Patch has just been released that should get the original mbox1 to work under linux.
This is the first release so there is probably going to be some buigs that need worked out.
I had issues with kernel headers not being found despite being installed, but you should be able to find how to sort that.
Also i dont think it works past kernel v 3.5. I tried with 3.8 and 3.11 and it just errors out during ./configure.
3.5 seems to configure and install fine.
I was able to use the mbox 1 for playback however i still get the white noise issue. But i dont know if something has went wrong during the install or what.
Just confirmed that the patch gets the input ports to work with jack. successfully had a mic (plugged in via the jack ins) to come through ardour. Howver the white noise is still an issue.
This may just be my particular mbox or my computer, so others may have a perfectly working setup with the patch as is.
you will need a mac to flash this firmware, there is no windows udpater for this version of firmware. So you may need to borrow a friends mac to update the firmware.