Install Ubuntu?

[76ShovelHead]

My mom is using my old 1.25 Ghz eMac with 1 GB of ram as her sole computer. It is running Leopard comfortably, but does go through spells where it slows down considerably, especially on the web. So I thought maybe I'd install a second drive where the combo drive used to be and install the latest PPC version of Ubuntu. Would Ubuntu offer any significant speed increase? And how is the availability of apps for Ubuntu PPC? Like the Spotify for Linux Preview or LibreOffice?

 

[Macman45]

I have the latest Ubuntu running on an old self-built CTD in may bedroom...It works very well indeed..Has only 2GB of RAM, but you wouldn't know it...Ubuntu flies.

It's also connected to my network, and being a Linux based OS, my TC and all Macs can see it, and access files stored on it too.

It's a great way of giving an older machine a new lease of life, and yes there are a lot apps available too.

 

[bizzle]

It's not going to be any faster. If anything, it'll be slower. The only benefit is you'll be able to use newer software than what's available in OSX for PPC.

Have you tried TenFourFox as a browser?

 

[76ShovelHead]

I have the latest Ubuntu running on an old self-built CTD in may bedroom...It works very well indeed..Has only 2GB of RAM, but you wouldn't know it...Ubuntu flies.

It's also connected to my network, and being a Linux based OS, my TC and all Macs can see it, and access files stored on it too.

It's a great way of giving an older machine a new lease of life, and yes there are a lot apps available too.

You lost me at CTD? lol sorry. Does it have a PowerPC processor in it?

 

[prvt.donut]

You lost me at CTD? lol sorry. Does it have a PowerPC processor in it?

I believe he is saying Core 2 Duo.

Which coupled with 2GB of RAM actually makes for a very speedy and capable PC.

Which would be a terrible comparison to an eMac.........

I hope I am wrong.

 

[76ShovelHead]

It's not going to be any faster. If anything, it'll be slower. The only benefit is you'll be able to use newer software than what's available in OSX for PPC.

Have you tried TenFourFox as a browser?

Yes. It is a TERRIBLE cpu hog on this eMac. I read that it is common on G4s.

----------

I believe he is saying Core 2 Duo.

Which coupled with 2GB of RAM actually makes for a very speedy and capable PC.

Which would be a terrible comparison to an eMac.........

I hope I am wrong.

LOL Yeah when I first read his post I initially thought he was talking about a Core 2 Duo, but then I thought it couldn't be because we are in a PPC forum!

 

[Macman45]

I believe he is saying Core 2 Duo.

Which coupled with 2GB of RAM actually makes for a very speedy and capable PC.

Which would be a terrible comparison to an eMac.........

I hope I am wrong.

Yep, a core two duo...sorry about the lingo...sometimes I take it for granted that we all use it..

 

[justperry]

I tried installing many different versions (distros) on both my Pismo and PB 1.67 and never succeeded, the CD/DVD's never booted, don't know why but it seems more difficult than it should be.

 

[76ShovelHead]

I tried installing many different versions (distros) on both my Pismo and PB 1.67 and never succeeded, the CD/DVD's never booted, don't know why but it seems more difficult than it should be.

Well, I'm about to attempt just to see for myself. Have you tried via USB with unetbootin? Never fails for me. Will keep you all posted!

 

[NaiGuy]

All I can say is go for it and give it a shot, see how it feels. I tend to stay away from Unity, but other DEs fly on PPC, anyone who tells you otherwise probably hasn't tried using the more recent releases.

I recommend dual booting with OSX until your sure it suits your needs, however thats easy to do with yaboot. There is alot of OSX specific software people are not willing to get rid of. I recommend you make sure you know what you need before ditching OSX entirely.

 

[justperry]

Well, I'm about to attempt just to see for myself. Have you tried via USB with unetbootin? Never fails for me. Will keep you all posted!

Thanks for the tip, I will try again later.

Edit: Downloaded it, not universal and then I saw this on the site

Requirements
Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7, or Linux, or Mac OS X 10.5+. Note that resulting USB drives are bootable only on PCs (not on Macs).
Internet access for downloading a distro to install, or a pre-downloaded ISO file

 

[Imixmuan]

Ubuntu

is a major hog of resources, at least the current builds with Unity, you are far better going with Lubuntu PPC (12.04) or even better, MintPPC. HOWEVER....

There are considerable headaches and hassles with Linux PPC. I love the tux, but we don't have a TRUE lightweight Linux on PPC like Puppy. Someone we all know and love is working on porting Puppy to PPC, but that is likely a while off. Debian with Openbox is probably the lightest weight PPC linux, the ppcluddite has an excellent write up at his blog on it. Most of these issues have been well documented, many involve upstream bugs that are NOT fixable by anyone but the Debian crowd, who seem blissfully unconcerned about PPC. It also helps to realize nothing is going to make your computer inherently faster than it was the day it left the factory, except more RAM. So, max your RAM.

While many PPC macs are very capable, you still need to make wise web browsing choices. On OS X, avoid script heavy sites or use a script blocker and block flash wherever and whenever you can. I find Leopard webkit to be the best all around browser choice for PPC these days, especially single processor ones. Roccat is nominally faster but more limited with extensions and youtube. Omniweb is also good. On the gecko side of life, Camino, especially the optimized for G4 build will be your best best. Tenfourfox is slow these days on anything that isn't a dual processor G4 or better, as is Aurorafox, SeaMonkey is better than above but not as speedy as Camino.

Also, use Mactubes. Use it. Use it. Use it. With Quicktime set as the player. And have Perian installed. And use it.

 

[76ShovelHead]

Thanks for the tip, I will try again later.

Edit: Downloaded it, not universal and then I saw this on the site

Yepp, didn't realize this, I couldn't get it to boot Ubuntu and I have no optical drives so I ended up just putting OS X Leopard on the new drive and it seems to be running faster.

 

[rjcalifornia]

My mom is using my old 1.25 Ghz eMac with 1 GB of ram as her sole computer. It is running Leopard comfortably, but does go through spells where it slows down considerably, especially on the web. So I thought maybe I'd install a second drive where the combo drive used to be and install the latest PPC version of Ubuntu. Would Ubuntu offer any significant speed increase? And how is the availability of apps for Ubuntu PPC? Like the Spotify for Linux Preview or LibreOffice?

Run far, far far away from Linux PPC

What you need to do is make a clean install again of Leopard. with 1.25 Ghz and 1GB RAM Leopard should be fine.

Why am I so mean with Linux?

I am a very experienced Linux user (PPC, x86, ARM) and Linux is not a good product. It is not a regular user friendly, it can be very frustrating and it is worst in PPC.

Firefox for Linux is way to heavy and the most lightweight Linux (XFCE) feels just like Mac OS 8 or Windows 3.11 You will see a huge difference. Not only that, so many applications are missing, such as Photoshop, Twitter. Installing a new application is annoying.

Ubuntu is like the worst Linux Distribution available. Kubuntu is pretty much the best. Even so, Ubuntu/Kubuntu is slow on PPC and not very reliable. You will face (eventually) kernel errors, so many kernel errors on your eMac (experience) than you will get tired and switch back to Leopard again.

If you still want to use Linux, go for it. For Ubuntu get Ubuntu 10.04 LTS or Kubuntu 10.04 LTS

 

[76ShovelHead]

Run far, far far away from Linux PPC

What you need to do is make a clean install again of Leopard. with 1.25 Ghz and 1GB RAM Leopard should be fine.

Why am I so mean with Linux?

I am a very experienced Linux user (PPC, x86, ARM) and Linux is not a good product. It is not a regular user friendly, it can be very frustrating and it is worst in PPC.

Firefox for Linux is way to heavy and the most lightweight Linux (XFCE) feels just like Mac OS 8 or Windows 3.11 You will see a huge difference. Not only that, so many applications are missing, such as Photoshop, Twitter. Installing a new application is annoying.

Ubuntu is like the worst Linux Distribution available. Kubuntu is pretty much the best. Even so, Ubuntu/Kubuntu is slow on PPC and not very reliable. You will face (eventually) kernel errors, so many kernel errors on your eMac (experience) than you will get tired and switch back to Leopard again.

If you still want to use Linux, go for it. For Ubuntu get Ubuntu 10.04 LTS or Kubuntu 10.04 LTS

I just reinstalled Leopard on a new drive. Her eMac fly's again. iCal restored, music, documents, etc and still not slowing down. I too am experienced with Linux but never attempted on PPC platform. From far away it looks like a good idea, an up to date OS and better application support. But then again there isn't from what I'm hearing, and your not the only person to tell me Ubuntu on PPC is slow. So I'll keep her with Leopard. I'm definitely not going back to Tiger!

 

[Imixmuan]

rjcalifornia's points

...are all true. Linux cannot be compared to OS X or even Windows, for elegance and ease of use for the average end user. I would not however says its not a good product. Linux runs the internet. Android is the only competeing OS for mobile platforms, and its Linux. ChromeOS is Linux. Where it sucks is the desktop. Some distros, notably Linux Mint, are fast approaching Mac OS X and Windows both in elegance and ease of use. Lion and Mountain Lion have been, in my humble opinion, regressions for the OS X platform. Tiger was a peak for OS X, Leopard close to Tiger, one of the reasons I stay PPC. Windows 7 and 8 have been vast improvements for Windows, at least compared to Vista, but XP will be the standard Windows will always be measured against.

Why does Linux suck on the desktop? One reason is its highly, highly fractured. Imagine one meta Linux, worked on by everyone who loves Linux, combining the very best of all distros. It would be free. It would rule the world. That is Linux on the server side. Most end users do not want to install an OS. Most end users do not want to open a commandline, ever. Most want what Apple gives them, easy installs, updates, swipes and gestures, point and click. Which is fine, but with Linux you have to be prepared to get into the guts of it and edit a config file every now and again. You have to be comfortable with the commandline. You have to accept you might screw things up royally by adding a # somewhere where it shouldn't be.

All of those issues are magnified on PPC, due to the small user base. So again, rjcalifornia is totally accurate in his assesment. But it is still the only option other than Microsofts and Apples expensive walled gardens.

Linux is now and will be for the foreseeable future a hacker/nerd OS. Which is also how most Linux users like it.

 

[76ShovelHead]

...are all true. Linux cannot be compared to OS X or even Windows, for elegance and ease of use for the average end user. I would not however says its not a good product. Linux runs the internet. Android is the only competeing OS for mobile platforms, and its Linux. ChromeOS is Linux. Where it sucks is the desktop. Some distros, notably Linux Mint, are fast approaching Mac OS X and Windows both in elegance and ease of use. Lion and Mountain Lion have been, in my humble opinion, regressions for the OS X platform. Tiger was a peak for OS X, Leopard close to Tiger, one of the reasons I stay PPC. Windows 7 and 8 have been vast improvements for Windows, at least compared to Vista, but XP will be the standard Windows will always be measured against.

Why does Linux suck on the desktop? One reason is its highly, highly fractured. Imagine one meta Linux, worked on by everyone who loves Linux, combining the very best of all distros. It would be free. It would rule the world. That is Linux on the server side. Most end users do not want to install an OS. Most end users do not want to open a commandline, ever. Most want what Apple gives them, easy installs, updates, swipes and gestures, point and click. Which is fine, but with Linux you have to be prepared to get into the guts of it and edit a config file every now and again. You have to be comfortable with the commandline. You have to accept you might screw things up royally by adding a # somewhere where it shouldn't be.

All of those issues are magnified on PPC, due to the small user base. So again, rjcalifornia is totally accurate in his assesment. But it is still the only option other than Microsofts and Apples expensive walled gardens.

Linux is now and will be for the foreseeable future a hacker/nerd OS. Which is also how most Linux users like it.

I couldn't agree more. Tiger was to OS X as XP was to Windows. I loved Tiger, Leopard was pretty great too.

Linux interfaces have definitely come a long way. Elementary OS and Ubuntu Unity are my favorites, but they are still too advanced for most users. Just the quick flashing text while logging out shows Linux needs a lot more polish.