Linux ON (PowerPC)

Linux ON, PowerPC

A lot had been said lately about running Linux on PowerPC and it reminds me a lot about the argument of PC’s vs Mac.  Some people defend their favorite OS to death and they’re so passionate that it’s hard to talk about it without offending someone.  Lovers and haters!  Anyways, I just wanted to post this NOTE for the unknown reason that we feel the need to position ourselves and our ideas to our readers to make sure that you guys understand where we stand in this “some people drink pepsi some people drinke coke” kind of thing!

A long time ago, we made a post about Linux and we never released it because we positioned ourselves to the Mac OS X system, but we do like Linux a lot!  The main reason is because Mac PowerPC likes everything that is FREE/OPEN SOURCE and for this reason we always try to dig deep to bring everything low/no cost for our readers.  So let’s give a thumbs up for Linux: For Human Beings! Also is a great OS.

I have to mention here that we decide to step up about linux because we didn’t want to mix material Mac/Linux mostly because this blog is entitled Mac PowerPC not Linux PowerPC.  Other strong reasons include our belief that there are great blogs already taking care of the Linux world.  I strongly recommend checking out places like PPC Luddite http://ppcluddite.blogspot.com and PowerPC Liberation http://powerpcliberation.blogspot.com , these guys have great material on line and “step-by-step” instructions and other great information.  I have to tell you that they are working hard on Linux material to bring to you tips such as how to partition a hard drive, software installation and everything else under the sun.  They are very familiar with the OS so you can not go wrong and in the event that something does go wrong, you can send them a comment and they will be more than happy to clarify for you.

Awhile ago, I installed a nice distro called Kubuntu in an old Sony Vaio and I really liked using it.  It was very user friendly and the most important thing was that it was very secure.  I felt very safe using that OS and nobody can take that feeling from you.  We understand that using an OS like Tiger/Leopard is not as safe as any Linux distro but the goal of Mac PowerPC is to point out applications and adventures of using the Mac OS X.  We are aware of the safety and we are aware that we are not getting any new updates.  Today even Snow Leopards are left in the dust…imagine poor old Leopard!  But again the Blog will keep searching for things to do with your PowerPC and installing Linux is one great option to do/try/play.  But we decided to leave this legacy to people that know what they are doing and those blogs listed above know best.  But please don’t kill your favorite Feline for a Penguin, I think and believe that there is space enough for all of them on your hard drive.

All the blogs listed are also on our “RECOMMENDED” page.  We really believe in their material and we try to check them out on a regular basis and provide you with relevant information from their blog.  We don’t believe in copying anyone’s material but for the sake of bringing the best material to the PowerPC community we will often reference their posts also check our Facebook/Twitter.

P.S.: At the moment it looks like Zen are very busy with other projects like helping a client to develop OpenBSD cluster software, but he didn’t leave his legacy just yet!  He keeps writing material and apparently now is counting wiht a help from Dr. Dave!  Believe me, in knowing Zen for short period of time, I know he won’t share his blog if Dr. Dave wasn’t competent enough to “run the ship”.  I totally believe that Dr. Dave won’t leave the PowerPC Liberation’s readers with questions, as far as I have been following his posts are great.  Talking about great…let’s show some love to PPC LUDDITE!  The guy behing this blog is great – he brings a lot of great information to the community and if your PowerPC still works, then a visit to his site is a must!

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MorphOS Running on PowerPC

MorphOS is a lightweight, highly efficient and flexible desktop operating system. It includes primarily proprietary as well as open – source components.

Here is a list os hardware requirement/compatibility – http://www.morphos.de/hardware 

If you have an extra PowerPC machine and you are looking for some challenge go forward.

Download link -http://www.morphos-team.net/

You guys know the drill, before you try anything, please, make sure to back up everything important or everything.

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P.S.: Files: http://morphos-files.net/index2.php

System Monitoring Pt II

You guys know the drill!  :)

* MiniUsage – 1.5.0 (Free) Leopard – 10.5 – http://nsek.net/SYW/software/english/miniusage/index.html - What to say about an app that says almost everything that is happening on your computer right now… CPU usage, amount of network flow, battery status and process namesd etc.  It takes very little space and is a perfect fit for iBooks/PowerBooks.  While the application is running, this information can be referred via AppleScript.  Now you can see just what is slowing your computer down!

* MenuMeters – 1.6 (Free) Tiger/Leopard – 10.4 or 10.5 –  http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/menumeters/index.html – MenuMeters is a set of CPU, memory, disk, and network monitoring tools for Mac OS X. Although there are numerous other programs which do the same thing, none had quite the feature set I was looking for. Most were windows that sat in a corner or on the desktop, which are inevitably obscured by document windows on my laptop’s small screen. Those monitors which used the menubar mostly used the NSStatusItem API, which has the annoying tendency to totally reorder my menubar on every login.

The MenuMeters monitors are true SystemUIServer plugins (also known as Menu Extras). This means they can be reordered using command-drag and remember their positions in the menubar across logins and restarts.

* iStat Menu – 3.19 (Shareware) Leopard – 10.5 – http://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/ You can download here: http://istat-menus.mac.informer.com/3.19/  – It display the usage on your menubar but you can add or remove items straight from System Preferences.  This is the last version available for 10.5 PowerPC.  I was able to download (version 2.0) from this link, and here you also will be able to download an option for Tiger 10.4 (version 1) – http://istat-menus.en.softonic.com/mac/download-version/istat-menus-3.20

Old OS System for Mac PowerPC

Let’s talk about nostalgia… I was checking few blogs and web sites and I found a great article on LowEndMac talking about the old Mac OS System. I thought that it would be great to Know a bit about OS 6 or OS 7, just to play around and do some tests.

For the entire article of LowEndMac: http://lowendmac.com/macos.shtml

* OS System 6 – http://www.euronet.nl/users/mvdk/system6.html

* OS System 7.5 – http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Macintosh/System/Older_System/System_7.5_Version_7.5.3/

Also you can check here for System and Updates: http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Macintosh/System/Older_System/

System Monitoring your PowerPC

It’s important to check on how your computer is doing during the day.  This might sound strange, but to make sure you are not abusing the limits of your Mac we selected some online software that you can use to better understand how your memory, processor, network, battery, etc are being used.  With these programs, you are able to open or close more apps without worrying about having to force quit.

iPulse 2.5.1 – (Shareware $9.95) – PowerPC – Tiger / Leoapard. http://iconfactory.com/software/ipulse/ or you can download here – http://macupdate.com/app/mac/9969/ipulse

XRG 1.6.1 – (Free) – PowerPC – Leopard. http://www.gauchosoft.com/Products/XRG/ 

iStat Pro 4.92 – (Free) (Widget) – PowerPC – Tiger / Leopard. http://islayer.net for some reason the web site is off line, you can download it here: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/20364/istat-pro

Feel free to share your comments on any app that also helps to track the progress of your Mac.

This will be the last post of 2012.  Happy New Year and see you in 2013.  :)

Solitaire Game for Mac PowerPC

I’m not sure about you, but one of my favorite games on windows 98 was definitely Solitaire!  I could spend hours (at work) playing this game…and I miss it!  I decided to share a few versions of this old skool game, that still run on our PowerPC Macs.

* Klondike Forever – (Free) 1.3.6 – http://www.solitaireforever.com/klondike/ - PowerPC friendly, works on 10.4 / 10.5 (Tiger / Leopard).

* Solitare XL – (Free) 1.1.8 – http://cl.ly/3b2X3T0U1F3t – PowerPC friendly, works on 10.4 / 10.5 (Tiger / Leopard) – Solitaire XL has been discontinued. :( Developer’s web-site – http://lavacat.com/

* Klondike – (Shareware) 10.4 – http://www.casteel.org/klondike.html – PowerPC friendly also works on 10.4 / 10.5 (Tiger / Leopard).

* Klondike 9.1 – works on PowerPC Mac OS X

* Kolndike 7.7.1 – works on all Macintosh system from the 68K MacPlus to Mac OS X.

 

Now it’s time to have some fun and remember just how fabulous the 90s were!  Happy solitairing!!!