Apple Intel Hardware - Dedicated Forum?

[pauljwells]

There is some confusion about where to post questions/advice for the new Apple Intel machines.

Form the Devs' point of view they are just another x86 build, but from the users' point of view they are first and foremost, Apple machines, and so most posts end up in the Apple/ppc section.

Apple producs are very popular, and there will be a lot of very similar, very nice hardware around that will have a big user base and a lot of people can get a lot of value from a single forum. Wthin a year or so there will probably be just as many macbook owners using ubuntu as all the ppc users combined.

I think we should rebrand the forums to explicitly state where Macintel users should post; it should probably be in the regular 'vanilla' forums, but there should be a pointer. Even if it's only a sticky post in the Apple/ppc forum to say 'keep out'!

Of course, I'm biased, being a lifelong Apple fanboy, but all my macs have run Ubuntu.

[grazie]

I certainly think it's time to start a 'Apple Intel' forum. I think the name of the 'Apple PPC' forum should stay the same. However, I'm not keen on any 'Keep Out' stickies. I'm sure people will soon understand on where's the right place to look for answers and to ask questions.

[frodon]

Since the apple intel use the X86 architecture there's no need for that because the support would be the same than in general areas.
The only things which really differ from a standard computer is the dual booting setup, except that it is just X86 architecture.

I would say that we are not going to do that because general areas already offer X86 architecture support and thus it would duplicate things if we would create a apple intel forum.

[grazie]

From the developers or experienced users point of view the correlation between x86 and Apple Intel is obvious. However, to a new Ubuntu user that's acquired an Apple Intel machine, the obvious place to look for answers and ask questions is the Apple PPC Users forum. You only need look at the increasing number of posts about Intel machines on that forum to see for yourself. If a new Apple Intel forum does nothing more than answer booting queries (I'd guess the most common problem) and direct users to the x86 forums for all other issues, it will serve the community well.

[frodon]

I guess we should think about it, what do you think about a sticky in this section to explain more clearly that it's not the place for apple intel questions before we find the best solution to handle this ?

I'll ask other staff members what they think about it.

[kebes]

Maybe a simple renaming of the sub-forum would help. The "Apple PPC" forum could be re-labelled as "PowerPC architecture (including older Apple computers)", or "PPC (older Apple systems)" or whatever.

That forum could have a sticky clearly stating:
If you are using a newer Apple computer (purchased after February 2006), including the Macbook and Macbook Pro models, then your hardware questions should be posted in the normal forum (x86 architecture).


As time moves on, a larger and larger percentage of Apple computers out there are Intel-based instead of PPC based. As others have pointed out, many users don't know what PPC means, and so will post in an "Apple" sub-forum. Having the name explicitly exclude new Apple hardware would help.

[mips]

Maybe a simple renaming of the sub-forum would help. The "Apple PPC" forum could be re-labelled as "PowerPC architecture (including older Apple computers)", or "PPC (older Apple systems)" or whatever.


That would be the better option, call it PowerPC (Apple & others) forums.

[grazie]

kebes and mips,

What you say makes complete sense to the experienced user, but will probably be techno nonense to the owner of a newly acquired Apple Intel machine. The community should at least try to guide them in the right rediection. Seeing it from their point of view, while still being technically accurate is what matters here.

[mips]

I see no point in duplicating resources just because a user does not know his pc uses an intel x86 processor. If you don't even get that the the rest is going to be an uphill battle.

[aysiu]

I don't see how the support is the same.

First of all, don't the Apple Intel Macs not use BIOS? And don't most "dual boot" instructions and help assume you're trying to dual boot with Windows?

If this were a subforum of a general Apple one--Apple PPC/ Apple Intel, I don't see how that would hurt anyone.

[mips]

If this were a subforum of a general Apple one--Apple PPC/ Apple Intel, I don't see how that would hurt anyone.

That will lead to duplication of resources and people will also end up posting in the wrong forums.

I can already see intel users following the ppc posts and trying implement them. downloading ppc versions of the iso images etc

The posts in there make no distinction between PPC and what is to be Intel possible posts.

It belongs in the x86 forums as that is their arch. their bios and boot is different but then people with x86 also have differences. With the above argument we should create a x86 nvidia, ati, via, raid etc forums to cater for the differences in intel setups.



Either way it does not matter to me as i dont own a mac but if i did i would know where to look.

[grazie]

Judging by the number of Apple Intel users that get directed to the Apple PPC forum (from the x86 forum) it's not that obvious to many Ubuntu users that some Apple machines have x86 arch. Also the attached image has some amazing figures.

[Gen2ly]

I've mentioned this before but and Apple Forum would be nice. Though I understand why developers want to keep types of hardware together, there will probably always be items that will stay Apple:

HFSplus
keyboard functioning
Apple Mice
iPod

It would be nice, thank you.

[grazie]

I don't want to harp on about this, but if a moderator moves this post (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=362380) to the Apple PPC forum, then what chance have new Apple Intel Mac owners got without a little more guidance?

[PriceChild]

I don't want to harp on about this, but if a moderator moves this post (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=362380) to the Apple PPC forum, then what chance have new Apple Intel Mac got without a little more guidance?Maybe that post shouldn't have been moved... but how do you know that the op in question is running intel?

[kebes]

In the post (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=362380), the user says they have a Macbook Pro. All Macbook Pros have Intel Duo chips. In fact they were the first machines released in the new transition towards x86 architecture. (The equivalent notebook prior to the switch was called a Powerbook.)

In any case, I've now been convinced that having a dedicate Apple sub-forum (with x86 and PPC sub-sub-forums?) would be a good idea.

[ubuntu-geek]

We are reviewing our decision and are considering adding this forum.

[John.Michael.Kane]

Section has been made avilable.This will allow mac-tel users to post their hardware issues http://www.ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=211

[ubuntu-geek]

Apple intel users rejoice.. http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=211

This is a trial run for a few months, if the forum doesn't keep busy enough we'll merge the posts back into the mainstream areas.

[grazie]

Thanks ubuntu-geek and everyone else involved. Well done! Would some moderators mind moving all/some of the current Apple Intel threads to the new fourm? I'll volunteer if necessary. The only other thing that would be good is to have Apple PPC Users and Apple Intel Users next to each other if possible.

[aysiu]

Would some moderators mind moving all/some of the current Apple Intel threads to the new fourm? I've moved 11 threads out of PPC and into Intel.

The rest of the threads in the PPC forum were over two months old--no point in moving them now.

[grazie]

Thanks for that aysiu. However I think the following recent posts should be moved too.

Ubuntu on MacBook Pro (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=198453)
How to install Ubuntu 6.10 "Edgy Eft" on a MacBook (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=290710)
64 bit Edgy on Macbook Core 2 duo? (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=362878)
Ubuntu emulation without rebooting macbook (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=362881)

And perhaps some of the MacBook posts in the Development forums too?

Maybe a sticky should be added, stating that the booting process on Intel Macs is unique, but the arch is x86 so discussions on nearly all other topics can and should be found in or added to the x86 forums.

[aysiu]

The ones posted in the Laptops forum are fine where they are. I did move the other two, though.

[cyberdork33]

Thanks guys, I think having the Apple Intel forum is helping bring a lot of the problems to the same place.

[John.Michael.Kane]

Issue solved.Apple Intel Users (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=211)