[Woehrle46]

I have an old Powerbase 180 sitting arround, so I thought i might try Linux on it. Would anyone be able to tell me what version of Linux or what distribution package would be best? This will be my first venture into the world of Linux so keep in mind that I know absolutely nothing about the operating system except that it seems to be faster than OS 9 which i have currently running on it. It's spces are:
180mhz
96mb ram
2gb hard drive

[Northform]

YellowDog Linux would be the best. The only other option is Mandrake 8.2 (LinuxPPC has ceased development and Debian is probably too dificult for starters).

The reason I prefer YellowDog is that it is (slightly) more mac-centric than Mandrake. Although many say that Mandrake is easier to install I've found it more difficult. The Mandrake installer is prettier, but also more complicated than YellowDog. I think the biggest reason to for go Mandrake would be the 2 CD download. YellowDog is contained on just one (meaning one less 650Mb file to download, one less used CD, and not having to swap CDs during install).

Functionality of the two are exactly the same in almost every respect. You wouldn't notice a real difference no matter how much you scrutinized (I think YellowDog comes with a different desktop pattern - which can be changed). Also, there is a KDE 3 port for YellowDog, but not Mandrake PPC. Although as a newbe installing it in linux probably won't be possible for you (you don't download a file and double click it like with the Mac or Win).

YellowDog equals Mandrake in all areas and sometimes is better. YellowDog's web site is nicer and it is the premier PPC distro. Closed source linux apps for PPC are usually built for it. Basicly you are getting a dedicated team on the OS versus just a port from a company that doesn't really deal with the PPC.

I've never uses SuSE, but that's because you can't download a copy (unless you want to do an FTP install - I would HIGHLY recomend against it). SuSE says this is to make people buy the CDs (and they're perfectly within their right to do this).

I've rambled on enough. Suffice it to say that YellowDog provides a better experence. And hey, if you want to try mandrake after just go ahead.

[Woehrle46]

thanks for the info. I will be installing Yellow Dog soon. One more question, what types of tasks would this computer be able to perform once i have it installed?

[Northform]

Originally posted by Woehrle46:
<STRONG>thanks for the info. I will be installing Yellow Dog soon. One more question, what types of tasks would this computer be able to perform once i have it installed?</STRONG>

You could use Mozilla, Galeon, or Konquorer to surf the web. GIMP is an able alternative to Photoshop. It could be used as a fileserver, webserver, proxy server, or pretty much any other server there is. You could make an mp3 collection or try out ogg vorbis (a new open audio codec unlike the closed mp3 format). Linux is a full fledged OS that can do anything a Mac or Windows can do. That doesn't mean that it can run the same programs, but linux does have alternatives for many of them. If I knew more of what you wanted to do I could point you to specific programs for linux, but the question you asked was like what can I do with a Mac. It's not a short answer.

I'm not an advocate of Linux's licencing terms, but I don't detract from them either. I have to admit that I was skeptical whether it would ever get to this usability level, but it has and it seems to be going forward quickly enough. One of the things that has helped spur linux ahead is that features aren't left out in order to be able to sell an upgrade later or other corporate reasons.

I hope you'll be pleasantly suprised by it, just don't try to make it act like a Mac. If it ever asks you how you want it to look/feel just take the default because the others are just poor excuses and why use an OS other than it was intended to be used. I prefer Gnome as the interface, but many like KDE. The beauty of linux is that it installs both and you can try them out and see what you like (that noncorporate interest thing where people get to decide what they like to use).

&lt;tangentComment&gt;Webbrowsing is quite fast in linux (with mozilla).&lt;/tangentComment&gt;

I guess that is all I have to say. Just post a reply if you have any questions after you are up and running. I am glad to help.