Mandrake 9.1 (Bamboo) Out For PPC

sonatinas writes "Well, Mandrake 9.1 is out for PPC processors and a nifty utility included is the Mac-on-Linux feature where you can run mac os 9/x in a window at native speed." MoL is one thing that has impressed me for years about YellowDog Linux, too.

Linux-On-Mac?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is there a Linux-On-Mac program that would allow me to run linux-ppc in a virtual machine at near-full speed on my mac?

-andrew

Re:Linux-On-Mac?

[physicsnerd]

I guess my 1st question is why do you want to do this? While I'm not aware of any program that does this (unless virtual PC will do it), most any linux program can be run on OSX with a recompile. I have several custom linux programs running on my powerbook right now. Didn't have a single problem porting any of them. They're all fairly simple programs for school, but it still was really easy. If there's anything that you really need linux for you can always do a dual boot. If have a certain task you want to accomplish post a reply and I'll see if I can help.

Re:Why run Linux on a Mac?

[saintlupus]

I don't understand why anyone would bother running Linux on a Mac.

Then you've never tried to run OS X on a 1999 issue Powerbook.

Back under your bridge, troll.

--saint

Re:Linux-On-Mac?

[joelhayhurst]

Not sure if you can do that, but by using Fink [sourceforge.net] and Apple X11 [apple.com] you can run a ton of stuff, including a complete KDE 3.1 implementation inside Aqua. Here's a screenshot [purdue.edu] of what it can look like.

I know this wasn't what you were asking for, but if you didn't know about this stuff, hopefully you can find it helpful.

Re:Why run Linux on a Mac?

[foonie]

Then you've never tried to run OS X on a 1999 issue Powerbook. Well, I've run OS X on a 1998 issue PowerBook, and so have many others. It wasn't as unusable as you imply.

Re:Why run Linux on a Mac?

[saintlupus]

Well, I've run OS X on a 1998 issue PowerBook, and so have many others. It wasn't as unusable as you imply.

I found it pretty torturous -- not so much because of the age of the processor, I don't think, but because the (Lombard?) I was using had such an anemic video subsystem. Running OS X 10.2 was not a pleasant experience, especially next to the Quicksilver I've got on my desk at work.

(YDL, on the other hand, flew like a bat out of hell, especially running Windowmaker. I can't wait until the 3.0 box sets ship.)

Also, my response was probably a little short because I'm sick of the "why run Linux when you can run OS X" question that comes up _every_ time the PPC port of Linux is mentioned. OS X is not going to run at all on my 7200/90, or to my satisfaction on the Lombard, and so I'm glad stuff like Bamboo is available as an alternative.

--saint

Chomp Chomp Chomp

[Vagary]

I don't know what this flashy thing wiggling in the water is, but it certainly looks tastier than work...

1. This is your only good point Apple are certainly masters of the PowerPC. However as ESR is fond to remind us, very little of the Linux experience is actually from the kernel: you could easily build a free desktop on Darwin.
2. • I think applications perhaps benefit from open source even more than systems. Non-programmers can be much more active participants in the bug fixing process and the ease of evaluating competing applicatiosn should lead to faster evolution.
   • I agree that Linus' approach doesn't scale, however that's what keeps Linux modular and non-monolithic.
   • By now everyone who uses a computer should know better than to compare version numbers between programs. Unless, of course, you want to compare MacOS 2.x with Linux, Apache, etc.
3. My efficiency increases when moving from a non-customised Mac or Windows GUI to my Sawfish/Gnome desktop as much as moving from DOS to ksh. I use my computer enough that I'm willing to put in the time to learning new features. If someone else is using it, they can use a simpler (or their own!) environment.
4. apt-get fucked
   E: Invalid operation fucked

Dual Boot Installation

[Farley Mullet]

Does anyone know how easy it is to dual-boot Bamboo (or other PPC-Linux distros) with OS X? I've seen a few (older) faq's about dual-booting with Debian and Gentoo, but both required a fresh reinstall of OS X as well as linux, which would be a real pain. I know from my experience in x86-land that Mandrake made dual-boot installations nice and easy, but i couldn't find any details on their site about PPC installations; for most details about anything it just refers the reader to the x86 info for details, for the most part.

Re:Why run Linux on a Mac?

[oravecz]

I have been a long time PC user who really likes the Windows XP interface and platform. I code Java for a living mostly on Windows machines, and deploy on IBM AIX. I have been running a small business Linux server for about three years.

When I first saw the 800Mhz TiBooks, it was love at first sight. I rationalized that since they were running OS X and now Unix based, it was time for me to give it a chance. I used the OS for 9 months and found it to be very frustrating, and I am an adaptable guy. I even attended the weekly Apple Store classes to learn and pick the brains of the Macopian staff.

I soon realized that the Mac had horrible file management support. The Finder in OS X is a joke (I hear it was better in OS 9), and not being able to create a directory in the save as dialog was paralyzing. My favorite IDE (intelliJ Idea) had moved on to JDK 1.4 and Apple was languishing far behind in their delivery of a current JDK. Various utilities that I think are essential to my work (WinZip, TextPad) did not have suitable OS X approximations. The lack of a start menu and context menus are a throwback. You will never convince me that these functions don't increase a user's mobility in a system. Also the single menu bar!? The mac makes me feel like I am working with only one program at a time.

When YellowDog recently announced YDL 3.0, I didn't hesitate to pay for the package in order to get it from their YDL.NET site before it was available for general download. Once I downloaded ISO's that passed the checksum, installation proceeded painlessly.

The rich set of applications I now have are truly need to haves. Their have been issues along the way, and I could document a bunch of them, but I haven't had any of the problems the coward referred to.

I dual-boot *and* run mac-on-linux. I spend most of my time in YDL, but I don't have to miss iTunes, Sherlock, or even Safari since they are a virtual desktop away.

PS: Big Linux PPC issues -- no Flash (some would say a good thing, until it is really needed), and difficult hardware support for Firewire drives. I wish that the entire Mac System Preferences was cloned for the PPC.

Re:Linux-On-Mac?

[Jim Buzbee]

Look into User Mode Linux. It allows a linux kernel to run in user-space with all of the "normal" associated user-space programs. Right now, it only runs on Linux, but I've seen a comment from the developer that it could be ported to other architectures including OSX.