Need advice from Mac users

[David Hunter]

Hi all,

I'm planning to buy a shiny new iMac sometime in the next few months, and would like to tri-boot Mint 8, OSX (Snow Leper) and Windows XP Pro.

I know this is possible, have found the guides and know how to do it, but I would like to ask anyone out there who has got Mint 7 or 8 (any edition) running on an iMac: how good is compatibility?

• Does the Mac remote work?
  Does the wireless mouse work?
  Does the 360deg scroll wheel on the mouse work?
  Do the USB ports on the keyboard work?
  Does Compiz work?
  Does Compiz work when using two or more displays?
  Is GNOME or KDE better?
  Has anyone attempted this with XP as well?
  Here's a strange question - has anyone tried to plug in a RS-232 (serial) device (via a USB or Firewire adapter) into the Mac and got it all working under any of the OSes?
  Has anyone managed to get multiple displays working in Mint?
  Has anyone managed to tri-boot OSX, LM8 and a TrueCrypt-encrypted Windows?
  Any other compatibility issues that you may know of?

(FYI, graphics chip will be either a ATI Radeon HD 4670 or a 4850... depending on what money I have available. Google reports no major issues with Ubuntu...)

I know I can use a virtual machine if I want, but I'd rather dual/tri-boot.

Thanks.

[eiver]

Do NOT buy an iMac. There. I had to say it. I feel much better now.

[David Hunter]

lol.
Any reason why not, other than the whole Linux Vs. Mac Vs. Windows argument?

[eiver]

Nope. Only just the good old "Linux Vs. Mac Vs. Windows argument" + "hardware spec. to price ratio argument" + "What I posted was quite off-topic - I am really sorry for that - I just could not stop myself. Lets just ignore this before some flame war fans come here. A discussion like that belongs more to the Open chat section of the forum"

[David Hunter]

haha cool.
Anyone with any real advice?

[David Hunter]

bump.

[David Hunter]

• Does the Mac remote work?
  Does the wireless mouse work?
  Does the 360deg scroll wheel on the mouse work?
  Do the USB ports on the keyboard work?
  Does Compiz work?
  Does Compiz work when using two or more displays?
  Is GNOME or KDE better?
  Has anyone attempted this with XP as well?
  Here's a strange question - has anyone tried to plug in a RS-232 (serial) device (via a USB or Firewire adapter) into the Mac and got it all working under any of the OSes?
  Has anyone managed to get multiple displays working in Mint?
  Has anyone managed to tri-boot OSX, LM8 and a TrueCrypt-encrypted Windows?
  Any other compatibility issues that you may know of?

Never mind. Tested it myself on a friend's iMac.

Answers to quoted questions:

• No
  Yes
  Not tested
  Yes
  Not natively, but restricted ATI drivers can be installed which makes it work.
  Not tested.
  Gnome tested, KDE not yet attempted.
  Yes, it works to tri-boot.
  Yes, RS232 devices connect as expected under Windows.
  Haven't tried. Don't really need to, though, as I'll be buying the big-bastard 27inch one.
  Not tested.
  Didn't find any other issue. Interestingly, 3D programs such as Global Mapper (a GIS) and Google Earth work better in LM8 on the iMac than they do when installed on LM8 on a PC.