Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

wteixeir · Mar 10, 2003, 06:57 PM

Does anyone know where can i download Linux to run on my Virtual PC and where can i find an installation guide ???? And which one should i download (debian, mandrake,....) I have a Powerbook G4, which one is the best option ?

Thanks

Gene Jockey · Mar 10, 2003, 08:37 PM

Debian. www.debian.org

Don't know of an installation guide for Linux on VPC. I got it to work before, it wasn't worth it. Crappy performance. If you want Linux on your Powerbook, just install Debian PPC. I did

--Josh

clarkgoble · Mar 10, 2003, 09:29 PM

More particularly *why* would you want to run Linux on VPC? After all the entire Linux experience is largely replicated on OSX with X11 and Fink. The only difference is slight changes of preference location.

Unless you want it just to be able to "test" things before running them on a server, there is no point.

Even PPC Linux only makes sense if you have a legacy system that OSX doesn't run well on.

Avon · Mar 11, 2003, 07:06 PM

I think your best option is to just mess around with OS X. I cant imagine what you would want to run on linux that you cannot run on os x.

It will be slow.

But if you must mess around, please use Mandrake Linux.

Its So easy to install. Id have to say its just as easy to install as os x, and at least 100 times easier to install than windows.

crazyjohnson · Mar 12, 2003, 05:19 PM

Mandrake was actually not as up to date (in terms of hardware support) as Yellow Dog Linux was. Having installed both, I would say that Yellow Dog is easier to install, maintain, is less bloated, and had more up to date hardware support.

Originally posted by Avon:
I think your best option is to just mess around with OS X. I cant imagine what you would want to run on linux that you cannot run on os x.

It will be slow.

But if you must mess around, please use Mandrake Linux.

Its So easy to install. Id have to say its just as easy to install as os x, and at least 100 times easier to install than windows.

rantweasel · Mar 13, 2003, 05:21 PM

Originally posted by wteixeir:
Does anyone know where can i download Linux to run on my Virtual PC and where can i find an installation guide ???? And which one should i download (debian, mandrake,....)

In addition to what has already been said about why run linux when you already have OS X, you'll get much better performance running some form of PPC linux than running linux on VPC, and even better performance running NetBSD or OpenBSD than linux. But the whole thing is moot - unless there is a really good reason for running linux (there isn't), just use OS X.

mathias

Avon · Mar 13, 2003, 08:55 PM

Originally posted by crazyjohnson:
Mandrake was actually not as up to date (in terms of hardware support) as Yellow Dog Linux was. Having installed both, I would say that Yellow Dog is easier to install, maintain, is less bloated, and had more up to date hardware support.

Really? are you talking about mandrake for PPC or Mandrake Linux 9.0 for i386???

I have never installed Yellow Dog, but If its half as good as Mandrake for intel, then its worth installing.

crazyjohnson · Mar 13, 2003, 10:17 PM

Mandrake PPC. Mandrake for x86 supports a lot of stuff; however, I do not think that the PPC port is number 1 on Mandrakes list right now (seeing as how they are having $$ problems, etc.).

I have instaleld Mandrake on an x86. Yellow Dogs insaller is faster, very simple ("Mac like" actually), and for PPC I would guess that it supports more hardware (especailly the newer graphics cards which is where I had trouble). I was very impressed. But then again, one day you will stop and realize you need to ditch those Mandrakes and RedHats and be a man and install Slackware.

Peace.

Originally posted by Avon:
Really? are you talking about mandrake for PPC or Mandrake Linux 9.0 for i386???

I have never installed Yellow Dog, but If its half as good as Mandrake for intel, then its worth installing.

Avon · Mar 16, 2003, 11:38 PM

Originally posted by crazyjohnson:
But then again, one day you will stop and realize you need to ditch those Mandrakes and RedHats and be a man and install Slackware.

Peace.

I enjoy a good BSD actualy. FreeBSD is the best, but for PPC, NetBSD is the best option. I love FreeBSD, its so clean and simple. Only problem is that you must configure and set up EVERYTHING.

I find Mandrake Linux to be the easiest OS to install and configure out of all the Unix like OS. I am simply amazed, that you can go from a bare drive to a fully usable system (word processors, servers, clients, graphics, everything...) in a matter of 15 minutes. And get this.... Yes, your printer and all your devices will work!

bousozoku · Mar 19, 2003, 08:29 PM

I just managed to install Yoper Linux last night, after 5 tries. Yoper is a new, New Zealand-based distribution that happened to be included with the latest Linux Format magazine. Rather than pay for a shrink-wrapped version of anything, I just wanted to try the one that came with the magazine.

It's a lot of fun getting it to run, VPC or not, I think. It's speedy enough but I have a dual 800.

I'd like to know more about the differences between Linux and UNIX, so I'm investigating this way. It would be nice to have a job again, esp. with UNIX knowledge already built-in.

cutterjohn · Mar 22, 2003, 01:45 AM

...er... why not just install a native linux on a spare partition, 2-3G should do for a nice install... of course there is also the problem of needing a second partition for virtual memory, most likely ~256M or so should do.

All of this being said, you're not getting much bang for your buck if you just want to play around with a unixlike OS. As others have pointed out OSX is just as good(better with the GUI & native apps) and adding fink + a rootless X11 picks up all the odds and end. With the hardware you're talking about too, you shouldn't have any speed issues with OSX either, which was my reason for turning an ibook2(500) into a linux machine, while keeping OSX on the Pismo which could run OSX acceptably if not efficiently.

(You could also, probably, use Darwin ports instead of fink, but last I looked it was still pretty well half(tenth?) baked. Anyone else try it recently?)

in any event powerpc distros:
YellowDog Linux, Debian, Mandrake, SuSE(don't recomend as I doubt they'll support ppc much longer), Slackintosh(Slackware based), and Gentoo.

YellowDog seems to have the best out of the box hardware support, although at this point I'd wait for 3.0 to be available from mirrors. (mid April I'd guess.)

Debian sounds like it works pretty well too, but requires a) prior experience, or b) the intelligence, ability, and willingness to help yourself out by doing some basic research.

Gentoo similar situation to Debian, but you'll be building most of your apps from source which will take a while, possibly days before you get a graphical system.

Mandrake: there's a beta of 9.? out. I haven't bothered with it though, butt I'd expect it's hw support is at least as good as YDL's.

Slackintosh: never bothered tracking it, but it would also classify as a Debian like situation. Dilettantes need not bother.