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Linux beats Windows to Intel iMac

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the because-you-can dept.

Ctrl+Alt+De1337 writes "The Mactel-Linux folks have now successfully booted Linux on a 17" Core Duo iMac. They used the elilo bootloader, a modified kernel, and a hacked vesafb to boot from a USB drive. No GUI pictures for now, just white text on a black background. The distro of choice was Gentoo, and instructions and patches are promised this weekend."

31 of 537 comments (clear)

  1. Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    World's most expensive desktop linux machine

  2. Oh boy! by WebHostingGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    White text on a black background; that sure beats that old OSX graphical interface.

    --
    Quality Hosting e3 Servers
    1. Re:Oh boy! by DrEldarion · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, but now you can actually play games on the mac!

      Oh, wait... never mind.

    2. Re:Oh boy! by Slithe · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, it was Linyos Torovoltos.

      --
      ---- "XML is like violence. If it doesn't fix the problem, you aren't using enough."
  3. i wasn't aware there was a competition by pxuongl · · Score: 4, Funny

    i wasn't aware there was a competition

    1. Re:i wasn't aware there was a competition by tciny · · Score: 5, Funny

      John Dvorak begs to differ. Apples move to Intel will harm Linux!
      Clearly its obvious this will show computer users worldwide that OSX' graphical user interface is far superior to the Linux' shell, thus making them buy Apple boxen.
      Netcraft confirms it: Linux is dead.

  4. Windows Vista still in the running by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 4, Funny

    expect to see it in, oh, maybe five years.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  5. Why the delay... by Syberghost · · Score: 5, Funny

    . The distro of choice was Gentoo, and instructions and patches are promised this weekend. ...when Gnome finishes compiling.

  6. Damn, now I feel depressed.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    The distro of choice was Gentoo, and instructions and patches are promised this weekend."


    I'm not even smart enough to get Gentoo booting off my PC! :(
  7. Saves memory by 77Punker · · Score: 5, Funny

    See, because the background is black, you can store the color in a single 8-bit register instead of taking up a whole 32-bit register and it saves so much space in the L1 cache that it makes the computer go so much faster. Also, from a usability standpoint, the console is much better because it doesn't have any of those confusing buttons or hard to install mouse drivers. Just type the command and it's been done before you know it; no more waiting for the GUI to load its fancy pictures.

    The worst thing is that I'm actually going to college with people that have that very same dinosaur mentality that I just spoofed. Then again, a little fancy ASM code in all of the C++ flying around really could speed things up, but I just have more of a preference towards ASM over higher level stuff.

    1. Re:Saves memory by Bob+of+Dole · · Score: 5, Funny

      8 bits? Are you mad? If only we had that much ram to waste!
      Black on white. Two colors: ONE BIT DISPLAYS!

      --
      I respond to your sigs
    2. Re:Saves memory by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 5, Funny

      The worst thing is that I'm actually going to college with people that have that very same dinosaur mentality that I just spoofed.

      A friend I went to university was recently boasting about his latest hardware acquisition - a colossal Apple monitor (I'm pretty sure it was the 30in Cinema display) and an appropriately speedy graphics card for his PC to drive it.

      He uploaded a photo. He runs nothing but Xterms, tiled across the display thanks to some ultra-primitive window manager.

      I nearly flew across the Atlantic in order to beat him to death with my prehistoric gaming CRT...

      --
      Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
  8. Call CNN! by w0lver · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow, Linux is more flexible and you can customize the installation routine! This is completely unexpected... In other breaking news, water still wet and gravity still in effect

  9. Linux on iMac - so what? by TomDLux · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you want to run freeBSD on an iMac, you don't have to do anything.

  10. Before anyone asks... by Weaselmancer · · Score: 3, Funny

    The answer is "because you can".

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
  11. Re:+1 obvious by TedCheshireAcad · · Score: 2, Funny

    But what you don't see coming is the push to boot GNU/Hurd on these new Macs!

  12. NetBSD? by CodePoet82 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Okay, so it runs Linux now. But can it boot NetBSD yet? ;)

    1. Re:NetBSD? by xxdinkxx · · Score: 2, Funny

      Its not a toaster...

  13. oblig by blue_adept · · Score: 1, Funny

    In Soviet Russia,
    Intel beats YOU.

    sorry, couldn't help myself.

    --

    "Is this just useless, or is it expensive as well?"
    1. Re:oblig by halivar · · Score: 4, Funny

      In Soviet Russia,
      Intel beats YOU.

      Seeing a 5-digit UID post this is a bit like watching one's respected grandfather get drunk at a town-hall meeting and puke all over the podium.

  14. Re:Windows on iMac? by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF · · Score: 1, Funny

    Is Microsoft planning this? Does Jobs approve of it, or will he used the DMCA to keep Microsoft of his farm?

    Ummm... what is your native language? "of his farm???"

  15. In other news.... by Ledsock · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...it was recently announced that Linux had been ported to run on a standard wrist watch. Developer John I. Ronman stated, "This is really only a tech demo. Currently, the display only shows 18:88:88, but we are confident that not only will this allow the watch to display the time, but it will be Open Source time!"

    --
    What is mankind really? Well, it's just two words put together Mank, and ind.
  16. Re:Honestly, did anyone think Windows would be fir by SchrodingersRoot · · Score: 3, Funny

    No kidding.
    Besides which, with the skill and numbers of Linux fanboys, I'd almost have expected Linux to beat OSX to the punch, ya know? Dollars to doughnuts that they would've, given an equal shot at it.

  17. Re:Modified kernel? by archeopterix · · Score: 5, Funny
    And has anyone tried sticking in a pre-release DVD of Windows Vista, holding down the D key, and seeing what happens?
    I did 2 of the above. Here is the result:

    dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd ddddddddddddddddddddddd

  18. hardcore by Tumbleweed · · Score: 2, Funny

    "You're not hardcore unless you shave with a rock."

    Wuss. You're not hardcore unless you pluck the whiskers out individually ... with your fingers!

  19. OT: Oblig. Cheney by Kadin2048 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cheney shot a lawyer?

    There won't be one. We're kind of hoping he starts a trend.

    --
    "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
  20. Quick, call Dvorak by chinton · · Score: 2, Funny

    Someone better let Dvorak know... He may want to update his article: "Will Apple Adopt Windows^H^H^H^H^H^H^HLinux?"

  21. Re:Slashdotted by A+beautiful+mind · · Score: 2, Funny

    "16 Feb 2006: Linux boots Linux boots on the 17" iMac Core Duo, due to gimli's work."

    Hey you Apple zealots out there, now THIS is proof that Mac OSX got dwarf'd out there!

    --
    It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
    Be yourself no matter what they say
  22. Re:Slashdotted by endoplasmicMessenger · · Score: 1, Funny
    The kernel boots, and you can interact with the system on the command line, but that's as much as you can do with it at the moment.

    So the command line works! Awesome!

    You mean you've created another ls/bash/sed/awk/perl/tcl/python heaven??

    I can die now.

    --
    Evolution is a fact. Darwinism is a joke.
  23. New mod category? by roosterx · · Score: 2, Funny

    I wish there was a "Who Cares" mod. I would use that one here. :)

  24. Then watch THIS! by Markus+Landgren · · Score: 2, Funny

    I just heard some sad news on talk radio - Horror/Sci Fi writer Stephen King was found dead in his Maine home this morning. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon.