Installing Ubuntu 11.10 on MacBook 5,1 + Tweaks to run it smoother

Previously I had Ubuntu 11.x installed in my MacBook 5,1. However, after I upgraded it to 11.4 (Natty Narwhal) a problem occurred. My Ubuntu didn't boot-up anymore. I googled around and it seemed that 11.4 has problem with video driver that my MacBook uses.
Long story short, I re-installed my whole Ubuntu partition.
Here are some steps of how to do it.

1. If you're triple booting, make sure to have Refit installed. (This is some sort of BIOS emulation for Mac fancy new technology?) But if you're just dual booting, bootcamp is sufficient.
2. If you're planning to install Windows as well, I would recommend to install the windows first before installing the Ubuntu (a lot of people suggest this). Install the Windows using bootcamp as usual.
3. Now to install Ubuntu, burn the image to a cd/dvd, put it inside the disc reader, then reboot your mac. After you hear the boot-indicator beeping sound (before the apple logo), immediately press and hold 'c' (c stands for cd I guess?) This will let your MacBook boots from the Ubuntu image.
4. Make sure NOT to partition your hard-disk from Ubuntu installer! My friend OSX partition was gone because of this. Just to be safe, always partition using DiskUtility.
5. When prompted for swap file during the Ubuntu installation, just ignore it. We don't need it.

6. Now just follow all the installation step prompted and you'll be good to go! :)


Here are several tricks to make Ubuntu 11.10 run smoother. These tricks originally came from different resources I found in Google. I want to share these as they are really helpful. (Thanks to all the original sources)

Wireless card problem:
In some MacBook version, the wifi doesn't work out of the box. To fix this, go to 'additional driver' under the application menu. Look for broadcom adapter then install.

Sluggish graphics:
Again, in some MacBook version, the NVDIA graphic card isn't appropriately configured out of the box. So go to 'additional driver' then try to install one of the listed NVDIA drivers. Some might not allow hibernate, some might not fix the sluggish-ness of your graphics, some might not do both, but some might fix everything! Try one that works for you. If nothing works, try going to NVDIA official site and download their latest driver.


Keyboard shortcut brightness doesn't work:
This one is pretty irritating, but I found the solution to be quite simple.
Edit the text file /etc/X11/xorg.conf (need root access)
In the "Device" section, add up this line:

Option "RegistryDwords" "EnableBrightnessControl=1"

Now save the file, reboot your Ubuntu, and you're keyboard is good to go!

Trackpad "gets in the way" when typing:
Sometimes when you're typing, you accidentally touch the trackpad so the field where you're typing loses the focus. This is due to your hand accidentally touching the trackpad that's really sensitive. (From this I realized how great Apple drivers are!) 
To fix this, install "Pointing devices" from Ubuntu Software Center. Run this program like running ordinary application. There is a really cool tweak to your trackpad, "Detect Palm". Basically this detects the "accidental" touch that happens when you're typing. For me, after installing this, the trackpad doesn't really "get in the way" anymore. (sometimes they still do, but not that often)

Disabling trackpad via terminal
Okay if you don't want to go into all the hassle of downloading additional software just to enable/disable trackpad or any other input device, here is how you do it using terminal.
'xinput list' -> this gives the list of input devices available.
'xinput set-prop [id] "Device Enabled" [1/0] -> to disable/enable the input device.
Just in case you have your trackpad disabled and forget to bring mouse, hit ctrl+alt+t to open terminal and type in the magic keywords above to enable your trackpad. Or maybe aliasing is better!

Okay so those are the tips so far. I'll be updating this if I found new fancy tricks. So far I'm loving my new Ubuntu 11.10!

Have fun with your Ubuntu!