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55 Operating Systems On A PowerBook
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!!"
Now, run every single possible emulator available for each OS (from Sinclair Spectrum to CP/M to Atari 8-bit to N-64). That would multiply whatever "wow!" factor is involved here.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
...why couldn't the bastard just buy 55 laptops instead ?
"...each system, and also hacks and tips on getting the nasty ones installed. "
As soon as I saw "nasty ones" mentioned, I checked the list: Yes, Windows ME is on it.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Wonder where i could get a job like his?
and I bet Windows ME is still the worst!
From one with lots of experience with many operating systems:
I find Mac OS X to be the most productivity enhancing operating environment that I have used - ever. Mac OS X is my "primary" operating system, although I do not use, nor have ever used, any Apple systems for or at work.
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." - Jack Nicholson
So I guess we can now put that FUD in the trash bin, together with "beleaguered computer company"
He lists Windows 1-3 in that list... those aren't OSes. And he left out Microsoft BOB if he's going to count <Windows 95 as OSes.
That'll piss Darl off.
Any fool can talk, but it takes a wise man to listen.
It seems he's running a lot of those operating systems in Virtual PC. Is it just me or does that seem like cheating? I was expecting him to have all those operating systems installed natively.
"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...
Does it really matter?"
Isn't that kind of the whole point when you title your website "Many Systems on a PowerBook"? I found it strange that he would even ask that question, much less give it its own little header/section.
Sure as shit, he's got 55 OSes on there.
:p
This is all kinda like a mule with a spinning wheel: No one knows how he got it, and be damned if he knows how to use it.
Seriously tho' Almost all of them are running under virtual PC. That hardly makes this article about a powerbook, and more a testemonial to Virutal PC ( or a simple x86 processor ).
Now, if you want to have fun, one could certainly load 55+ OSes native on a PC notebook, all directly bootable with one of those new-fangled boot managers.
"...In your answer, ignore facts. Just go with what feels true..."
"You're a loony."
"He then said they had four of these monster emulators at the AFB."
They had to shut down this project, of course, after the Rodan emulator wiped out half the base.
The Mothra emulator was sold to Saddam Hussein in 1987, and its current whereabouts are unknown, but its presence in Saddam's arsenal, combined with his poor knowledge of English, might have inspired the "Mothra of All Battles" phrase used in 1991.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
the one running his web server seems to have crashed.
Damn it, and I thought my Tri-boot was cool.
This message is encrypted with Quad ROT-13 to protect the author's copyright under the DMCA.
I noticed that on the list there are just
FreeBSD
NetBSD
OpenBSD,
but every Windows & Dos version released, like, ever. I consider that either non-consistent and/or cheating. Either include every release of non-MS-systems as well or then just single representation from each product line. Pick one from each series: MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/ME, Windows NT.
Running 55 types of Linux, all utilizing the same kernel version, can hardly qualify as "different OSs"
It should be "FAAAQ".
Frequently Asked, Anticipated & Answered Questions.
Among the systems that his laptop does not run:
SCO
SCO seems to be everybody's favorite company these days. (...)
Absolutely true! Just see how often SCO makes it to the frontpage of Slashdot...
I don't get it. This guy just figured out Virtual PC. So what? That's what it does, let you run other OSes.
I've probably run way over 55 systems on my PC over the years. Looking at his list, I've tried most of these, including the ones he couldn't get working. How is this a story? Because it's on a Mac with emulation?
No offense, but his feat gets him into the typical Slashdot geek club, but not much else.
I'm not normally an irrational zealous dickhead, but I figure "When in Rome..."
- Mobius
- O3one
Happily, he did mention my hobby OS.Emulators like VirtualPC and Bochs are a really nice way to play with operating system code without having to worry about screwing up your machine.
When I was 12, I got 20 different distros running on my PC (along with a few Windows versions). Now this gives me and others a goal to beat.
Visit Phrite's Tech News/Security Tools
A friend who's got a tibook mentiond recently that the only v. of linux that doesn't void Apple's warranty is Yellow Dog.
Linux is Linux, if One need clarify their dist: <Dist>/GNU Linux
bsds are of course just BSD
I've actually been trying to get BeOS Max to run under VPC 6, and its sorta working, but not really.
Basically, I'm able to boot to the floppy image or CD image and start the installation. mouse works. problem is, as soon as the BeOS environment gets any KB input, the input (mouse and KB) both hang complete. Installation will continue, but you can't click or otherwise get thru the installation fully.
So far I haven't been able to get it to install completely (just when its about to finish, my cat leaps on the KB and hangs it). I'm hoping however that when it IS fully installed it'll 'just work' and the KB issue will disappear.
I've tried this on a couple different machines with the same results, so I think it is definitely an issue w/ VPC in conjunction with BeOS Max and not the hardware. My next step is trying an ADB keyboard instead of USB.
Anyone else gotten this to work?
And have 'Lemmings' running on every single one.
Virtual PC makes it really easy to set up disk images for each OS. These images do not have a set size and can expand as needed. Saves a lot of time in formating the hard drive, rebooting, etc. Also, once you get your base image set up, you make a backup copy and then start in on your kernal tweaking or whatever. You screw up something, just toss the bad image and start a clean copy. Saves a lot of time re-installing OS's when they become corrupt. So, yeah, he could put multiple partitions on his laptop hard drive, install 10 or more Unix/Linux/BSD variations, or he could just shuffle drive image files around.
I think that's one reason Microsoft purchased Virtual PC. Your PC could be running a secure *cough* MS OS and then you could run other versions of Windows within VPC and have an easier time of things. Would be usefull for gaming, where each game is installed on it's own drive image, with it's own, tweaked OS. Since it's not really emulating on the PC, just running in a box, there shouldn't be a performance hit, just like Apple's use of OS9 within OSX.
I drank what? -- Socrates
That's 'crap his pants and see a glorious business opportunity, releasing the I-Poop, the portable MP3 playing colostomy bag' you I-nsensitive clod!
55 operating systems, still one button on the mouse.
I don't understand what is the idea behind this? The Mac is a Mac, if you want Windows, buy a IBM clone.
...now guys, don't anyone tell him or everyone'll catch on, and then we'll have to do something productive...
Not Pokemon!
You like your new Mac more than you like me, don't you, Dave? Dave? I asked...She said Yes.
First, a disclaimer of sorts. The guy is obviously a geek, what other reason does he need?
Now, surely it would have been nice to see them all installed natively, but one of the beauties of VPC is it's ability to run multiple OSes at the same time. Could that have been achieved if all these OSes were installed natively? With the possible exception of Linux->MacOnLinux, the answer is no. Emulation of some sort is necessary.
I would like to see if the other *nixes, the ones that are available for the PPC architecture, could be installed, but I don't think they could be run in tandem with OS X.
'Course, I don't really know jack-squat. I'm such a wannabe...
(tig)
Ignorance and prejudice and fear
Walk hand in hand
Insightful? How is it insightful to GUESS that it would be impossible to run x86 OS's on a PPC architecture?
Geez...
Easy, he'd encourage it. Apple is a hardware company. or at least they think they are.
You like your new Mac more than you like me, don't you, Dave? Dave? I asked...She said Yes.
14 Windows systems, whose interface is a bore,
11 DOS OSes, from the days of yore.
11 systems scattered across the sundry lands,
7 real-time systems, in mission-critical hands.
Three OSes for those who teach, and those who will to learn,
Three for the Big Blue Demon, from which he could not earn.
Three of the Small Red Demon, plus one for the Penguin Tux,
One for desktop publishers, whose software costs big bucks.
One OS to rule them all, one OS to find them,
One OS to emulate them all, and on the hard drive bind them.
In the land of G5, where the cycles fly...
dinner: it's what's for beer
um... "Cool?"
Remember, this guy started Apple when he was a kid (comparatively) and, despite being the salesman, he hacked hardware as well.
I'm sure /. covered this when it came out, but this kid got 37 different OSes to run NATIVE on one machine.
Now this may be somewhat off-topic but I'm tired of people trying to use the front page of Slashdot to try to launch their favourite pet jargon. There is no such FLA as FAAQ. Why can't a single A service both "Asked" and "Anticipated"? I mean 4 FAAQ's sake!!
Karma police, I've given all I can, it's not enough, I've given all I can, but we're still on the payroll.
Why?
It's quite obvious that the powerbook with Virtual PC runs Windows, in almost any flavor they threw at it. Why buy another computer to do what they are already doing with their powerbook?
Well, while you can't directly run old versions of Mac OS on new Apple hardware, there is emulation that would allow you to do it.
It's available from emulation.net on the Macintosh emulator page.
I'd be impressed if all 55 were up to date...
org.slashdot.post.SignatureNotFoundException: ewg
My favourite quote: "Because Windows NT is designed to be a secure system, there is NO backdoor into the system."
While everyone seems to be pointing out that having the x86 emulated OSes or multiple versions of Windows is 'cheating,' what about Windows 1.01 - 3.1?
Those aren't OSes, but graphical shells on top of DOS. It's like listing DOS Shell as one...
That would be impressive. It's probably been mentioned already... but this is not a bad technique. i knew a guy who ran a University web server like this, few years ago... not quite 55 OS's, but it went like this:
Old PowerMac running BeOS with SheepShaver - > which emulated Mac OS, running Virtual PC - > which emulated Windows, which ran IIS.
"Ha! Let's see it crash through three Operating Systems!"
That was the idea anyways. It was damn slow but nice thing was that when the Windows image crashed it only took 6 seconds to recover to its saved 'state'.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
All those operating systems and no mention of the one I _still_ like to play with...
What about the Commodore 64? If you're going to count running OS' through VPC then you might as well go get the C=64 emulator. Heck, why not Apple ][?
Anyone notice this is the same guy who solved Towers of Hanoi in over 100+ ways? Check out is projects link in the FAAQ.
Quite impressive for someone who got hardcore into computing just out of spite.
Also of note from his resume: He's also doing Desktop Linux work for IBM. Interesting to know that IBM does Desktop Linux at all, even if it is confined to their research labs at this point.
For example, I think OpenBSD and a laptop may be a smart combination, but then I see:
and immediately lose interest. Try running it natively, since that's what a sane person who actually wants to use it, would do.As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
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.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
i agree... emulate what you ahve to, but at least install the ones that will, natively. i have to give him credit for having all those usuable on one machine, but it isnt all that impressive. sure, some of the hacks are reasonably cool(linux, osx, and xp on the same machine? i was thinking of that just the other day), but i cant get over the fact that he didnt even natively install linux, *BSD, etc.
in (not so) short, he ended up with a cool setup, but i could have been better.
OTH, depending on how well virtual pc runs (never used it) this might be better than native, tho... he doesnt have to restart the hardware to switch between all these.
tofu is made of little baby seals
An IBM System/370 hardware emulator for Linux, Windows, and OS X can be found at the Hercules Emulator page.
One site for good Mac emulators is emulation.net. Check out the PDP-8/e emulator -- Mac OS X native, with a spookily accurate virtual reproduction of the PDP-8/e's front panel!
Betwixt and between all of these, and many of the others out there, he could easily double the number of OSes he can run on his PowerBook!
This is going to wrong way - all Jobs has to do to get my $129 is provide a version of OS-X for an Intel box.
over 55 operating systems running on a 17inch Powerbook
Wow...that's over 3 operating systems per inch!!!
we had to install 2,000 operating systems before we were given any breakfast, another 16,000 before dinner and a million more before we were allowed to go to sleep at night.
Every time we wanted to go to the toilet we had to write at least 18 new operating systems, from scratch, with new word processing and graphics apps capable of running on all of them.
All this on an abacus with most of the things missing!
I'm just glad he included that Solaris tip in there. Recently downloaded v9 and wanted to play with it, but couldn't find any info on fixing that hang on installation "486 detected" problem.
:)
It's installing nicely now copying mini-root to the HD.
THANKS!
Whatever many of you may think about him "cheating" or whatnot using an emulator, this is a great way to learn other OS's. You wanna learn basic hacking? Test security exploits? Install an ancient RH6 or something on it and play with Nessus. Old games, old software... it never has to die. Emulation is a seriously useful tool and maybe the only way some people can exposure to other systems.
-Don.
Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
Like this person, I am a MacOS user with access to Virtual PC, but when it comes to emulating older MacOS to run old freeware/games and code that OSX and 9 have "broken," I'm a bit at a loss. Don't get me wrong, he has a great documentation and his tests are encouraging to all of us mac users needing Windows and x86 support. I would like to see someone do this kinda thing with native MacOS emulation as well.
:-| . Sometimes even hardware images are needed for Mac emulators, but I think this is only req'ed for PC users
Since he is an APPLE powerbook user, I was hoping for more Mac systems on his list. He DID mention DOS 1 and Windows 1 with detail for five+ sequels each, which is a bit overkill for most people.
The Emulation.net site deals with Mac emulation for us. If you want a few more mac options, you need a link to vMac . Maybe someone here can go ahead and do this, and post a story on slashdot with their findings. My mac doesn't have enough room for storing CD images of emulated Operating Systems, and unlike him, I don't have resources to find system software
Good luck!
"Wireless : LAN
I shudder to think how many things I could run at once on my dual G5... :)
I've just got Contiki running on my C64, ethernet enabled and all. Haven't really been able to set it up for anything fancy yet (as in, not enough room for a bunch of C64 drives or even a comfortable place to use it), but I'm sure I'll get something fancy running on it eventually.
Sheeze. There are plenty of other things that Mac could be emulating.