I have an older macbook (Intel Core Duo 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 93 GB hard drive) and I have similar feelings about my laptop. When I develop, I need linux :) Ubuntu

I have an older macbook (Intel Core Duo 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 93 GB hard drive) and I have similar feelings about my laptop. When I develop, I need linux :) Ubuntu does install rather well though, so I agree you should give it a try. Just 1) install Mac OS X (leave space for linux, or resize current), 2) install rEFIt, then 3) install Linux (ubuntu for macbooks is recommended). Otherwise virtualize (VMWare Fusion is better than Parallels IMHO, but either suffice). I'll give you a tip: Every time I move over to Linux on my macbook I miss all of the little things that just work under OS X.