Slashdot Mirror
TerraSoft Releases YellowDog Linux 3.0
chriseh writes "For those of us who prefer Linux to the candydrop OS, good news! YellowDog Linux 3.0 has been released. For those who don't want to wait, you can get an enhanced membership at YDL.net and download ISOs directly. As per other releases, ISOs will be available to everyone/mirrors two weeks after the CDs have been on sale.Finally, I can run Linux on my 12" Powerbook."
extrarice amplifies: "New features include: Redesigned installer, a unified KDE 3.1/GNOME 2.2 desktop (both WMs share the same icons and menus), Kernel 2.4.20, and the usual package refinements/updates. More release info can be found here.
Note: ISOs are not available yet, and CDs are scheduled to ship in mid-April. I have been running YDL 2.x for about a year now, and it's a fast, stable distro."
It's a purty yeller distro!
OK, maybe not the best name.
Is there an equivalent of Wine for running Mac OS X applications on Linux/PowerPC? How many of the libraries in Mac OS X have equivalents in Linux (how close is GNUstep to Apple's stuff, etc)?
At the minimum, is it possible to run Darwin/PowerPC binaries on Linux/PowerPC?
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
I thought Slashdot LOVED OS X?
So, will there be extreme uproar and protest over YDL unifying GNOME and KDE, too, or will everyone have finally realized RedHat had a good idea?
Secession is the right of all sentient beings.
Maybe I'm missing something, but why would I want to install YDL. I can do everything I want in OS X now in a much friendlier operating system. Plus, now that I have an Apple X11 program I see fewer and fewer reasons. Moreover, when you buy an Apple you are paying a premium for the OS, why buy an apple when you could just buy a cheap box and install an x86 linux distro. Am I missing something?
Somewhere in California - At 8:30 PDT with the release of Snoopy Linux 2.1, Goober Linux 1.0, and Yellow Dog Linux 3.0, the number of Linux distributions finally surpassed the number of actual Linux users.
"We've been expecting it for some time," Merrill Lynch technology analyst Tom Shayes said, "but this is a little sooner than most expected. We've seen explosive growth in the number of Linux distributions, in fact my nephew just put out LittleLinux Chart Tommy Linux 1.1 last week."
Long time Linux guru Bob Tallman said, "This is great for the open source movement. I have 7 different versions installed on my computer at home. Some guys I know have over 30."
Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer said, "Microsoft will have to play catch up with the number of versions that Linux has, but we think we can do it. With the break up of Microsoft imminent that will instantly double the number of Windows versions available."
Microsoft also announced the release of Pocket PC for Workgroups, Windows GT special edition and Windows 2000 - the Director's Cut with special code added by Bill Gates himself that wasn't in the original release.
Perhaps I don't understand but the whole reason I purchased an iMac was to have the great OS and the suite of apps that came with it. The hardware is good but nothing that amazing and could be purchased on the pc side for a lot less money if all you are going to do is turn around and install a linux distro. Am I missing why this is a "Good Thing"?
-=SiGH=-
Why ruin a perfectly good system with Mac OS X and install Linux over it?
Sure I can see running this on an old PowerMac that Mac OS X doesn't support. But wasting your time/effort to wipe out a prefectly good *nix based system that you can actually buy software off a shelf in a store for (besides the 50 distros)
Just seems like a waste of time.
Now, the little BriQ device they have, sure, YDL would be cool on them. But to wipe out a new system with Mac OS X 10.2.x on it seems wrong.
As a rock-in-roll Physicist once said, No matter where you go, there you are.
Its time to switch to Linux when you have dozens of old mac's that can run only old MAC OSes. With YD you can trun those (usless mac) machines in to servers, routers, firewalls etc.
Finally, I can run Linux on my 12" Powerbook.
The poster seems unaware that Debian can run on Apple hardware. Or should I be assuming that the user had tried to run Debian, but unique hardware had prevented it?
Posted from an ssh tunnel to a PowerMac 7600 upgraded to a G3 running Woody.
You can get info on it here: http://www.maconlinux.org/
It's a complete VM, so you actually need a copy of the OS you want to run in it, unlike WINE.
It is verry well done, arguably better in some ways than Apple's own "Classic" VM in OSX.
And GNUstep isn't all that close to Apple's stuff, largely because so much of Apple's stuff is still in flux, I'd say GNUstep is going to be a work in progress for a very long time.
So, no you can't run Darwin binaries on LinuxPPC, unless you want to run Darwin or OSX in MacOnLinux.
"The worst tyrannies were the ones where a governance required its own logic on every embedded node." - Vernor Vinge
I've been running Gentoo PPC 1.4 on my revision A imac (the original gumdrop-shaped one) for a couple of months now. It runs great, and I get the benefit of Gentoo's portage system. I'd recommend giving that a shot to anyone interested in linux on a mac. Plus you can frequent the #gentoo-ppc room and chat with gerk. He's dreamy.
"More organs means more human." - Zim
Speed?
Pure brilliance.
As YDL is based on RH, the uproar shouldnt be any more extreme than usual.
One big reason I have not made the switch is because of a small but vocal portion of the Mac user base who are blind supporters of Apple no matter what they do. There is also a significant portion of Apple users who think they are making some kind of statement by purchasing an Apple product and quite a few of those think that choosing Apple means joining some sort of movement, which is completely ridiculous. Free software is a movement, OSS is a movement, Apple is a corporation. Think I'm wrong? Try writing a post with any hint of negativity towards Apple and -1 mods will arrive and reply's stating that product X is not "insanely great" like Mac product Y.
Does anybody know if you can install YDL to run exclusively from an external firewire drive? I'd like to try it out, but don't want to mess around with partitioning my existing HDD. But, I do have an iPod and could use that as the harddrive for it if that is possible. Does anyone know if this sort of thing can be done?
Have you actually used OS X on a modern PowerBook?
After about three months of relentless Willy action I reckon I'm now as good as when I was 10.
Just this morning I was looking into YDL for an old PowerComputing PowerTower 166 I have gathering dust. I was about to download an ISO and burn it, too - guess I will have to wait, now...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
I believe a lot of Mac users aren't obsessed with speed and I can't blame them. As long as your computer doesn't slow you down in your work - why use anything else?
Sure, my iBook 700 running OS X isn't as snappy as my Windows-desktop but to me, personally, OS X is such a joy to use and it packs plenty speed for my everyday usage. It's lightweight, easy to use and batterylife is excellent.
I'd say these are reasons enough.
"For those who don't want to wait, you can get an enhanced membership at YDL.net and download ISOs directly. As per other releases, ISOs will be available to everyone/mirrors two weeks after the CDs have been on sale."
Maybe Mandrake should follow this business model. After all, if they are hemmoraging money like they are, this would give a chance for at least some income without violating the GPL.
Proprietary just means 'controlled by a single vendor.' From 3M Floppies to Crucial RAM to Intel CPUs, you can't swing your tiny, emaciated dick in the computer world without hitting something 'proprietary.' Unless you can come up with a computer made out of iron ore and/or oats.
The streets shall run with the blood of the nonbeleivers! You shall put Linux on your Mac! You shall put Linux on your XBox! You shall put Linux on your Mr. Coffee! To not use Linux is to be in league with The Devil!
Hell, I don't know. Linux (well, Unix in general) makes my head hurt.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
I dual boot with OS X. OS X is fun, but gentoo is much faster and more configurable.
how i installed gentoo: install
YBL = Redhat 8.0/8.1 for the PPC?.
The screenshots of everything from the installer (Anaconda) to the KDE and Gnome desktop style (bluecurve) and icons (bluecurve icons again) are all virtually identical to Redhat 8.0/8.1.
Am I missing something or is this just a Redhat port for the PPC?
"I filter at +6, and have yet to miss out on an important comment." (#822545)
No fair, Cyberdog doesn't count.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
I promise a karma-dive will come soon...
Is there anything for PPC analogous to VMWare which would allow you to run Yellow Dog in MacOS X, or vice versa?
For maximum persecution, of course. It's the ultimate statement of geek martyrdom.
Run your neo-hippy operating system on neo-yuppie hardware. I love it!
(i'm joking. sorta.)
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
If you're not interested in running Linux on PPC hardware, fine, but don't be a dick about other people doing so.... Jeez...
FWIW, I'm getting a laptop to replace my workstation at the office, and I am considering getting a Mac laptop and running Linux on it, not because I want to "dink around with package installation, X configuration, and hardware compatibility issues", but to do work on. Why? Because Linux is my *nix development platform of choice, and Apple makes the best laptops around from what I can tell.
I've "dinked around" with OS X a bunch, and personally, I don't think it's all it's hyped up to be. Sure, it's great, but nothing to jizz over. For a *nix, I prefer Linux or FreeBSD.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
Maybe I'm missing something, but why would I want to install YDL.
Well, maybe because timothy says "I have been running YDL 2.x for about a year now, and it's a fast, stable distro."
Except for that whole crashing thing, of course. It crashes during install and it crashes during configuration. But if you just pop the CD in, then timothy's right, it's a fast, stable distro, if you want to use your powerbook as a paperweight or a doorstop.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
I ran Yellow Dog 2.3 for a long time on my Apple PowerMac 9600/200MP.
It was a good, solid OS, though I haven't used it since I rolled my own LFS-style. It was very similar to the Redhat 7.2 distro I have running on a workstation at work. It blew away OS 7.5 (which came on the 9600) and OS 9 (which is the highest version the 9600 can run).
For people wondering why do this when OS X is so pretty: I'd say Yellow Dog is an excellent solution to pre-Blue & White PowerMac OS needs. OS X won't run on most systems made before that and even B&Ws, original iMacs, and iBooks system will run faster with Yellow-Dog than OS X.
Also, Yellow Dog runs on many PowerPC platforms other than Apple. It's a breath of fresh air to pick up a non-wintel platform on eBay for a couple bucks and be able to run such a powerful, modern operating system.
obviously no deficiencies vs. no obvious deficiencies
YellowDog release has some significance. I work at a physics lab that is predominantly Macintosh.
Most of the client computers are running Mac OSX. But for our server, we run LinuxPPC (if any1 remembers that one)on an old 9600. Soon, my tenure will be up and many of the students at the lab cringe at the thought that they will have to maintain it using only the command line (GUI interface was that great when I originally install it). So, a distribution with a straight forward installation and GUI may be needed. I had envisioned using OSX on an Xserve, but this may not be an easy sell with the boss.
You don't have to be smart to use a Mac, you just have to be smart enough to buy one
But they don't mind having proprietary hardware to begin with? Idiots.
I use OS X exclusively these days but am contemplating installing linux so that I can run mac-on-linux and use OS 9 and OS X side by side without running Classic. Does anyone know whether this will be a waste of time? Does OS 9 mode under mol work as well as booting into OS 9? I never use classic mode under X because the apps I want to use in 9 won't run under Classic. Is linux a good solution for me here?
Debian is one. Gentoo is another. YDL is the Red Hat-ish 3rd (and there are others)
It's nice to have a choice. Use whatever works well for you. Hell, use them all and play around with them. You can get a used G3/233 from ebay for less than $150 now.
Have GNU/fun!
"For those of us who prefer Linux to the candydrop OS..." You mean all 7 of you? :)
Really niche question: to tweak my monitors in MacOS whatever, i have to use a software control panel. Apple monitors have no controls, or minimal stuffs - its all done over USB these days.
Does YDL have utilities for this? Would be a nice thing for those making a permanent change.
in the hell is a candydrop? Is this like where they shove hot candy down your pants?
If OSX is being described as such, which I am not sure that's even something that exists (no, I didn't look it up, but I'm sure YOU will), what are the corresponding linux and M$ descriptions?
Linux - the brillo-pad OS? Maybe better: Linux, the "tough-love" OS? Would love to hear any M$ descriptions. Thanks!
-- (Score:i, Imaginary)
Who makes PPC workstations other then apple? ( not talking things the IBM mini's... )
---- Booth was a patriot ----
http://www.blackdown.org/java-linux/ports.html
They were real good about porting to linux (x86) when sun was dragging it's feet.
There's a bug in YDL 2.3 & 2.4 that causes the installation to fail on older Macs, like my 7200/120. I kinda doubt this update will fix copatibility with older boxes.
- Andrew
Give me a wireless, optical, with 5 mouse buttons and a scroll wheel any day! ;-)
Sure, but why should I? I don't need it to be any faster. It works for me and that is, contrary to popular belief, what really matters.
I currently use an 17 inch widescreen LCD iLamp iMac at work.
I installed YDL 2.3 and it horked on the VideoCard.
All my hacks were useless (I even delved into the XFree section to torque some of the code around there.)
Does the new YDL kernel support the 17" widescreen? Or has there been no advances on that front?
*Carlos: Exit Stage Right*
"Geeks, Where would you be without them?"
"Got Linux?"
For those of you seeking for a BSD alternative to Darwin on MacPPC, NetBSD seems like a pretty good alternative.
I used to be a slackware junkie on x86 long time ago and after a while moved on to FreeBSD for some reason.
About two years ago I was able to recruit an old CRT iMac from my sister to aid for the other x86 server in home. Ofcourse the MacOS 8.6 installed on it wasn't the server OS of choice, so I looked for a BSD alternative an apparently both NetBSD and OpenBSD have PPC flavours. However, only NetBSD releases install ISOs so you can just burn them and install them (OpenBSD has install floppies, so you can't use them on the iMac where there's no floppy drive).
Having zero experience with NetBSD earlier, it turned out to be a very good system. Maybe instead of hopping on the esoteric idea of "Linux on my mac!" you can give a try for NetBSD.
Also, your first link, to "google.com", doesn't work. This corrected link works, but it doesn't support your claim of "that whole crashing thing" -- the reviewer only had YDL crash on him once, due to its energy-saving behavior on laptops. I can't check your other 2 links to see whether they add more evidence of laptop crashing, since neither of the sites resolve (in Mozilla 1.1).
In any case, the tone of the first review is generally positive; he ends by saying "[YDL] is still the best Linux distro for the Mac I have come across to date, and I'll certainly be keeping it around, and tracking upgrades with interest."
id love to rubn it on my old 8500, i have YDL 2.something on it now. until it supports my video in video out board (apple stock AV package) i wont use it as more than a novelty OS. at least MacOS 8.6 supports it, so thats what i use. all i use it for is to run my Gamecube on when i dont fell like lugging a TV into my computer room.
I want 2D games back.
My Desktop machine is doing well also. It serves as a YDL mirror and a simple website for the McGill LUG.
Apple makes great, robust hardware. It is just too bad that their CPUs are getting on the slow side. Hopefully the rumoured 2.5GHz PPC970's will resolve that.
Does anyone know whether YDL 3.0 supports dual head?
I use OS X on my 400MHz G3, and while it's great it's kinda sluggish and ticks me off enough that I'd want to move to Linux again. But without dual head support I'd be losing too much.
However, OSX itself is a very unsecure OS. While it flaunts the power of UNIX, it is a crippled UNIX, with a few gaping holes in the security login.
I'd like to hear just a few bits of evidence in support of such a strong statement...
i don't read slashdot anymore.
Of course I only just finished downloading and installing YellowDog 2.3 yesterday on my old PowerMac 7600. Since YD uses apt-get in addition to RPM, is it possible to simply do an apt-get dist upgrade like you would on a Debian system? Has anyone tried this when upgrading older versions of YD?
Here is some info about installing Debian on this machine. You need the old Mac utility "Boot Variables" to get things set up without access to OF. It's a pain but it looks like it has been done. Back in the day I had linuxppc running on a UMAX J700 but I don't think that is an APUS system so it wasn't as big a nightmare. This information will be helpful as well identifying quirks of your machine.
I have an old Mac iBook G3 (blueberry, the old kind that had those fruity colors) that has a 300 mhz processor and only 64 MB of memory, as well as a miserably small 3 gig HD. I installed Mac OS X, and it was so incredibly slow that it's hard to comprehend.
I could open up netscape, terminal, and text editor at the same time, fix a drink, drink it down slowly, then go back to the machine and it would still be loading.
Apparently intolerant of this behavior, and lacking the money to purchase a new iBook and also intolerant with the uselessness of OS9, I decided to install Linux. First Mandrake, which was terribly slow, then Debian, which I failed at installing due to the fact it was a notebook, and then Yellow Dog. Out of all three of them, only YLD linux showed usable speed.
In my point of view, it is very useful for making use of older machines, however, we musn't forget the merits that Macs do have, and there needs to be an alternative to the propietary platform that Apple gives out, otherwise Macs can't really be regarded as flexable as ix86 machines.
Really? How fast does MS Office start up on it?
I've found Warcraft III to run somewhat slowly on my computer. Is it faster on Yellow Dog?
Escape Velocity Nova seems pretty zippy already. Is it really faster? Maybe it loads faster. I have to wait 5 or 6 seconds at the loading screen...
What about CarbonCopyCloner? I've had to back up some stuff and it seems really damn fast.
How about... oh, gosh, what to choose... oh, iLife! The iMovie integration with iTunes seems like it could be sped up a little. Will 'switching' achieve this?
</sarcasm>
dalamcd
moer liek CELtroid prime!!@1!
Does anyone know if the recent local root hole affets this architechture as well, and if yes, is there a known exploit?
Szo
Red Leader Standing By!
Here's the link to the XPostFacto page at Other World Computing. I haven't had any experience installing OS X on anything other than my 7600 (and an Indigo iMac at work), but according to the documentation, the following systems should work:
Apple PowerMac 7300, 7500, 7600, 8500, 9500, 9600, plus clone systems based on one of these systems, including Umax S900 and J700, PowerComputing PowerWave, PowerTower Pro, Daystar Genesis and Daystar Millenium.
Also check out xlr8yourmac.com, as the forums and boards there have lots of information about people doing strange and unsupported things to their Macs (and clones).
Your mother... She is full on 'open source', if you know what I mean.
Debian runs perfectly on my TiBook
Even installed without problems, except for XFree...
does 3.0 finally work?