Revision of MacBook from Sat, 04/25/2015 - 15:48

Wait, what?

Even though Apple is one of the least free-software-friendly companies out there, some old versions of the MacBook laptop can, ironically, be freer than most other notebooks on the market. While it is strongly discouraged that you financially support Apple's proprietary lock-in and walled garden policies, this guide can be useful if you already have this notebook or if you buy a used one.

The MacBook can be made freer than most because versions 1,1 and 2,1 of Apple's MacBook employ the same i945 chipset used in ThinkPad notebooks, which means the MacBook is one of the few computers on which the free BIOS replacement Libreboot can run.

Flashing Libreboot on a MacBook

Libreboot's website explains in depth how to flash the Libreboot BIOS on a MacBook. Before installing Libreboot, you will need to replace OS X with Trisquel.

If flashing a BIOS is too daunting for you, keep an eye for installfests or free software events such as Libre Planet, where experts will gladly do it for you.

Performance

So far, only documentation for the 2,1 model has surfaced. According to a Trisquel Forum blog post and an h-node entry, the performance for a MacBook 2,1 running libreboot and Trisquel 7 has the following characteristics:

• WiFi and ethernet: works
• Video card: works
• DVD drive: works
• Infrared remote: works
• Touchpad: mostly works, but three-finger tapping doesn't work. You need at least kernel version 3.15 for the touchpad to be pleasant to use. For previous kernels, see a Xorg configuration to make it more usable.
• Webcam (iSight): does not work, as it requires a non-free firmware blob
• Battery: lasts only a couple of hours compared to the 6+ hours from a libreboot x60s bought from Gluglug
• Heat: it runs quite hot, but not as hot as it used to be on earlier versions of libreboot. The fan is also somewhat loud; maybe this can be fixed a bit by using an energy management program like PowerTOP
• Speakers: significantly better in comparison to ThinkPad x60s
• Hardware acceleration: 2D works; 3D probably not (3D Unity, for example, causes many problems). HTML5 and HD videos can be played seamlessly, but newer games requiring 3D probably won't work
• Screen brightness: on low screen brightness part of the screen is darker than the other parts.

• Note: it seems that libreboot has problems turning the laptop on. If you release the power button too early or too late, you're greeted with a constant spam of text "--MORE--Unknown key 0xff detected". When this happens, turn the computer off from the power switch and then try booting again.

• Note 2: The macbook has an unusual keyboard, so there ca be difficulty typing special characters. To fix that, you can run sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration and remap your keyboard.