Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Yellow Dog Linux 2.1 Shipping

Posted by timothy on from the oh-ess-what dept.

Durindana indicates this announcement of the newest version of Yellow Dog Linux, writing: "PowerPC fans, this is a big deal. YDL's certainly improved over its former state lately; hopefully 2.1 continues that trend. Does this make it the "best of class" (Mandrake's favorite term) for PPC?" There are at least four strong Linux-on-Mac contenders now, which is nice to see.

8 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. Why? by LoudMusic · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... surely I'm not the first post ... am I?

    Why would anyone run Linux on a new Apple though? OSX will have so much more support and software availability than Linux on PPC ever could imagine. I see how YDL could be awsome on some older G3s (the beige ones that I have laying around at work), but there really can't be much demand for Linux on the new boxen. Can there?

    ~LoudMusic

    --
    No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
    1. Re:Why? by Auckerman · · Score: 4, Flamebait
      "Why would anyone run Linux on a new Apple though?"


      People who want a cheap, lightweight notebook (iBook), without having to use a "proprietary" OS, which has the cavet of "locking in" people to an OS. Not that I'm one of them, as I'm posting from Mozilla in OS X.

      --

      Burn Hollywood Burn
    2. Re:Why? by Queer+Boy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      One of the most obvious is that maybe some people want an ultra-modern operating system that runs just as well on hardware a few years old.

      Another reason may be to do some serious programming (serious meaning developing other tools, things like Apache and Gimp), where there are tons of free already ported and tested dev tools.

      There's a lot of support behind Linux, and not all that much behind Darwin right now. It all boils down to the right tool for the job.

      Some people just want to get behind something that is free (as in beer and speech) while having a stylish computer to do it.

      --
      Not since Marie-Antoinette played milkmaid has looking simple and honest been so fake and complicated.
    3. Re:Why? by Jeffrey+Baker · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Linux can run all MacOS 9 software using Mac-on-Linux, which is the functional equivalent of "Classic" which MacOS X uses to run the same applications. Linux PPC supports an aweful lot of PCMCIA cards on the powerbook that OS X doesn't. Linux PPC has better power management than OS X (yes I'm serious). Linux can play DVD movies on the external monitor of a powerbook, but OS X cannot. Linux has a journalling filesystem and OS X doesn't. OS X is loaded with local root vulnerabilities, and probably a lot of undiscovered remote vulnerabilities as well.

      Honsetly OS X hasn't got that much going for it.

  2. Why YLD is great for the Linux community. by heldlikesound · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Even as a hardcore Mac user (start up the flamethrowers), I have always been sympathetic to the open source cause and been interested in the dev. of Linux. However, without and old PC to muck around with, I'd never had the chance to try it out for myself. Along comes YLD, and now I'm able to install Linux on my old Power Computing (apple clone) machine. There were a few hiccups, but due to all the great Linux resources on the web, I figured them out and now I have my very own Linux box! Anyway, YDL gives mac users that WANT to get more techincal a chance to and provides the Linux community with good exposure, and that's always a good thing!!!

    --


    Cloud City Digital: DVD Production at its cheapest/finest
  3. Re:Not a troll, a serious question by dankow · · Score: 4, Informative

    The term 'PPC' includes G3 and G4 machines, not just the original PPC architecture. So yes, there are a lot of PPC machines out there.

    --
    I am the hub of Jack's digital lifestyle.
  4. Linux 4 PPC is a great Mac Saver... by toupsie · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I have been using Linux on Macs going back to Apple's Mklinux DR2 distro to maximize my old Macs. Unlike my x86 boxes, when my Macs get long in the tooth, I can't bear to throw them away or sell them. I can't tell you why but I just can't part with them. That's the beauty of Linux and Darwin. Once they are no longer useful for my desktop work, they are backed up, reformatted, LinuxPPC installed (sometimes Darwin) and stuffed into my server closet until they blow their motherboards (which hasn't happened). The 604e chipped PowerMacs make great e-mail and web servers for a small to medium sized business. I can't wait to try out Yellow Dog's latest distro. I have had such great results with the LinuxPPC folks. These guys are supposed to be top notch PPC folks.

    On a side note, I finally tried out Mandrake 8.1 x86. That is an AWESOME graphical install!!! Almost as nice as installing Mac OS X.

    --
    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
  5. Re:ext3 by TotallyUseless · · Score: 5, Informative

    check here for an easy to follow tutorial to get xfree86, gtk+, gimp, etc set up and running on OSX. It gives a link to download a binary for xfree86, install instructions, and tells you how to use fink to install just about anything else you could want. enjoy

    --

    Time for some tasty Shiner Bock!