[wplug] linux on a Mac Mini without OSX

[Brian Sammon]

So, I got one of the Pgh Filmmakers Mac Minis (with a wiped hard drive), and now I'm trying to get OSX installed on it.
But it seems like every set of instructions I read has "Boot into Mac OSX" as one of the steps.
Anyone have any idea/tips on how to get Linux installed without installing/buying MacOSX first?
Is it easier if I just install linux to a thumbdrive and boot from USB every time?

I tried installing debian--it booted from the CD just fine, and it told me it had completed the install and installed a bootloader successfully, but it didn't boot from the hard drive afterwards.

Some subtasks that seem like they might be necessary and might require OSX:
  Checking/upgrading my firmware version
  "Blessing" a partition
  Installing rEFIt or rEFInd

I'm looking into http://www.puredarwin.org/