I have a late 2009 27" iMac i5. Because I really dislike OS X, it gets little use and it still looks like new. I tried to install Ubuntu on it back in 2009 when I bought it and Ubuntu had a lot of problems. Some were serious (display issues) and some were just personally important (lack of full/proper support for the Apple trackpad I purchased).
So I had given up on running Ubuntu on my iMac until today when I read this:
[Phoronix] Ubuntu 14.04 Now Runs Well On The 2013 MacBook Air, Beats OS X 10.9 In Graphics
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...ba2013gl&num=1
I would appreciate any informed opinions as to whether 14.04 is worth trying on my older iMac. BTW, my preferred flavor is Kubuntu and I plan to install the current beta - contigent upon feedback here, of course.
Due to the fact that I have a small-ish SSD, I can't dual boot. If I go with Kubuntu, it is a total commitment. And I would want the following things to work:
1. Apple Trackpad
2. Apple Mouse
3. support for hooking up an external HDTV in various display modes (mirroring or 2nd monitor)
Why am I asking this question instead of just trying a LiveCD? Last time I tried to install Ubuntu on my iMac the display worked properly with the LiveCD. But when I actually installed Ubuntu, my iMac would only boot up to a blank/black display. I was never able to resolve that and I went back to OS X. Besides, I think it is always better to ask for advice first.
My iMac Hardware Info:
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac11,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 8 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Processor Interconnect Speed: 4.8 GT/s
Graphics/Displays:
ATI Radeon HD 4850:
Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 4850
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 512 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x944a
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-B9110C-425
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.383
Displays:
iMac:
Resolution: 2560 x 1440
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes
Connection Type: DisplayPort
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