[GLLUG] Can Linux be loaded on an old Apple PowerBook G4 (Bryan Laur)

Bryan Laur bjlaur at mtu.edu
Sun Jul 31 21:59:02 EDT 2011


AFAIK Xubuntu is closer to ubuntu than it is to lubuntu.
However, it should work just fine.

It might be a happy medium.


On another note, I've never to a meeting either.
Hard to get myself motivated to get my ass over there, I guess.

Perhaps if we had an IRC channel, I could get to know some of the 
members well enough to feel motivated to come out.
*hint hint*




On 7/31/2011 1:19 PM, Jeremy Neil wrote:
> what about xubuntu, i used that when i used linux and it worked well
> enough on a old p2 machine.. ram was an issue though... but yeah, at
> least when i used it i think xubuntu was more lightweight then the other
> ubuntu versions.. idk.. i liked the xfce desktop more.. i have no idea
> whats what now though.. i should probably attend some of the meetings
> but last time i walked by gone wire cafe during a meeting i guess i felt
> intimidated about walking in or out of place.. idk, seems the members
> are older than i am if i even saw them.. anyways
>
> On Sun, Jul 31, 2011 at 12:00 PM, <linux-user-request at egr.msu.edu
> <mailto:linux-user-request at egr.msu.edu>> wrote:
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>        1. Re: Can Linux be loaded on an old Apple PowerBook G4 (Bryan Laur)
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>     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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>     Message: 1
>     Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:29:21 -0400
>     From: Bryan Laur <bjlaur at mtu.edu <mailto:bjlaur at mtu.edu>>
>     To: linux-user at egr.msu.edu <mailto:linux-user at egr.msu.edu>
>     Subject: Re: [GLLUG] Can Linux be loaded on an old Apple PowerBook G4
>     Message-ID: <4E343F71.1080107 at mtu.edu <mailto:4E343F71.1080107 at mtu.edu>>
>     Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
>     I wouldn't be surprised if he just wants to get something useful on it.
>
>     Sounds like it's not his main computer anymore... typically upgrading
>     software major versions yields a performance decrease, not increase.
>
>     Tony, do you know what model your processor is? or maybe just the clock
>     speed?
>
>     Ubuntu is getting more bloated in new releases and therefore is not very
>     friendly on old hardware. You could try it, but if you find it's too
>     slow after ensuring that your drivers are working correctly, don't give
>     up hope.
>
>     I would try lubuntu, which is a very lightweight ubuntu derivative.
>     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubuntu
>
>     Yellow Dog linux might also be a good choice.
>     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Dog_Linux
>
>     How to install lubuntu on power pc.
>     1) download ubuntu alternative or ubuntu minimal for PPC. (See notes
>     below)
>     2) install core ubuntu.
>     3) sudo apt-get update
>     4) sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
>     5) sudo apt-get install lubuntu-desktop
>
>
>     ubuntu alternative vs ubuntu minimal:
>     ubuntu-minimal is a netinstall distro. It downloads and installs the
>     core package on the fly. The problem with this is that it can be
>     extremely slow with the default repo, and I wouldn't recommend it.
>
>     ubuntu-alternative includes the standard ubuntu desktop package, but you
>     can choose to not select it. In this case, you'll get the core package
>     installed without havng to download it on the fly.
>     On the other hand, you have to download the 700MB CD.. in which you only
>     need like 40MB of it or something
>
>     Each method has it's pro/cons, but the outcome is the same.
>
>     sources:
>     1) myself as I've install lubuntu using ubuntu alternative before
>     2) http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1454430
>
>
>
>     PS: you've inspired me to see if my grandfather still using his G3
>     ibook.
>
>
>     Hey Karl, it looks like there are 32bit and 64bit
>
>     On 7/30/2011 11:29 AM, Karl Schuttler wrote:
>      > Hey Tony. You can definitely load some flavor of linux on it; be sure
>      > to get the PowerPC of the distro you are interested in, ad the G4 has
>      > a PowerPC processor and not a modern one (x86, amd64).
>      >
>      > Ubuntu PowerPC: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PowerPCDownloads
>      >
>      > Be aware that Ubuntu stopped officially supporting PowerPC several
>      > major versions ago (7.04 i think? Currently on 11.04), but there is a
>      > community that ports them over.
>      >
>      > But perhaps you are having other issues? Your computer is definitely
>      > outdated, but what benefits do you want from upgrading? I'm not sure
>      > that you'd see a performance increase.
>      >
>      > Karl
>      >
>      > On Sat, Jul 30, 2011 at 10:46 AM, Troy<w8tcc at yahoo.com
>     <mailto:w8tcc at yahoo.com>>  wrote:
>      >> Do you or any of your friends know if linux of any type be
>     loaded onto an
>      >> apple powerbook G4. The highest software that I can load is
>     10.4. So this
>      >> apple is almost totally outdated. Being that the subsystem is
>     somewhat
>      >> linux, (some linux commands work in the terminal mode) I thought
>     that I
>      >> could possibly put some linux distro on it.
>      >> Thank you Troy Creed
>      >>
>      >> 73 de w8tcc, troy -.-
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