Getting wifi to work on A1466:

sudo apt-get install dkms bcmwl-kernel-source

Should fire up asap and works just fine.

Install Cinnamon Desktop:

https://tecadmin.net/install-cinnamon-on-ubuntu/

then select the Cinnamon Desktop at the password prompt during boot login. It will be set to default after that.

I also installed Adapta-Nokto as a theme for Cinnamon Desktop to make the window border style and task bar to my liking.

Swipe gestures:

https://github.com/Hikari9/comfortable-swipe

For some reason, the auto-start at boot feature doesn't work for me, so I added it to the autostart in Cinnamon by adding a custom command in System -> Preferences -> Startup Applications

comfortable-swipe start

Custom boot screen:

https://www.xmodulo.com/change-boot-splash-screen-ubuntu-linux-mint.html

using https://www.gnome-look.org/s/Gnome/p/1009320

but the folders need to be changed in file: /usr/share/plymouth/themes/darwin/darwin.plymouth (because almost nothing in Linux ever actually works out of the box):

[Plymouth Theme]
Name=Darwin OS X Plymouth
Description=A Plymouth of OS X Yosemite
ModuleName=script

[script]
ImageDir=/usr/share/plymouth/themes/darwin
ScriptFile=/usr/share/plymouth/themes/darwin/darwin.script

Then run:

sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/share/plymouth/themes/default.plymouth default.plymouth /usr/share/plymouth/themes/darwin/darwin.plymouth 100

and then:

sudo update-alternatives --config default.plymouth

Select the theme you just installed via number and hit return.

Then regenerate the ram disk:

sudo update-initramfs -u

 That's it.

Custom login screen:

https://github.com/PRATAP-KUMAR/ubuntu-gdm-set-background

Steam Games:

Yes, the MacBook Air can play games, even under Linux. To my surprise, even pretty well, at least 2D games. I remember using a steam-installer package but this one should work, too.

https://store.steampowered.com/about/

Alternatively, this:

https://www.codegrepper.com/code-examples/shell/how+to+install+steam+on+ubuntu+21.10

Just for testing, especially after Steam works so well with even 3D games, I wanted to see if I can get Diablo 2 Resurrected to work. So I went ahead and installed Battle.Net.

https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-install-battle-net-on-ubuntu-20-04-linux-desktop

However, the winetricks configuration didn't succeed as winetricks is outdated. Uninstall it and reinstall using a newer version using:

sudo apt-get remove winetricks
wget  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Winetricks/winetricks/master/src/winetricks
chmod +x winetricks 
sudo mv -v winetricks /usr/bin

 according to https://askubuntu.com/questions/749549/winetricks-sha1sum-mismatch-rename-and-try-again

However, following those instructions didn't lead to anything usable, but this page offers some guidance to get the login screen to work:

https://github.com/lutris/docs/blob/master/Battle.Net.md

Specifically, go to settings before the launcher crashes on you, then Advanced settings, and deactivate hardware acceleration for browser content. That brought me at least into the main view and allows me to install Diablo. The download is currently running so I can't tell if it's gonna work, yet, or not.

EDIT: Wine and Battle.Net is horribly unstable. I won't be using it. I wasn't able to even install Diablo as the installer crashed four times because some sort of ad window popped up.

After using the MacBook Air running Ubuntu for a few months, I can't help but notice that I'm not a fan of the keyboard layout. There are a few keys that need to be swapped for ease of use when running Ubuntu. Luckily, there is a very easy fix for that: https://github.com/free5lot/hid-apple-patched

Following those instructions and using the recommended keyboard remapping, the keyboard is now much more enjoyable.

Install audio drivers: https://github.com/davidjo/snd_hda_macbookpro

Install PulseEffects: 

sudo apt install pulseeffects

Load my quick and dirty (not done yet) preset to make it sound better: https://cdn.hackaday.io/files/1833457844232480/MacBook%20Pro%202016%20No%20Touchbar.json

Install Bluetooth drivers: https://github.com/leifliddy/macbook12-bluetooth-driver

Install webcam driver (Does not work in Cheese but works in Zoom!): https://askubuntu.com/questions/990218/camera-not-working-on-macbook-pro

sudo apt-get install git
sudo apt-get install curl xzcat cpio
git clone https://github.com/patjak/facetimehd-firmware.git
cd facetimehd-firmware
make
sudo make install
cd ..
sudo apt-get install kmod libssl-dev checkinstall
git clone https://github.com/patjak/bcwc_pcie.git
cd bcwc_pcie
make
sudo make install
sudo depmod
sudo modprobe -r bdc_pci
sudo modprobe facetimehd
sudo nano /etc/modules
**add line "facetimehd", write out (ctl+o) & close**

For the module that is being built, I had issues. I can't really explain the problems well as I installed newer kernel sources than what Ubuntu comes with. I wasn't able to modprobe the firmware.bin file. After a few minutes, it just fixed itself and now it works.

I also haven't done the color calibration files: https://github.com/patjak/facetimehd/wiki/Extracting-the-sensor-calibration-files

Fix hibernation (seems to be an ongoing issue and I haven't tried this yet): https://github.com/Dunedan/mbp-2016-linux/issues/37

Hibernation on MBP2016 is a bit weird. Seemingly, the NVMe drive doesn't get out of suspension which means the file system either disappears or is suddenly read-only. To fix this, the following command can be used: https://github.com/Dunedan/mbp-2016-linux#suspend--hibernation

echo 0 > /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000\:01\:00.0/d3cold_allowed

However, running this manually each time the system boots is unacceptable. I also haven't tested the long term consequences of this or if it drains your battery faster.

It is better to run this using systemd at startup:

sudo su
nano /usr/local/bin/fixMBP2016Suspend.sh

Add this to the file

#!/bin/bash

echo "fixMBPSuspend: Adding fix to let MacBook Pro 2016 no touchbar wake up from suspend..." > /dev/kmsg
echo 0 > /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000\:01\:00.0/d3cold_allowed  

Save and exit.

Create another file

nano /etc/systemd/system/fix-MBP-Suspend.service

Add this to the file:

[Unit]
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/fixMBP2016Suspend.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

Save and exit.

Add the proper permissions to both files:

sudo chmod 664 /etc/systemd/system/fix-MBP-Suspend.service
sudo chmod 744 /usr/local/bin/fixMBP2016Suspend.sh

Then reload and initiate systemd with the new service.

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable fix-MBP-Suspend.service 

 Reboot and check dmesg to see if the script was run.

ps. this smmary for 2014 Macbooks is also very good: https://gist.github.com/johnjeffers/3006011ec7767a4101cdd118e8d64290

Check your MacBook version here: https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords=a1534

Then use this information and this Driver Package Download Tool to download the right package for this MacBook: https://github.com/timsutton/brigadier

Then copy the contents of the download to the installer USB drive and use it if needed to load drivers for the SSD that might otherwise be hidden.