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Linux distro and nes emulator

R

RamCpu

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 6, 2013
32
2
Trying to find a linux distro that works on powerpc mac and a nes emulator that isn't nestopia which requires a plugin which you have to pay for just to use a controller
 
To clarify, does it matter if the emulator runs on Linux or MacOS? Unclear if you were asking about two different things or planning to use them together.
 
Swampus said:
To clarify, does it matter if the emulator runs on Linux or MacOS? Unclear if you were asking about two different things or planning to use them together.
Click to expand...

downloading yellow dog 6.1 right now, and for it to work on linux
 
actually would be nice to have one for both os's to see how it runs on both
 
also also what screw driver do I need for the hex shaped screws on the emac's bezel?
 
RamCpu said:
Trying to find a linux distro that works on powerpc mac and a nes emulator that isn't nestopia which requires a plugin which you have to pay for just to use a controller
Click to expand...

You can try:

Debian

You will spend some time tweaking it to make it work without problems. Stable.

Lubuntu

Lightweight ubuntu. Stable, fast and for low specs powerpcmacs

Kubuntu

The one I love ;) You have to use the LTS version. For me it is the best, it used to run like a beast on my old iBook G3. Sometimes I want to get a 900 Mhz iBook G3 and install Kubuntu or Ubuntu. (G3 seems the most stable processor for Linux FOR ME)

Ubuntu

I don't like it but you should give it a try. LTS version as well.

IMHO I wouldn't bother installing a linux distro, 'cause it lacks a lot of apps and when something crash, it will crash deep and wild. It is up to you if you want to use any distro.

As far NES, my recommendation is to keep OSX to play NES games.

----------
rabidz7 said:
Don't use that, it won't work!
Try Debian.
Click to expand...

He's right. YellowDog used to be good, back in '06
 
RamCpu said:
downloading debian right now , didn't really even try yellow dog since it didn't have a live version to test and see if things worked before installing it.
Click to expand...

I don't think there is a Live CD for Debian PPC--only i386 and AMD64.

Debian 7 Stable (Wheezy) runs very nicely on my MDD. I have been usiing it for online credit card purchases and such, since early Summer. PowerPC is an officially supported architecture on Debian.

Lubuntu 13.04 also works well on my MDD. However, Lubuntu 13.10 (the current testing version) has been broken on PPC for nearly 2 months now, and currently won't install at all. 13.10 Live CD also will not boot.

So, I'd recommend Debian, if it runs the applications you are interested in.
 
so I got debian installed, but how do I run fakenes? I'm new to linux and tar.gz pls
 
also would be awesome if there was a whole linux distro dedicated to just emulating games
 
RamCpu said:
so I got debian installed, but how do I run fakenes? I'm new to linux and tar.gz pls
Click to expand...

Untar it with: tar -xvzf
Generate the build config: ./configure
Compile it: make
Install it: sudo make install

Assuming it's the source.
 
archtopshop said:
I don't think there is a Live CD for Debian PPC--only i386 and AMD64.

Debian 7 Stable (Wheezy) runs very nicely on my MDD. I have been usiing it for online credit card purchases and such, since early Summer. PowerPC is an officially supported architecture on Debian.

Lubuntu 13.04 also works well on my MDD. However, Lubuntu 13.10 (the current testing version) has been broken on PPC for nearly 2 months now, and currently won't install at all. 13.10 Live CD also will not boot.

So, I'd recommend Debian, if it runs the applications you are interested in.
Click to expand...

For those that may be interested, I wanted to update my previous post.

A new kernel version was just added to the Lubuntu 13.10 (testing version) dailies, and 13.10 is working again on PPC. I have been testing it (mostly just web browsing with Firefox 23) on my MDD for the past two days, and it runs well.
 
You shouldn't have to compile just to get an nes emulator. There should be one in the repositories. Run "apt-cache search nes" in the terminal and find one from the results. Pick one of the packages that comes with a gui though. Usually it will say gtk or sdl next to the package name.
 
Honestly, MintPPC is the easiest distro to use on PowerPC. It "Just works". The website is here: http://mintppc.org/. Go to the "Installation Instructions" tab to find out how to install it. You will need an ethernet connection to run it, and the status of Firefox on PPC Linux is a bit iffy for the future, but you can just go to the Synaptic Package Manager and install a NES emulator, no technical knowledge required. Although I use Mac OS X 10.4 on my iBook, MintPPC is a good alternative.
 
I've never used it myself, but I'm in contact with a guy on the development team. It seems to go through an awful lot of testing - I'd recommend giving it a try!
 
G4TheWin said:
Honestly, MintPPC is the easiest distro to use on PowerPC. It "Just works". The website is here: http://mintppc.org/. Go to the "Installation Instructions" tab to find out how to install it. You will need an ethernet connection to run it, and the status of Firefox on PPC Linux is a bit iffy for the future, but you can just go to the Synaptic Package Manager and install a NES emulator, no technical knowledge required. Although I use Mac OS X 10.4 on my iBook, MintPPC is a good alternative.
Click to expand...

MintPPC looks wonderful. I really want to buy an iBook G3 with 900 Mhz and install it. Yeah I kinda love the G3 processor.
 
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