---------- Original message ---------- Subject: Linux question Date: Thursday, 15. November 2012 From: Ben Kernan <bkpro...@yahoo.com> To: "g3-5-list@googlegroups.com" <g3-5-list@googlegroups.com> > I have a g-4 400 (sawtooth ?),1gig ram w/12 & 40 gig drives. Currently > running 10.4 on the 40. What flavor Linux could I put on the 12, & what > freeware would work with it,if any is available. This would be an > educational tool for me as I have a 24" iMac. I seem to remember something > called Stone Suite as an early s/w package for Linux...
First of all: what’s wrong with continuing to run 10.4 Tiger on a Mac? I still run Tiger on mine, and with TenFourFox even Internet is possible (without Java that is). I additionally use NoScript, so I don’t see so much of a security problem here. Second, Linux is different. There is no “stable” API for applications, so there are almost non. In other words: you just don’t find very much commertial software for Linux due to this fact. What you do find will propably only work on Ubuntu and maybe some others (like Fedora/RedHat, openSUSE/SLES, …) *on* *x86* but not on ppc/ppc64 or any other architecture (ARM, MIPS, Alpha, SPARC, …). The term “Freeware” is wrong in this context. Normally you speak of Freeware when there is a proprietary (closed source) i.e. commercial-like application that is given away for free. Like OnyX. But Linux mostly provides _o_pen _s_ource _s_oftware, “OSS”. Mozilla Firefox and VLC are such examples. They are available on a variety of operating systems, like Windows, OS X, Linux… even iOS and Android. Other OSS is only available on/for Linux. Like some filesystem drivers or system applications. BTW, CUPS, the Common Unix Printing System, which was also used in Mac OS X since the early days is also the standard Linux printing solution. It was bought by Apple, and now every Linux computer uses OSS that is “Apple, Inc.” branded. Fun, if you think of it. Apple itself also uses a lot of OSS in the depth of Mac OS X. Just the GUI, “Aqua”, and the applications are closed source by Apple. Even the browser uses OSS: WebKit. Anyway, I am thinking that most modern Linux distributions got bloated. I use Gentoo Linux, and I decided to go with KDE, but this is a no-go on a Power Mac with 400 MHz. It will feel even worse than Leopard. So I found this: http://justaguythinkingblog.blogspot.co.at/2012/04/alternative-os-for-older- powerpc-macs.html And I can second that. I’d go for a lightweight Linux (more precisely: Window Manager, like: KDE, Gnome, Xfce, LXDE, …) on an older Power Mac, just like I would prefer Tiger over Leopard. Other links, that may be of interest: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-pmac/index.html http://penguinppc.org/ http://mac.linux.be/content/apple-powerpc-wiki So, my advice: “Forget Lion, Give MintPPC Linux a Try” (scoll down a bit): http://lowendmac.com/misc/11mr/mb0516.html#6 Get it: http://www.mintppc.org/ Although, I have to admit: I didn’t try MintPPC. Instead, I tried Gentoo: http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-ppc.xml http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gentoo-ppc-faq.xml http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/Apple_Power_Mac_G4_Quicksilver_(M8493) You can even boot a live system from a USB pen drive: http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/LiveUSB_on_PPC But first, you need to get into “command line editing”, and get Gentoo there: http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/where.xml Cheers, Andreas aka Mac User #330250 p.s. Forget that I even mentioned Gentoo Linux. Go for MintPPC! (No command line editing there!) If it really must be Ubuntu, use the 10.04 LTS (i.e. long time support) version, that will be supported until April 2013 or 12.04 LTS until April 2017. You see the problem with 10.04? And I advice a slimmer Window Manager (i.e. GUI), like Gnome 2 (Mint uses this) or Xfce (Xubuntu) or LXDE (Lubuntu). Also, be adviced that PPC support for Ubuntu is not official! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(operating_system) -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
