Which Linux/BSD for a PowerBook G4?

[Rinias]

I'm thinking about finally getting a laptop, and as I've heard so many good things about MAC, particularily about the power of the Powerbook as opposed to others, I am looking into the PB G4 12".

I'm a Slackware user, and if possible, I'd like to stick to Slack. My question is, however, for those of you who have run Linux/BSD on the PowerBook, what have you found to work the most successfully?

Configuration using an editor is (obviously) not a problem- so I don't _need_ a "newbie" distro, per se... I think I'm just looking for something that will optimise the speed without compromising the power. That's why I'm looking at a MAC. Oh- and how does the PowerBook compare to the iBook? Is it really such a great improvement or should I just save the several hundreds of dollars??

Gentoo's ok, though the emerging isn't my favorite method and since I've only got a USB modem for the moment, it's a bit of a pain in the derrière...

Comments? Suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[mrBen]

Have you considered Debian? There is a PPC version available. Similar install and slimline feel to Slackware, but with the power of apt-get built in :)

Unfortunately Slackintosh seems to have ceased development :(

[AndrewLubinus89]

gentoo is great

[Rinias]

Thanks for your replies guys-

I'll definitely keep Gentoo and Debian PPC in mind ;)

No, really, I will. I think I'm just a hardcore slacker, so I'm gonna try to figure it out before going elsewhere. If it doesn't work, I know who's next...

Speaking of Slackintosh- it seems that it was just complied from Slack sources for the PPC. Is that a possibility? I have the 9.1 source disks, and I can get the 10's, I guess. Would that be like LFS without having to find the source??

Maybe that's a possibility... If I kept it strictly Slack packs, then that could be a base to bring Slackintosh back to life, wouldn't it?

I wouldn't know how to set all that up, but I guess I could contact the Slackintosh people... And then there's always server problems...

We'll see what happens- thanks again!!

[mrBen]

Originally posted by Rinias

Speaking of Slackintosh- it seems that it was just complied from Slack sources for the PPC. Is that a possibility? I have the 9.1 source disks, and I can get the 10's, I guess. Would that be like LFS without having to find the source??

Maybe that's a possibility... If I kept it strictly Slack packs, then that could be a base to bring Slackintosh back to life, wouldn't it?

I wouldn't know how to set all that up, but I guess I could contact the Slackintosh people... And then there's always server problems...

We'll see what happens- thanks again!!

Erm - if you're going to do that, you may as well install Gentoo, as you will be unable to install any normal Slack packs, because you will need to compile everything yourself - Slackpacks contain binaries, and thus will not work on PPC hardware.

There is, of course, SuSE, Mandrake and YellowDog, if you're looking for other choices.

Check out http://penguinppc.org/projects/other_distros.shtml for more choices.

[XiaoKJ]

I doubt its the same.

I still think Gentoo's the top in mind, with Debian, slack and yellowdog nearby. FC & SUSE for macs too!

[sharth]

Don't buy the mac wireless card (the one they normally sell with it), the airport whatever. It is not supported by linux.

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Yeah, I'd stray away from Slackintosh.

Personally, if I were going for the most usability out of the box, I'd be looking at Debian. I've run that on several machines and had a very enjoyable experience with it.

Unless you're running a server, I'd not go with any of the BSDs. IMHO, the desktop experience with those are not up to snuff, as with NetBSD, at least, there was no X server for it that could do more than 16 colors.

[Rinias]

Ok-

well thank you all for the good information! I know that what I'm looking for is FAST and "comfortable" by which I mean the system doesn't do too much by itself. :D

I'll see what I can do with Gentoo, though for right now it's always a pain because I have a USB DSL modem which needs a full system plus some extras to get it working. I'll probably have to try out several distros before I find one that I like...

As for Slack, it's really a shame that there is no good "Slackintosh" to slap on there, cause it's exactly what I would do ;)

As for my previous remark about compiling Slack myself- just how hard would that be? I imagine that I'd have to read up on LFS, but would it be possible to start reviving a sort of Slackintosh?? I mean, after the basics are compiled, then the Slack repositories only contain _so_ much...

What do you think about "sMACkware" ?? :D

[Darkbolt]

Originally posted by Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379
Yeah, I'd stray away from Slackintosh.

Personally, if I were going for the most usability out of the box, I'd be looking at Debian. I've run that on several machines and had a very enjoyable experience with it.

Unless you're running a server, I'd not go with any of the BSDs. IMHO, the desktop experience with those are not up to snuff, as with NetBSD, at least, there was no X server for it that could do more than 16 colors. *cough*osx*cough*

[yellowdog]

Well i have a G3 running yellowDog
easy install and it runs great
I recommend YellowDog
i think u can see distros here

http://distrowatch.com

[Rinias]

Originally posted by Darkbolt
*cough*osx*cough*

Oh- I'm not gettin rid of OSX! :D

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Originally posted by Rinias

As for Slack, it's really a shame that there is no good "Slackintosh" to slap on there, cause it's exactly what I would do ;)

As for my previous remark about compiling Slack myself- just how hard would that be? I imagine that I'd have to read up on LFS, but would it be possible to start reviving a sort of Slackintosh?? I mean, after the basics are compiled, then the Slack repositories only contain _so_ much...

What do you think about "sMACkware" ?? :D

Nobody'd stop you from trying this.

The only reason I'd stray away from Slackintosh is because it mirrors Slackware version numbering, and the last release was 7.x -beta or -rc* something... :o

....Not that there was anything wrong with the 7.x line, it's just a little aged now.

[Darkbolt]

Originally posted by Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379
Nobody'd stop you from trying this.

The only reason I'd stray away from Slackintosh is because it mirrors Slackware version numbering, and the last release was 7.x -beta or -rc* something... :o

....Not that there was anything wrong with the 7.x line, it's just a little aged now.
I believe they had an 8.0 release, but in any event, any pre 8.1 release uses the old slackware packaging scheme (foo.tgz).

[Rinias]

Originally posted by Darkbolt
I believe they had an 8.0 release, but in any event, any pre 8.1 release uses the old slackware packaging scheme (foo.tgz).

Just for the record:


From the Slackintosh site:
In the past, these packages were only useful if you already had another distribution loaded on your system. The new 8.1 tree changes that. You can now create a bootable CD for NewWorld systems, or start the installer over the network from a TFTP server.


From http://slackintosh.exploits.org/

[Loki3]

I think Gentoo-PPC is pretty solid. Gentoo is such a distro directed at the bleeding-edge that it allows updates and fixes for hardware support with the upmost of ease. It just seems that it's two-steps ahead of Debian or YellowDog.

The Gentoo-PPC community is quite active and helpful.

As for the iBook vs. Powerbook question:

http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=181061&highlight=ibook+powerbook

[Rinias]

Thanks for the link!

So- from what I'm reading, I think I might just forget about Linux and a new PowerBook... I don't think I'd go for the iBook, just cause I like the tininess of the powerbook and the whole reason I'd go Mac is for power (performance, etc...).

But- from what I understand, it's just not worth the money- (well- it is if I want a MAC with OS X, it isn't if all I want to do is put Linux on there. And that's about pretty much all I want to do...) A GD shame, I tell you... I was really excited...

Well damn- maybe I'll just look into AlienWare... :D

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Dude, still buy the Mac!

One of the great things about new a new Mac is how great OS X is. Personally, if I were buying one, I'd actually buy it for OS X. My suggestions were based off of the assumption that you intended to run Linux on your Mac.

[Loki3]

Try this thread for more information about the G3 v. G4 agruement.

http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=180480&highlight=g3+g4

I'm pretty sure the PowerBook G3 has quite good support under Linux but you'd need to do some research on it. I do know that the iBook G3 enjoys full sleep and wireless (802.11b) support which is what's sorely missing from the iBook G4 support. I'd check out the G3 Powerbook, especially if you want to run Linux and OS X.

EDIT I:
If I had to reconsider my purchase I'd be highly tempted to go with a G3 Powerbook. The main reason I wanted the G4 iBook was, I didn't want to buy something as costly as a PowerBook of ebay because of the sketchyness of it... and I wanted the student discount ($400 Saved!) and the factory warrenty for three years.

EDIT II:
Oh did I mention you can use portage on Mac OS X?

http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=199882&highlight=portage+os+x

[amgeex]

Kinda **Off-Topic**, but anyway, check this screenie from netbsd:

http://netbsd.org/gallery/in-Action/jschauma-kde3.png

[Loki3]

Yah, you can pretty much make any *nix look like OS X these days. I used to be into that but no I like something more orginal.