Installing Yellow Dog Linux

ricebag said:

Hey everybody,
I'd like to install Yellow Dog Linux on my laptop, but want to make sure that with this install I don't erase my hard drive or the ability to start up in OS X. Could someone please let me know how to do this or assure me that that's the default?

I just couldn't give up OS X for normal use, but I really want to be able to use open-source Linux stuff like GIMP and Wired.
Thanks!!
Tim

Click to expand...

Take a backup first and you need a free partition on your mac to install YDL on.
But a better idea is to install x11 in osx and run the linux/opensource apps there. get x11 from http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/x11/
and fink from http://fink.sourceforge.net/.

Fink is a package manager (uses apt-get) to install precompiled/pretested apps.
You can also run almost every app under x11 with the standard. configure, make and make install.

btw, wired is also made for osx.. you don't need linux/x11 to run them
gimp need x11 http://gimp-app.sourceforge.net/ http://www.zankasoftware.com/wired/

My thought is to buy/build a cheap @$$ PC and install Red Hat/Fedora/Suse/Mandrake.

Much easier than trying to dual boot your powerbook/ibook.

I also want to play with yellow dog. My plan was to buy an another old G3 iMac and just have a single boot system. I thought about getting a PC but then is I decide to get rid of Linux, I would then have to get windows to use the box. With the iMac, I can use OS X or even 9.2.

ricebag said:

Hey everybody,
I'd like to install Yellow Dog Linux on my laptop, but want to make sure that with this install I don't erase my hard drive or the ability to start up in OS X. Could someone please let me know how to do this or assure me that that's the default?

I just couldn't give up OS X for normal use, but I really want to be able to use open-source Linux stuff like GIMP and Wired.
Thanks!!
Tim

Click to expand...

YDL installs a bootloader called "yaboot", that will allow you to choose between OS X and YDL at startup time.

You need to set up a separate partition for YDL. Repartitioning your existing disk will mean that you'll have to reinstall OS X, unless you purchase software that will resize your existing OS X partition non-destructively. It's probably easier to just reinstall - although you'll want to first back up your home directory to save settings etc.

Note that some stuff won't work under Linux. The most noteable item in this group is Airport Extreme.

If all you're really interested in is the apps, then I second the recommendation for installing fink. You can always give it a try, and then move to Linux if it doesn't meet your needs. Also there are stand-alone ports of many of these apps if you don't want to install fink. You can download a free Gimp port for example. Personally, I find fink quite useful.

Bad news is, that you will have to reformat and make your drive into two partitions, one for OS X and the other for Yellow Dog. That is the bad news, good news is that at start up, you can choose which one you want to boot.

Though its cool to be able to boot and use linux on a Mac, most apps can work in OS X because it is Unix. Fink helps you get all those Unix programs that have been ported to work on the Mac platform. I suggest just leaving OS X alone, and get the programs though Fink.

I installed Yellow Dog on my Powerbook and I have to say: it wasn't worth it. It just can't compare to OS X with the GUI environment and ease of use. Plus, there is very little excuse to use Linux when we are spoiled with X11/Fink on OS X.

ricebag said:

Actually... could someone explain to me what Fink exactly is and does? I realize I may be in over my head, but I'd like to try to understand.

Click to expand...

The Fink project ports a lot of the best open-source software - the stuff you like from Linux and BSD - over to the Mac. Included in fink are tools for easy management of installation/building of those applications. They use a lot of the Debian apt tools to run the system.

I don't know if they limit themselves to GNU software or not.

Everything fink installs is put in a new subdirectory /sw, so it is isolated from the other Mac command line software, and is easily removed if you so choose.

I also installed YDL on my PB a few months ago (I already had my disk partitioned) but since then I've only booted into it two or three times. I thought it would be interesting to learn linux, but really, all it made me do was appreciate OS X all the more.

Another possibility that noone has mentioned is a PPC Live CD (ie some distro on a CD that you can boot from). I believe there's one from gentoo, probably be more out there if you look for it.

ricebag said:

....and am working on Wired. It's actually the Wired at http://bloodshed.net/wired/?sid=1 that I want to install, an audio program. I'm a little baffled by it at the moment, but hopefully with all your help, I should be fine at this point....

Click to expand...

Looks like a nice app..

I'm having trouble installing it...

You need to do all this...
- GTK 2 : http://www.gtk.org
(get it from fink!)
- wxWidgets 2.5.x with GTK2 support : http://www.wxwidgets.org
(compile, i'm having a bit trouble here, it wont configure correctly, gets a gtk+ < 2.0.0... even if i have gtk+2 v 2.2.4)
- PortAudio : http://www.portaudio.com
(build with xcode, worked ok)
- SoundTouch: http://sky.prohosting.com/oparviai/soundtouch/
(compile, worked)
- libsndfile : http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/
(compile, worked)

If you aren't linux/unix savvy, then i would forget about wired.. its also a 0.1 release, so i ts probably not stable at all....