Slashdot Mirror
Free Software on a Cheap Computer
Shell writes "Is this the solution to free software on a cheap computer? NetBSD and Yellow Dog Linux have both begun to support the Mac Mini. This article from IBM looks at open source operating system options on this new contender in the embedded PowerPC platform space." From the article: "This article looks at the current state of Linux and NetBSD support on the Mini. If you need all the hardware and options fully supported, these open source options won't do it for you ... yet. But, if all you need is a stable kernel, a C compiler, and network support, the code is high-quality and the price is unbeatable." This is part two in the series. Part One was covered a while back.
"cheap computer"?
The Mac Mini starts at $499. You can get a brand new computer from Dell for $250. Now the Mac Mini is pretty inexpensive, but its not THAT cheap.
-d
"Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
Or, if you want full hardware support along with a stable kernel, a C compiler, and network support, you just leave it alone. What's the advantage of switching to a free OS when you've already paid for the Mac OS?
So you buy a Mac Mini, and want a free OS alternative? Why? First off, you already paid for OS X (which, BTW, is a damn good OS), so tell me again why would you need to install NetBSD or Yellow Dog Linux?
What's the point of that?
It's for people like me who like Apple HW, but think that OS/X sucks. If you don't like it, don't use it and STFU.
Last time I checked the Mac Mini shipped with MacOS X included, so you've got free (as in beer) software with it already. Apart from being free (as in speech), just what do NetBSD and Yellow Dog Linux have that the pre-installed software doesn't have? Can someone please enlighten me?
Buying a Mac Mini specifically to install another less polished OS onto it (NetBSD and Yellow Dog Linux may be many things, but neither is polished to MacOS X's standards) seems like really flawed logic.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Linux and MacOS are not source compatible. You can write portable software that knows how to adjust to the OS it's running on, but you can't deliver it to the customer if without testing the code paths they're going to use.
If the customer is going to use Linux PowerPC you have to test on Linux PowerPC. The mini is a cheap way of doing this.
I rarely criticize things I don't care about.