW+SW better, that colors percept.

[AHumbleOpinion]

With Apple now shipping x86 computers people are starting to realize that yea Apple hardware really is higher than average PC quality.

Actually that is a misperception due to the fact that Apple hardware + Apple software has fewer problems. With a limitted number of video, audio, ethernet, etc chipsets to support it is far easier to offer a more reliable system. The overall reliability colors the perception of the hardware. When you pop open a Dell you find a rather well designed and assembled system, comparable to what I find inside Mac towers. I've seen/owned enough Apple lemons over the years, seen/had enough bad components in Macs, and see Apple currently shipping some poorly designed but stylish components right now. Would I hesitate to buy yet another Mac? Nope. Neither would I hesitate to buy yet another Dell. Now a local whitebox PC, I'll pass, I would rather by best-of-breed components myself and do a homebuilt system. I wouldn't really save money or get better quality, but I would have a little fun and have made absolutely no compromises with respect to components.

If you would like to say Apple hardware is more stylish then I would agree.

Re:FAT32?

[WhiteWolf666]

There's no non-Windows write support for NTFS, barring captive NTFS (which uses Window's DLL) and the latest linux NTFS driver, which does NOT support changing file sizes or creating new files (frankly it barely qualifies as write support).

NTFS is a moving target. Reading is not a big problem, since it won't corrupt the disk. Writing to the disk is very difficult.

Don't blame Apple, blame Microsoft. HFSplus is properly documents, NTFS is not. .....

Look at it this way; you say that NTFS support is limited on OS X? Well, what about HFS+ support in Windows? Right; it doesn't exist.

Re:OS X... why Linux

[The Hobo]

Why don't you use a real sig instead of comment spamming? There's a reason they're optional.

Re:Why boot linux here?

[dave1212]

If you have no experience of developing on a Mac, why do you feel the need to comment on it?

I don't know if the gp has experience on Macs, but this has been a problem for many years, and I don't see it going away. People will make comments on things they know nothing about any chance they get, either to spread FUD, or simply because they like the sound of their own voice (or text equivalent). Hence entire companies will believe whatever their clueless IT dept tells them when it comes to Macs.

Re:MacIntel - CHRP?

[rob_squared]

just as the IBM PC is an open standard for x86-based hardware.

If by open you mean, "Dammit! They found out how to reverse engineer the BIOS," then no, they're not similiar.

Re:What a waste of money

[Geoffreyerffoeg]

And why exactly did you format your Windows partition as NTFS and not FAT?

Are you seriously asking this in 2006? Wow.

Yes, I am seriously asking this in 2006. I know that FAT is a sucky file system, but at least it can be read by Mac OS X. Maybe in 2010 when there's a reliable Free driver for NTFS, I won't ask this. I'm not suggesting you install the operating system and applications on FAT; I'm just suggesting you map your home folder, in Windows and in Mac OS, to something on a FAT partition.

Do you have a USB stick? It's formatted FAT, not NTFS, right?

What about a CD-RW? Can you even put NTFS on a CD-RW?

So what's the harm in FAT for documents? Just set up 3 partitions.

Re:This might be a silly question, but...

[Nasarius]

Some people (*raises hand*) aren't big fans of either OS X or Windows, but want/need some apps on both. I'm much more productive and happy in KDE than in either MacOS or Windows. I'm really considering buying a new Mac, using Linux or FreeBSD for my serious work, MacOS for GarageBand and other stuff, and Windows for development and maybe games. It's a dream come true.

My only concern is that, last I heard, there are still no AirPort Express drivers for Linux/BSD, due to legal threats from Broadcom.