Whats the best linux distro for mac powerbook g3 lombard. Fully working and wellperforming web browsers are indeed the main headache we have in the software area on the ppc platform. Sadly, solus does not have quite as much software available as other linux distros. Thankfully, if you feel you just need a certain application or program, you. Its simple to swap your big, noisy old pc for the slim, svelte mac mini, and this page aims to show you how to do just this. Linux mint is a great default distro for new linux users, as it comes with a lot of the software youll need when switching from mac or windows, such as libreoffice, the favored. The most popular distribution for the powerpc is called linuxppc without the slash, which is. In fact, 32bit powerpc support is going away in most.
This page lists linux equivalents for popular mac os x software. Software synths on os x a few posts ago i mentioned linux software synths and the wide range of choices on that platform. Ubuntu is also wellcatered for in terms of software support, with a rich repository of. I learned so much getting linux running on my g5, and really enjoyed the. Judging from the number of inquiries and search requests for ppc or powerpc we get at, deploying linux or bsd on this powerful platform is not nearly as rare as some would like us to believe. Im looking to install linux on an old ibook g4, which runs on powerpc insofar as i can tell. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. As fedora uses the robust wayland protocol, it also has access to distinctly mac like extended gestures, which are vital to recreating that slick, gliding desktop experience that macos is renowned for. It comes with os x tiger, which is fine, but slow, and a little outdated when it comes to internet browsing. If you keep the ppc distro running, certainly there will be a quite.
Shop linux online offers the latest linux distros on premium cd, dvd, and usb flash drives. Some people defend their favorite os to death and theyre so passionate that its hard to talk about it without. For running linux on an older pc in 2019, ill recommend you to go with ubuntu mate. Searching the web, i see very few possibilities to install a recent i. Interview with casey cullen, the creator of fienix, a powerpc. I remember doing this sort of thing with yellow dog linux and kubuntu ppc on powerbooks, as well as mac g3s, g4s, and g5s some years ago. Powerpc gnulinux applications optimization test gnulinux application packages, give feedback, or fix issues. Some ibook2 hardware, especially on recently introduced.
And the system needs less resource because it comes with less background services installed compared to ubuntu. I got the idea to create a new linux distribution after ubuntu announced. Some of the distributions mentioned here are also a part of the best linux distributions for beginners. What about installing alongside other linux distros. The ibook works well under ubuntu ppc and i love that, in principle, all free software in. On the other hand there might be enough ppc fanboys to maintain ppc packages and a distro or two. Hello there, complete offtopic, sorry about this, but my former idea was to install a centos on an old mac mini ppc. Unlike other distros, gentoo linux has an advanced package management system called portage. Powerpc is a risc microprocessor architecture created by the 1991 appleaibmamotorola.
Linux should make use of all xbox hardware and allow to install and run software from standard i386 linux distributions. The unsaid implication was that choices on os x powerpc suck by comparison, but thats not totally true. Installing a ppc linux on one of my useless old aluminum powerbook g4s just for the heck of it has been on my todo list for a long time but i have this feeling ill never get around to it. Due to the open source nature of the linux kernel and the debian operating system, it is possible to build the same software to run on the powerpc processor found inside the mac mini. Modern versions of java are available through ibm java and openjdk.
Disappointed to see that powerpc is not a supported architecture and that non arm or intel architecture are not managed by recent distros. Linux breathes new life into old mac computers infoworld. Installing debian linux on ppc part i preinstallation 42415. Outstanding projects for powerpc 64 big endian gnulinux. A key resource for powerpc linux development is penguinppc, which. The powerpc port of the crux linux distribution is a contributed project by giulivo. Linux on powerpc has become popular in the past two years as mac os users have started to. Apples recent mac updates have left some users running for the exits. Debian has access to online repositories containing more than 50,000 packages. Slax is a fast, small and portable linux live usb distro, was based on slackware.
No offense to the other guys, but sometimes i wonder if some of the other distros can spell ppc, let alone run on it. There is ubuntu for ppc, but they dropped support so it is just unofficial support. Officially, debian only contains free software, but nonfree software can be downloaded from the repositories. A key resource for powerpc linux development is penguinppc, which also includes a hardware compatibility list. And were not talking about an old version of linux. Archlinux ppc has the newest software available kde 4. Just like other distro it is a free software and opensource linux distribution for power architecture hardware.
Member since mar 31, 2007 location midwest posts 125 your macs specs powermac g4 mdd dual 1. If the 100 mhz ppc mac is a 8100, you wont be able to run linuxppc on it, these firstgeneration nubus ppc macs arent supported. I know that certain distros are more friendly and supportive for specifit laptops hardware support. It supports 64bit and 32bit hardware, with 64bit supporting both little and big endian modes, while aiming to. Here are some resources to help you make the switch to linux, including some great linux distros to replace macos. Recommend me a distro for a preintel mac powerbook g4 laptop. One problem with using linux on older macs is that many distros are dropping support for older cpus or even the whole powerpc family.
Debian has one of the largest official repositories of any linux distribution. At the moment, there are only a few web browsers that can be built for powerpc and firefox has to be compiled. Revive a powerpc mac running linux the mac observer. I have to migrate from using fedora core on i386 to a linux distro on ppc powerbook g3 lombard. Linux on macs is possible but what are the best distros. Y does not work on ppc, lets publish stable for the other platforms and fix the ppc problem later. Debian ships with libreoffice, firefox esr, vlc, gimp, evince, and more. Distro for 32bit powerpc hi all, my most beloved novelty is my powerbook g3 bronze keyboard from 1999 running a current distro, with the safety patches and software necessary for. It includes the most popular programs, but if you are looking for a less known one, you may be out of luck. Some of its features include easeofuse, custom user interface with. All apple power macintosh systems up to and including the g4 use processors supported by this kernel.
We also stated the importance of keeping powerpc linux distros alive, especially in their ppc64 variant. Portage is a true ports system in the tradition of bsd ports, but is pythonbased and sports a number of advanced features including dependencies, finegrained package management, fake openbsdstyle installs, safe unmerging, system profiles, virtual. Distro watch pear linux is a french ubuntubased desktop linux distribution. As with most live linux distributions, you can place systemrescuecd on either or cd or usb drive, and it offers an easyto. Another good ppc gnulinux distribution is archlinux ppc 1. Fedora server allows users to run software on cloudbased or physical linux based servers. To connect with linux on powerpc macs, log in or create an account. By far the best way to install linux on a mac is to use virtualisation software, such as virtualbox or parallels desktop. By installing a flavor of linux, you get access to the latest. It doesnt matter if its an ancient powerbook g4 or a slightly more recent model of macbook. Also take a look at yellow dog linux, its a linux distribution specifically for powerpcbased macs.
I recently got a free powerbook g4 mac laptop off a friend who no longer uses it. But for some reason, people are fixated on the looks of apples macos now, not everyone can afford or would want to buy a macbook just to use macos. The xbox linux project aims to privide a version of gnulinux for the xbox, so that it can be used as an ordinary computer. Updated for jessie stable ive been meaning to do this for awhile, so ive finally gotten around to giving you my thoroughly complete guide to installing linux on your old ibook, powerbook, mini, or power mac. Linux is also leaving ppc macs behind, jumping ship for intel, and hardware problems, dan knight, low end mac mailbag, 2008. After talking with others in our smallbutgrowing linux ppc. Additionally, those who wish to dual boot debian with mac os x will also. I guess the best distro for the powerpc based pc is yellow dog linux ydl. Shop linux online linux distros on cds, dvds, usb flash. Installing linux on powerpc computers running linux. Appcenter is the elementary os equivalent of the mac app store though many other distributions feature a similar system, with built in support. Despite its small size, slax provides a wide collection of preinstalled software for daily use, including a well organized gui. The only version of linux that runs on them is mklinux, which is dog slow. This article lists some macos lookalike linux distributions.
The included software works best on g3 and g4 processors. The comparison here is based on similarity to macos in looks and functioning there are several beautiful linux distributions already present in the linux world. Those were pretty well made machines, and i liked the powerpc architecture for its performance and inability to run x86 virus binaries. A lot of mac users have reported fedora to be one of the bestfunctioning linux distros you can run on a mac. Void linux for powerpcpower isa unofficial void linux ppc is a staging fork of the void linux distribution intended for the powerpcpower architecture.
Linux on, powerpc a lot had been said lately about running linux on powerpc and it reminds me a lot about the argument of pcs vs mac. While our focus is on older computers, you can also use most of these lightweight linux distros on relatively new hardware. Ive found all the linux flavours vary from machine to machine but ive yet to find one that didnt need post install work. Whether it is the attraction of elegantly designed and innovative apple computers, or the sheer power behind the highend pseries servers, linux on powerpc is alive and well. Hi all, i hope this is the correct place to post this. The guys at terrasoft have done a lot of work in taking out much of the pain of getting linux running on a mac. Where can i find the linux distribution for the ppc architecture. The only powerpc macs that can use a 64bit operating system are g5 imacs and power macs. Webmasters and sysadmins with knowledge of any os can use the latest and greatest proprietary and open. A live disk can only give you an indication apart from the slow speed of running from the disk, most of the drivers wont be loaded either. Although having support in the future would be nice, the whole mac ppc thing is really obsolete. I actually used to run ppc linux in production many, many years ago, but ive never installed it since on anything newer than a titanium g4. So, you might want to check that if youre new to the linux universe. Is very simple to use it uses archlinux as base, so kiss keep it simple, stupid.