Why Linux?

unlearnthetruth

unlearnthetruth

Recycle Me!
Can anyone tell me why i would install yellow dog linux on my mac? I decided to download it, out of curiosity, but before i install it.. why? what advantages/disadvantes does linux have? i know nothing about it, and would like to learn! Thanx!
 
I think that maybe you should try running it in Virtual PC first. That would at least give you an idea about what Linux is all about without having to use real hardware. Then if you see a great need for it, you can install it. The point is that you get to find out what everyone is talking about first. The only way you could really tell how great it runs on a Mac vs a regular PC is if you are familuar enough to see what is going on, and VPC is a great way getting up to speed for doing that.
 
hmm... i didn't know i could do that.... how would i go about setting it up with vpc? or will the vpc setup thingie help me out there... i'll have to look into it more once the 600+ mg file finishes downloading.... i hate my university's network... being slow is one thing, but claiming you're fast then being slow.... damn them all! ;-)
 
Reasons you might want to use Linux:
- Programming, especially in C and Perl languages.
- Learning about Operating Systems by studying the source code.
- Running servers, such as web, mail and news, especially on light systems.
- Learning about networking, administration and security.
- To boycott M$, either for their business practices or for their slipshod approach to security and quality.
- To get the most out of small systems, embedded systems, and networks.
 
You know, the cool thing is that VPC is sold with a Red Hat Linux environment (though I bought the DOS version because I have all the operating systems I needed before getting it). The Red Hat version is less expensive than the Windows version (but you most likely guessed that :) ).
 
While your at it try-

BEos (for anything below b/w g3)
Linux PPC
Amiga (<-my fav)

And guess what you can get them all from carracho...
Classic gamer.
 
Why try linux:
1)everything symphonix said
2)Its not a cool as BSD but its DANG COOL compared with windows. It will also run on almost anything (like bsd).
Why Try linux on ppc:
1)Its SO FAST!!!
2)Its faster than osx
3)ppc linux on a beige g3 is fast as osx on a g4 733
4)It rocks
5)Linux is cool on ppc
6)Prove those redhat anti-risc people wrong

Why *not* to use vpc to do this
1)vpc emulates hardware. So whatever you do will be slow and clunky compared with the real thing. I don't care what you say, it will be slow and it will not show off linux's speed.
2)vpc does have a few hardware issues, and you'll never get to mess with that unless you do a real install.
3)you have to buy vpc :p

I personally prefer BSD due to its license and development style. Not to mention that OpenBSD has not had a security hole in 4 years :p Oh, and OSX is based on bsd.

I do however recommend trying Linux first, there is much more support for it. Subscribe to the ydl list too, its very helpful.
http://lists.yellowdoglinux.com
 
kilowatt,

I think you've missed the point of the original post. He wants to learn about Linux. Telling someone to reconfigure their entire system to try Linux for the first time is doing them a disservice at best (and down right reckless at worst). Sorry but not every one is ready to be thrown into the deep end right off the bat. And the expense of reconfiguring ones system for what is to them a complete unknown is far more than the relatively small expense of VPC.

He should figure out if he really wants to deal with Linux first, then the advantages and disadvantages of hardware vs software can be brought into play. But if he goes with your suggested course of action and finds that Linux is not something that he is interested in, then he has expended a ton of effort for nothing. There is something to be said for test driving an OS first, and VPC lets you do just that.
 
I agree with racer, but would like to add one thing. VPC might be slower than a real hardware PC, but it isnt snail-like-slow. You can still do a lot of work on it. I have used several x86 OSes on VPC and most of them work just fine :)
 
is there anyway to get YDL working with VPC? it was mentioned that vpc ships with red dog, but i already have the dos version, so i'd prefer to just add YDL if possible. Either way, thanks for all the help guys
 
I'd say try Linux because:

1. You have an older Mac that can't run OS X
2. You want the same functionality as OS X, but with a hideous interface :p
 
lol... i think i'm gonna check it out here, on my G4, and if i enjoy it, mebbe i'll set it up on my performa 6400 at home to shut my family up - they're always complaining about how slow it is.... oh well :) thanks!
 
using linux in VPC is not really a good step to learning linux. okay it depends on what you want to learn.

the best way is to buy the very cheapest PC you can find. a used one maybe? find a pentium II or something, give it some RAM, 128 megs are enough for learning. also make sure it has a NIC (an ethernet card). then get a nice distro for X86, you can download RedHat's 7.2 from your (almost) local SunSITE archive. but there are others, too.

setting up harddisks are part of learning linux, that's why i'm saying you shouldn't use VPC.

if you want to learn the command line, use OSX. linux has a lot of differences of course, but more similarities.

as soon as you've got your PC with linux, do the following:

- install netatalk. it'll let you access the linux box via AFP over IP.
- try out what you can do with the Apache webserver.
- learn some languages like perl.

if you have no idea about linux and install YDL on your powermac, you'll either end up thanking yourself for backups, throwing the whole thing away because you never got it to boot or weeping a long, long time because of data loss. but you'll lose time, anyway.

read something about linux while installing. it takes some time. that's the nice thing about a SuSE distribution. it actually comes with a decent manual you can read while stuff gets copied from the CDs or the DVD.
 
OK, any hardcore linux fans might flame me for this, but:
<center><b>linux is shite!</b></center>
OK, there, I said it, now to justify:

Linux is good for two things:
  1. Saving money
  2. Text-in, text-out applications
    [/list=1]
    Now as you have a G4 I assume you don't need to get linux because you can't afford another OS. The only reason you might want linux therefore is to deal with essentially text based things, like webserving. If you ditch OSX for linux, prepare to kiss goodbye anything resembling multimedia goodbye - this is linux's idea of cutting edge graphics:
    <pre>
                     \`'/.
                   ,'    ~ -._
                 ,' `   )  ,-`--.
                /          (      )
               /            |-.,-'|
              /                |  /
              |   (     )     ,^ /
             /     \   /      ..'
             |               \  /
            /                  /
            |            `     |
            |             `   '\
           /               ` '  \
           |                    |
          /|                    |
        /  |   --.      /  \_   |
       (`` '   ___)-.   | '' )  /)
        \_} `---...\\\--(__))/-'-'
    </pre>

    Bernie :eek:)
 
fryke do you mind explaining the "disks" part of your argument ? I don't get it. VPC has hard drisks as well. If you so wish you can have a windows (or other OS) HD and try to install linux on it, partition and all that good stuff.
 
Originally posted by fryke
setting up harddisks are part of learning linux, that's why i'm saying you shouldn't use VPC.
Click to expand...

So it must have been my imagination when I had to set the partitions for root, /usr, and swap while installing in VPC then.

****NEWS FLASH****

VPC is the best tool for learning how to install operating systems because you don't need the real hardware! I had installed Linux (at least 5 distributions) in VPC before ever trying it on real hardware, and I was completely prepared for everything that happened during the installation because I had seen it all before. Nothing, NOTHING beats having experience before doing an install on real hardware. I did the same thing with NEXTSTEP, OPENSTEP, Rhapsody, Solaris and OS/2 Warp. Yes I ended up buying hardware to run OPENSTEP and Rhapsody, but I knew what I was buying the hardware for first. And I still use VPC versions of all of those operating systems even though I have them installed on hardware (mainly to test and trouble shoot things before trying them on the hardware versions).

Hardware is a big investment in both money and space (like I can talk about space having 16 computers :p, but it is still a factor). And a person should at least see what it is that he is going to be spending it on.

And we should not forget that he has VPC already, he could just run down to a book store and get one of the Linux books that comes with the install CD (that is how I got Red Hat 6.1). The way you guys are pressuring him is actually embarrassing. It remind me of the guy who was pressured into getting a tattoo by all his friend even though he wasn't sure. Give the guy some breathing room and let him discover how cool Linux is for himself.
 
whoa everyone, let's all take a deep breath! :p I decided to give it a try on VPC.... i have the YDL CD, and VPC, yet it won't work... I set up the linux drive using VPC's guide, and whenever i start it,. with the cd in, so i can install, it says "boot error: a to boot floppy, c to boot disk" so i hit c..... "boot error: a to boot floppy, c to boot disk"........ hmm..... any suggestions?
 
You most likely need to make boot floppies (actually boot floppy images). There should be a DOS app on the CD called rawrite2.exe which lets you create the floppies (which in this case are floppy images made with Disk Copy). You most likely are going to find the images on one of the upper most directories of the CD.

There is also the possibility that you could just mount the image that is on the CD within VPC (this worked for me that last time I did an install of Solaris in VPC).

The following is a shot of the rawrite program if you need to use it (this was for Red Hat 6.0 as I recall).
 

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