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55 Operating Systems On A PowerBook

Posted by timothy on from the but-officer-I-thought-the-limit-was dept.

OttoMagick writes "I found an article called 'Many Systems on One Machine' over at Kernelthread.com that shows over 55 operating systems running on a 17inch Powerbook. The article includes screenshots and descriptions of each system, and also hacks and tips on getting the nasty ones installed. The author Amit Singh (the Hanoimania guy, covered earlier on Slashdot) explains his reasons for all this in a related FAAQ (frequently asked + anticipated questions) ... In all a very interesting read, specially the FAAQ, where he calls the setup "the iPod of operating systems". Now thats an Apple Power User! I wonder what Steve Jobs would say if he sees people doing such things to his machines!!"

7 of 359 comments (clear)

  1. x86 based? But... by kraker · · Score: 5, Informative

    "With the exception of Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X, all systems listed are x86 based" Well, sorry..., but at least Linux and the various BSDs also exist for ppc architecture. And probably even more OSs. I would have liked to see those installed natively. But then again...

  2. Re:Virtual PC == Cheating by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'd hate to burst your bubble there, but Windows does not run on PPC architecture. Neither do most of the OSes.

    The important point here is that he is able to use those environments from within the Powerbook. Whether there is a major speed drop, that's another story. And if he were to choose a x86 notebook, that would have left MacOSX, OS9 out.

  3. Re:Um, WTF? by overunderunderdone · · Score: 4, Informative

    one could certainly load 55+ OSes native on a PC notebook, all directly bootable with one of those new-fangled boot managers. :p

    Ahh... but with VirtualPC you can run the all AT THE SAME TIME. Or at the very least you are running your primary OS at the same time as whichever one (or two or three) you are working with.

    Of course you can do the same with VirtualPC for windows but then you are stuck with windows as your primary OS.

  4. Re:Virtual PC == Cheating by byolinux · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, Windows NT was made for PPC.

    FAQ

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  5. Re:Except by talexb · · Score: 5, Informative
    • He lists Windows 1-3 in that list... those aren't OSes

    So I guess you didn't read the comment where he says, "Technically, these are actually operating environments".

  6. Emulators for the Mac by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you are interested in running various emulators on your Mac, then I recommend John Stile's Emulation.net web site. It covers Game consoles, desktop OSs, arcades and handhelds. IMO, worth the visit.

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  7. Re:Nice Testimonial by facelessnumber · · Score: 4, Informative

    What about VNC? That was relatively recent, and definitely a boon for a lot of us. Came from AT&T Cambridge, AKA Bell Labs.