Eric Hedekar wrote:
Hi there,
I'm running an Umax S900 with a newertech G3 550mhz upgrade card and a twin turbo graphics card. It's currently on OS9 and I'm looking into loading Linux as well. I'm very new to both programming and Linux and I use my computer mostly for audio purposes. What I'm wondering is A)Which Linux flavour would you reccommend (I'm leaning towards Yellow Dog simply because of their dedication to the PPC), B)Are there any versions that do support my
hardware (I checked the Yellow Dog website and they claim the S900
'should work', the upgrade card 'might work', and the graphics
card I think it said 'probably won't work'), C)Would you reccommend
any websites or books that clearly and simply explain mac linux to
a beginner, and lastly D)Is there anything I should know?
Hi Eric. The S900's are based on the Tsunami board (9500-9600 apple), the upgrade card may pose a problem but it will appear during the install if there is one, the video card should be supported. The use, audio, maybe a problem when compared to what is on offer under the MacOS, still that shouldn't stop you from dual booting.
Compatibility varies between distros, the best way to judge is trail and error, dont be put off by "should work" as the main ppc distros are built by individuals, for example most of MDK is passed through a 8600 mac to test compatibility for all "old world" macs, leaving alot of models for us end users to test.
Old world means running bootx as a extension, CP and then loading the linux kernel if you choose to boot linux, Bootx should have no problems seeing your card and making use of the G3's cache. The distro's install will either see the cpu or it will fail.
Easiest install is possibly Linux ppc 2000 or Mklinux, both are dated running a 2.2 kernel and both have limited function compared to newwer distros, apple had a finger in these so the install is easy. There is still sites around for theses distro's but you would need to be a bit geeky to get much joy out of them. Gnome is installed by default *yuk* while KDE is very basic and slow, install mdk7.2 on a pc emulator to get a better result. ;) YDL is fairly easy, probably your best bet to get something working without to much mucking about. The installer is less than I'd like, I spent little time with it but what I saw looked "nice". MDK is a effort to install but well worth it in my opinion. You will likely need to pass options to the kernel to install and then boot, video most likely the problem. The MDK-PPC mailing list is very helpful, the people that make the distro are usually the first to reply. MDK is a favorite of mine and x-platforms well. The OSX theme is a little buggy ;) True to life?
All in all you can only try. Visit the host sites, read and buy a
dedicated drive to install on to. Most will install and boot, from
there its up to you. MDK requires the kernel to be changed for this.
In general mac users have a hard time with linux as the computer no longer crosses the "t's" and dots the "i's" while allowing you to do something. Worst you stand to lose is time, if you
download a distro.
You may always gain the hdd space if you can't make it work. Don't be put off if it doesn't work the first time, allow for some learning time when doing the install. This list *may* be of some use.
I've installed all of these on a 7300, voodoo3, sonnet G3. Each distro from YDL and MDK gets better to the point where they will almost be the next upgrade for my beige collection. Hardly a waste of time compared to a unsupported unix beta.
Good luck and thanks for starting a very humorous thread, havent laughed so much for a while. Cheers.
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