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Linux on PPC G5
- Thread starter duke132
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Before I got into Macs, Linux PCs were my workhorses and did just fine thank-you. However, getting them into a stable state before they could be productive was always a challenge - especially in the area of video and graphics. Well, six years with Macs passed and I thought the other week that I'd have a look at the Linux world to see how things were progressing. Dusted off an HP laptop I had stashed away and started installing the latest distros. Long story short, if you're thinking of moving to Linux, be prepared for a world of pain - especially for PPC. While the distros have evolved significantly, the user experience of making them work well hasn't changed at all. They do work and they can be made productive tools but you'll quickly miss the ease if use that we're used to with OSX. Oh - and you will need to be comfortable working from command line - or you soon will be!
He will? You seem so sure
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I moved from Apple to Linux and never missed the ease of use that came with OSX. It's been 10 years now and I can't picture myself ever buying a Mac especially for ease of use. People are all different that's why there's a large variety of stuff in this world. Of all the subforums and users in MR this is the one that Linux would have it's best chance because if you are still using a PowerMac 10 years after the last one was built you are a tinkerer with both SW and HW, Linux appeals to tinkerers. I don't want Apples best product I want the product I built whether that be LFS or heavily modified Ubuntu/Fedora/Mint.
I rather enjoy Linux but before I actually completely move to Linux, I want the possibility of having a similar experience with my devices as well. I am not an Android fan and Windows OS (on either a phone or otherwise) is not my favorite.
I am looking forward to the Linux phone that's currently in Europe to be made available to the rest of the world( it's available but still too expensive for me) and once I have a good Linux phone, I can then move to Linux for my computing needs and have a good experience with that as well. The only thing that's going to be a slight issue is the stuff that I bought from Apple (as far as movies are concerned) and getting them to work with an AppleTV or another media streaming device. As it stands now, there is WINE and even though it would be a Windows version of the application, I could still use that.
But Linux is great and I have not found it difficult at all with either my PowerPC Macs or even the Intel Macs, Pentium Windows machines...etc. It just all boils down to having reasonable expectations regarding the machine's capabilities either natively (or with some modification). And that's what we all already do in the PPC subforum because like it or not, all of the hardware that we're using is outdated although still very capable.
I am looking forward to the Linux phone that's currently in Europe to be made available to the rest of the world( it's available but still too expensive for me) and once I have a good Linux phone, I can then move to Linux for my computing needs and have a good experience with that as well. The only thing that's going to be a slight issue is the stuff that I bought from Apple (as far as movies are concerned) and getting them to work with an AppleTV or another media streaming device. As it stands now, there is WINE and even though it would be a Windows version of the application, I could still use that.
But Linux is great and I have not found it difficult at all with either my PowerPC Macs or even the Intel Macs, Pentium Windows machines...etc. It just all boils down to having reasonable expectations regarding the machine's capabilities either natively (or with some modification). And that's what we all already do in the PPC subforum because like it or not, all of the hardware that we're using is outdated although still very capable.
