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Mandrake Linux 8.0 Final Released For PPC
rstewart points to this press release, writing: "Mandrake has released version 8.0 final for the PPC architecture. Now Mac users have a choice of distributions between Mandrake and Yellow Dog. Now if only we could easily buy parts and build them cheap in our basements. " And PPC choices already include SuSE, LinuxPPC, Debian, NetBSD and more.
Seeing as Mandrake, LinuxPPC, YDL, and Black Lab are based on RedHat's packages and packaging system, where is RedHat in this area?
No one ever says, 'I can't read that ASCII E-mail you sent me.'
I had to replace an OS X Server box with Yellow Dog because the AFP was completely instable under OS X Server. We spent about 300 bucks in Apple Care support before giving up. I installed Linux + Netatalk and haven't had a single complaint since.
Note that this was over a year ago, so OS X Server was completely different than OS X today. OS X server back then was based on Rhapsody/NeXT, not Darwin/BSD. There wasn't even a pretty Aqua GUI back then.
But today, I really can't see a viable reason to choose Linux over OS X on Apple hardware. All the GNU tools are being ported and OS X actually has decent web browsers, printer support, multimedia, GUI admin tools, and loads of other goodies built in.
I do agree that it may not be the easiest platform to start out on with Linux. It is much easier than Alpha or Sparc though; you've got to give it that. It's not terribly difficult to master. You just have to be Linux-competent enough to be able to compile your own software sometimes. You also have to understand that not everyone programs in a portable way. You also have to understand that PPC development is usually 2nd priority or lower for many developers. Not everyone understands this. Also not all hardware works in PPC Linux variants. That's a pain. Personally I have numerous PPC-based servers (pre-G3 Macs mainly) that run flawlessly with LinuxPPC. Then again I'm also not a newbie. :-) YDL and LPPC have made great strides towards making PPC Linux very user friendly, at least on default installations. They sure beat RedHat to the punch on that one.
I mean, all the hard work is done by IBM in
this document.
A free Open PowerPC Platform implementation using
parts that companies like Asus, Abit, etc. are able to obtain in large quantities. What is holding them back?
Thomas S. Iversen
OpenBSD has PPC support, too
work is being done on a FreeBSD port
Why would someone fork that much cash for a G4 system and then slap Linux on it? I can understand if you've got MAC OS 9 on there, but if it comes with MAC OS X, it doesn't make any sense.. it's like "Well, we got all these PowerPC's and RS/6000's with a specially designed operating system call AIX for the hardware, but we're going to slap Linux on there so's we can be cool."
Great that it's on PPC.
The next question: how well does it support firewire?
I mean, *REALLY* support it? Can I take my PB G4, get an external firewire drive, and boot straight from it into the Mandrake Linux kernel?
Coz my internal hard drive on this PBG4 is getting mighty tight: it's already got MacOS 9.1, and a Mac OS X 10.1 partition on it...
Firewire...
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
Despite the fact that the most popular PPC distros are Red Hat based and use rpm there are very few .ppc.rpm files avaliable on freshmeat. People with more *nix experience may prefer to compile and install themselves, but newbies almost certianly don't. Add to that the fact that anything that avaliable for Linux in binary only form (Loki games, browser plugins etc.) isn't avaliable for PPC and you leave the former Mac user with the impression that Linux is a very limited operating system.
I don't want free as in beer. I just want free beer.
Linux is a great way to put older Mac Hardware to use!
Can I just say that it is also a great way to put *NEW* Mac Hardware to use. I installed LinuxPPC on my Titanium Powerbook G4 and it rocks. You wanna put Dell Notebook Linux users to shame. Show them how you can triple boot Mac OS 9, Mac OSX, and Linux on a Tibook (using yaboot). And how you can run Mac OS 9 in an X window using MacOnLinux and then bring up Virtual PC to run Windows. All that plus an awsome screen and formfactor makes for some jealous x86 users.
Well I guess I'll shut up now and wait for the mod down from the anti-PPC people.
To myself mostly, and rather quietly usually, how Apple has created OS X and made it excite people so much more than Linux?
I look at Apple and the company they are. They are not special. They took existing software anyone in the world could have downloaded and turned it into something that has geeks and Mac enthusiasts alike excited.
What did they do with their operating system that is freely available that the Linux people have been trying so hard to do on the desktop and have yet to really come through like Apple has.
Surely the combined bulk of Linux developers is not less than the employees of Apple is it?
Apple has taken little open source pieces and parts and turned it into a truly interesting operating system that gets a "Cool factor" from most anyone I know that likes Macs.
Why can't Linux excite people so? Does the money make that much of a difference? Apple steps up and gets the word out using its standard marketing channels and creates a bonafide hype that people buy into, contrast to your average Linux story. Whats the give?
I know this will be seen as off-topic but I argue it is completely relevant to any PPC, or Linux distro. If only they could somehow capture what Apple has done with OS X. Anyway.. just my quiet musings.
None of OS X is perfect, it has bugs, but people do have faith in OS X and they keep on using it for the most part.
While OS X does not have the share of servers nor desktops and has not proven itself in either, it definitely has the mindshare of most everyone. WE all know about it and know its supposed to be the perfect blend of desktop ease of use and a # prompt to the underlying OS.
Just my thinking, I still don't have a good answer.
Jeremy
Linux already has more market share than MacOS, but what a great victory it will be when Linux has more market share among Apple users than MacOS does!
It won't happen. The Mac OS is the primary reason why I'm running PPC hardware to begin with. On top of that, why would you uninstall Mac OS X (with a FreeBSD-based userland) in favor of Linux?
Linux may become more widely used than Mac OS/Mac OS X, but not on PPC hardware.
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$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
From what I understand, there is something different between this box and others that won't allow me to install certain PPC distros. It currently has a SCSI 8gig HD and SCSI CD-ROM drive, plus 32 meg RAM. Currently it has OS/9 on it, and boots fine.
I want to drop a distro on it, but I am not sure which one would work. I don't want to spend money or time getting a distro if it won't work for me. Can anyone give me pointers on what distro I should use with this box, as well as how I should go about getting/buying the distro (ie, if I have to burn an ISO, can I do it on my SuSE box at home easily enough)?
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
Maybe, maybe not. But a quick glance through /. will tell you two things:
-/.ers love PPC hardware and would love to see more of it
-Not every Mac user is a six-colored-fire-breathing zealot. The ability to run something other than MacOS on Mac hardware is a selling point (a weak one, yes, but still a selling point).
On top of that, the PowerPC chips in theory are better than the Intel chips -- less power usage, more orthogonal instruction set, and a few other niceties. The only problem with them is Motorola.
/Brian
Not everyone likes MacOS. Seems as though everyone (around here anyway ;-) ) likes Mac hardware, or the potential thereof. QED.
What we need is to get Linus using a G4 (yeah, right) and bury the hatchet with Paul Mackerras, and then convince someone, anyone, to start shipping commodity PPC mobos (doesn't have to be, probably shouldn't be, in fact, Apple).
/Brian