These are notes from my efforts to get Ubuntu 20.04 installed on my older MacBook Pro. I'm making this gist public in the hopes that it's helpful to others.
I did a Minimal install, but selected the option to install additional 3rd-party drivers.
Wifi doesn't work during the install (because it requires a 3rd-party driver), so you won't be able to choose to download updates while installing. No big deal, run a software update after the install.
The installer takes about 25 minutes to complete. Post-install, most things work. The only driver I had to manually install was for the FaceTime camera. More on that below.
It works, mostly. I do get the occasional dropout, and it is slow to reconnect when you wake from suspend. Haven't figured this one out yet.
I find the default setting of 2880x1800 at 200% scale to be too big.
For me, the sweet spot is to set the scale at 100%, then open Universal Access settings, turn on Large Text, and change the Cursor Size to Medium. That gives me the crisp graphics I want, with all the screen resolution I need, at a font size that isn't too small to see comfortably.
I'll also mention that I tried:
- Fractional scaling, but apparently the display can't handle it. I just got a black screen.
- Changing resolutions in the Nvidia control panel, but that just made everything fuzzy.
This is a summary of info from https://github.com/patjak/bcwc_pcie/wiki/Get-Started
If you did a Mimimal install, you'll need:
sudo apt install curl git unrar
git clone https://github.com/patjak/facetimehd-firmware.git
cd facetimehd-firmware
make
sudo make install
Results of sudo make install should be
Copying firmware into '//usr/lib/firmware/facetimehd
Download Boot Camp Support Software from https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1837
Extract the file:
unzip bootcamp5.1.5769.zip
cd BootCamp/Drivers/Apple/
unrar x AppleCamera64.exe
# Extract the DAT files:
dd bs=1 skip=1663920 count=33060 if=AppleCamera.sys of=9112_01XX.dat
dd bs=1 skip=1644880 count=19040 if=AppleCamera.sys of=1771_01XX.dat
dd bs=1 skip=1606800 count=19040 if=AppleCamera.sys of=1871_01XX.dat
dd bs=1 skip=1625840 count=19040 if=AppleCamera.sys of=1874_01XX.dat
# Copy the DAT files to the folder containing the driver:
sudo cp *.dat /usr/lib/firmware/facetimehd
git clone https://github.com/patjak/bcwc_pcie.git
cd bcwc_pcie
make
sudo make install
# you may get SSL errors, but it appears these are safe to ignore
sudo depmod
sudo modprobe -r bdc_pci
sudo modprobe facetimehd
echo facetimehd | sudo tee -a /etc/modules > /dev/null
Don't forget to clean up the downloaded git repos and the extracted Boot Camp driver files.
I'm a long-time Mac user. I like Mac fonts. Skip this bit if you want.
My favorite monospaced font is Monaco, and I like the look of the San Francisco font in the UI. If you don't have access to a Mac to copy the font files from, you can find them online.
You can use Dconf Editor to change the system fonts, but it's easier to use the GNOME Tweaks app. Both are available in the Ubuntu Software app.
In the Tweaks app, select the Fonts page. I use the following:
Interface Text SF Pro Display Regular 11
Document Text SF Pro Display Regular 11
Monospace Text Monaco Regular 11
Legacy Window Titles SF Pro Display Semibold 11
And that's it. Most of the other tweaks I do are pure personal preference, not really worth mentioning here.
If you have suggestions for improvements to this doc, please leave me a comment.