Development version of Mandrake Linux 10.1 alpha PPC

nixgeek

nixgeek

Mac of the SubGenius! :-)
All I have to say is that it's about time!!!

After so many years of Mandrake dragging it's feet with Linux PPC development, it looks as though the next version of MDK (10.1) will have an up-to-date version. Mind you, it's a dev version and it's alpha, but it's a start. :D

Follow this link to the page on DistroWatch with the links to the ISO images.

Here's the release information.

This would be great for my PowerBook G3 "Wallstreet II" laptop from work. OS X is just to slow for it and OS 9 is not enough OS for me anymore. A nice desktop oriented distro will be very welcome here. Let's just hope that Mandrake delivers and doesn't dissapoint like with previous versions.
 
Use YDL, my experience with mandrake on PPC has sucked...It had some initial driver problems and it was slow, not nearly as complete of a distro as YDL. Though this does seem like a good thing I will still remain skeptical of mandrake and their dedication to the PPC platform.
 
My only gripe with YDL currently is lack of support for OldWorld Macs in version 4. It's these Macs which are the prime candidates for running Linux as they aren't supported in OS X. Sure, Debian is there, but not everyone will be able to install it do to its geeky nature. Mandrake is the only one right now that is at least attempting to bring a fresh version of their distro for not just NewWorld, but OldWorld Macs also. YDL isn't even offering an alternate option..talk about limiting your user base since most users of NewWorld Macs will be running OS X. It's the OldWorld machines that make the brunt of Linux/PPC on Apple-branded hardware.

I am hoping that they will ACTUALLY migrate the quality put into the x86 version over to the PPC version this time around. Believe me, I am also skeptical of Mandrake after the last 2 versions. Here's hoping the third time's a charm. ;)
 
Have you looked at NetBSD? It'll run on just about anything, and it's a nice lightweight OS (if you don't install a bunch of bloated cruft on it, just like anything)
 
I actually have tried NetBSD, and I like it a lot. In fact, I had it installed for some time on my Quadra 650. The only thing that held me back was the extra configuration it needed, which wasn't too bad thanks to Matthew Theobald's installation guide for 68K Macs, but took a lot of time out of my life. It';s tough when you have a wife and two kids that need your attention to dedicate lots of time to something like that. Of course, this ordeal could just have been on the 68K side. Maybe it's a little easier on other platforms.
 
Gentoo will take too long to install on an Old world mac, especially if you compile everything from source. Once installed, its going to be quite difficult to keep up to date without compiling anything, since the GRP doesn't provide binary updates but expects you to compile your updates.
 
WeeZer51402 said:
gentoo takes long enough on a new x86 machine i would never want to do that on a 68k mac
Click to expand...

Neither would I...I would have lots of trouble trying to get Gentoo compiled on 68K...probably because it doesn't exist for 68K. :p

When referring to "OldWorld Macs", it's usually in reference to older generation PowerPC Macs ranging (chronologically) from the Power Mac 6100 up to the Power Mac G3 Beige, and the PowerBook 5300 up to the PowerBook G3 "WallStreet II." The reason is because these Macs used a hardware ROM chip from Apple. Without this ROM chip, I don't think you could do much with these Macs except for using as a large paperweight.

"NewWorld" Macs, beginning with the Bondi Blue iMac, Blue and White Power Mac G3, and PowerBook G3 "Lombard," are Macs that have the ROM in RAM architecture...there is no hardware ROM chip in these Macs. The nice thing about this is that if you so chose to run another operating system other than Mac OS, you could. OldWorld Macs still required the Mac OS to be installed to function...they didn't support booting directly into another OS thanks to the ROM chip. NewWorld Macs comply to the OpenFirmware spec, which is basically like a BIOS on PCs but much more flexible. This OpenFirmware is used by many non-x86 computers as well. I believe that Sun was the first to implement this in their systems, but I'm probably wrong.

"OldWorld" doesn't include 68K Macs, which are Macs that run on the Motorola MC680x0 processors, such as my Quadra 650. Yes, they use a ROM chip as well, but since they are 68000/68020/68030/68040 CISC machines that have been superceded by PowerPC RISC Macs, they are referred to as 68K Macs.

Forgive me if you already know this and the above was just a joke, but I thought it woulf be good to explain this for those that don't know. That, and I'm too tired from hurricane preparations to notice. :p
 
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