[H-GEN] Linux on Power PC

[Jason Henry Parker]

On Sun, 4 Oct 1998, Steve Pinel wrote:
> Have you thought about an Apple?  I believe that service can be done
> from any Apple authoprised dealer, just by showing the serial number.
> There are a number of *nix for Apple around, including a Red Hat based
> MkLinux, PPCLinux, and  development version of Debian.

I don't know about Apple warranties, but I can vouch for MkLinux; I've
had occasion to install and use it over the weekend, it looks pretty
slick.

For those not familiar:  If you want to run Linux on a Mac, you've got
two options:  linuxppc, which as far as I can tell is a port of linux
to Power PCs[1], or MkLinux, which also runs on Power PCs[1], but is
much cooler.

Mklinux is really Mach, running linux as a service.  It's pretty easy
to install (unpack these files into MacOS, put these files here and
there) and thereafter it's a reasonably standard Red Hat install
process.  (FTP installation works!)  The other advantae of installing
MkLinux instead is that changing it to a LinuxPPC system is merely a matter
of changing the kernel in use.  woo!  :)

Sadly, the Debian Installation documentation for the Power PC port was
sketchy at best, and not particularly heartening, you needed to have
Linux installed already, iirc.  I didn't see the point of installing an
experimental distribution[2].

Configuration is a little funky---getting X to run at higher resolution
means you have to boot to MacOS and use the control panel there
(Monitor and Sound, iirc) and documentation seems to be a little
lacking.  Changing lilo.conf also requires a trip into MacOS-land.

Mac filesystem support is present, but is read-only for the time
being.

All in all, if you're after a desktop (grin) and you've got access to a
Power PC---go for it.

Jason, revelling in yet more non-wintel boxes.

[1] : I can't remember what other hardware these run on, look at
      http://www.mklinux.apple.com/  and
      http://www.linuxppc.org/  for more information.

[2] : http://master.debian.org/~joey/  for more information on the port of
      Debain to the Power PC.

-- 
``I think it's about time I got a life and for the past
20 years I haven't had one.''         --  Gareth Evans.
Jason Henry Parker, ph330812 at student.uq.edu.au    VVTPC