Get some new life in your old macs with the gnu linux operating system. Revive a powerpc mac running linux the mac observer. Does the powerpcbased mac mini g4 make a useful daily driver in 2019. Powerpc software archive links to the most current powerpc compatible. After talking with others in our smallbutgrowing linux ppc facebook group, i settled on lubuntu as a good starting point. Feb 19, 2019 finding old mac software was a mixture of easy and difficult. A key resource for powerpc linux development is penguinppc, which also includes a hardware compatibility list. Since there is a small discord community who is either still using old macs up to mac os x 10. An allinone hardware and software asset management, license compliance, and software license optimization solution, flexnet manager offers businesses complete and accurate data on their hardware. This is possible through the use of emulators such as sheepshaver, basilisk ii, mini vmac, qemu and. It would be nice if the ppc linux community could do the same kind of work on the mac side so you dont have to know in advance whether to just install linux or install with a specific graphics command, dont have to install xconf files because the installer would know which one to pick, etc. This page lists linux equivalents for popular mac os x software.
If your powerpc mac has a numeric model number it is an old world mac. Lubuntu is known for having a lighterweight user interface, lxde similar to what simon royal used when he put lxle on an old pc. Linux is a powerful operating system beloved by coders and capable of breathing life into old macs. Therefore, these machines are over ten years old, few modern apple os applications are now continue reading ppc apple mac linux. I assume at least someone here is using some kind of linux distributioin on their mac. Of course this only includes apple software, but if youre looking for old versions of imovie, pages, keynote, the ilife suite, older mac os x system updates, firmware updates and security updates, older versions of itunes and quicktime, and similar apple apps and software, its a great place to start.
Im going to make it a lot easier for you to install linux on your old ppc macs. Modern versions of java are available through ibm java and openjdk. I recently booted lubuntu from cd not installed on hd on my 1. Feature request powerpc discord app mac os x and linux.
If you have an old mac with a powerpc processor laying around collecting dust, why not give it a second chance at life. With ubuntu, one of its derivatives, mint or fedora, you may encounter an issue or two on an old mac but once resolved its smooth sailing. All are free, as is almost all the software, so i think its worth it. Quite a few people still have power mac g5s kicking around, and quite a few people have imac g3s around as well. They are helping to bring great new software to you. Dont junk your old mac hardware just because it can no longer get new software updates. Oldworld, unlike the bronzekeyboard lombard that came immediately after it, which is newworld a point often missed in linux ppc discussions. Sep 21, 2016 why is the software centre or update manager so slow.
The gryphel project 68k era mac software and home of the mini vmac mac plus emulator emaculation dedicated to emulation of the classic macintosh computer in os x, windows and linux installers for superceded and obsoleted mac os x software powerpc software archive links to the most current powerpc compatible versions. This is one of the more common problems mac users face when installing linux. How to install linux mint on a powerpc mac youtube. Flexnet manager helps enterprises manage and take control of their hardware and software assets. These are things ive either created, ported, forked, compiled or contributed to. Oct 25, 2012 firefox and chrome are also both unsupported on powerpc based macs, so even if that old mac still works, continuing to use it as it is means you are vulnerable to all sorts of security issues, so you are also losing out on a modern browsing experience. Necromantic tricks to bring longforgotten software back from the grave with this guide on how to run old software and games on your mac. All about macintosh emulation site updated october 22, 2018 welcome emaculation is dedicated to emulation of the classic macintosh computer in mac os x, windows and linux. He says the internal hard disk is failing, but one can, or course, go online and install osx to an external drive, then elect which device to boot from.
Ive spent the past three weeks trying to fix an ubuntu studio installation on a 2006 mac pro, and my advice if you want to run linux on a 2006 mac pro at this point is dont. Debian stable but could be a bit of a projectsteep learning curve getting it installed and learning how it works. Speed up your old mac with linux mint mintppc for powerpc. Dont fear the death of your old software, my friends. There is a distrubution of ubuntu linux for the powerpc, it is pretty current. To do this, we will need to install a more uptodate operating system, and. Some of the issues you may find include the install of live usb not working with your mac graphics card.
To support the old classic machines, we will soon have a. Debian is a registered trademark of software in the public interest, inc. Getting ubuntu linux up and running on a powerpc mac low. When it comes to old hardware, its not always best to recycle it. May 17, 2014 as i alluded to in my last post, the answer to booting an old world ppc mac from a linux cd lies in a venerable and wholly unsupported piece of mac os software called bootx. Jun 23, 2018 whatever the older macintosh computer is, to make it useful nowadays youd likely want to find and download some old mac software for it. Below youll find links to the isos on the main ubuntu server, as well as, help on finding mirrors. Minixmac is a basic emulator of very old macs, and i was able to get lots of my mac os 9 software up and running in the sheepshaver emulator. Sites like macintosh repository helped me fill out the parts of my install that were important and even essential. Safe and fast downloads for windows, mac and linux apps. Emaculation dedicated to emulation of the classic macintosh computer in os x, windows and linux installers for superceded and obsoleted mac os x software powerpc software archive links to the most current powerpc compatible versions of many programs the mac driver museum old hardware drivers for mac printers, disks.
It seems though you must get a special version of the linux software that is tailored to the g5 processor. Most linux distros set it up automatically for you anyway. I used to think it was because the software centre was just slow on old machines, but ive found it actually works really well when the aptxapian. All apple power macintosh systems up to and including the g4 use processors supported by this kernel. Can anyone recommend a good, supported linux live boot cd for a mac ppc. Dec 18, 2015 ever considered linux as an alternative to your aging os x version. So i now have one mac definitely working, and possibly a powerpc based mac to play with. Download and install an app called etcher from etcher. Linux is an option, of coursea number of the open source operating systems. The monolithic linux ppc kernel architecture does not have support for these machines.
The debian powerpc port began in 1997 at the german linux. Thats our guess of what still has the most ground in the powerpc world. If youre looking for old mac software, there are a number of sites on the interwebs. Well show you how to try it before you buy it so to speak to see how a specific version of gnulinux, ubuntu, will run on your aging mac. To develop and maintain a port of powerpc linux for apple nubus power macintoshes, powerbooks, performas and compatibles. I salvaged many old files using it while 5 different windows apps failed at the task. Jun 10, 2009 revive your old mac g3, g4, or g5 with linux. As a bonus, linux doesnt get slower with each new version. I found some on the net, but the ones i found seemed old and unsupported. On top of that i had the whole of the linux catalog of software at my disposal.
Revive your old mac g3, g4, or g5 with linux ghacks tech news. By mac powerpc posted in text tagged apple powerpc, crux ppc, debian powerpc, distro, linux, linux mint ppc, linux ppc, lubuntu ppc, mac. Since august 2016, it is now possible to emulate a ppc and boot mac os 9. I have it as a secondary boot option on my powermac g4, and it runs fine. Heb je een mac, maar zou je graag linuxapplicaties willen gebruiken, of wordt je oude mac. I would love to change it to ubuntu but the last time i tried it wouldnt register the disc. Booting a linux cd on your old world powerpc mac quadras. All the computers on the list to the right are cool, and each one pushed apple further. Just like other distro it is a free software and opensource linux distribution for power architecture hardware.
Gentoo linux 47 gentoo linux is a versatile and fast, completely free linux distribution geared towards developers and network professionals. Yellow dog linux is a linux distribution that is only created for ppc architecture. Open etcher and click the settings icon in the topright. Finding old mac software was a mixture of easy and difficult. Zelfs als je nog een oude powerpc mac hebt staan met een goeie oude. Oct 17, 2017 dont junk your old mac hardware just because it can no longer get new software updates. Running an old version of osx leopard in 20 just doesnt make sense. Ive experimented with linux and bsd macs going back to the mac iici era, and ive never had much luck. Feb 10, 20 do you want to breathe life back into your old powerbook or powerpc machine. Linux breathes new life into old mac computers infoworld. Hello everyone, i contacted the discord support and they suggested me to open this post.
Funny thing is, my dad recently bought a macbook pro and gave me his old imac. Sep 30, 2016 installing linux to a 16 year old mac powerpc g4. Macs with open firmware are considered new world macs. Some ibook2 hardware, especially on recently introduced.
Some people defend their favorite os to death and theyre so passionate that its hard to talk about it without offending someone. But even software that was designed for this thing would not work because of the requirement of having an online connection. Lubuntu does not use the ubuntu software centre by default. Dec 08, 20 yellowdog linux very old and the company has no interest in mac linux any more hence why so old and not updated. By installing a flavor of linux, you get access to the latest software, security patches. Normally id only recommend linux on powerpc to those who like to dabble with systems as theres no real performance gain, however, as i detailed in my first post, my current wheezy install is better at youtube and browsing in general the only grumble i do have is the touchpad mouse movement is flaky. On the powerpc hardware, you are screwed, because it is permanently stuck on leopard, a 10 year old os. Old versions of windows, mac and linux software, apps. I encounter folks who could use a simple machine for surfing and email and i frequently end up with old macs and pcs in my life that function except for an outdated os. One of the only pitfalls of using yellow dog linux is you might have to extract the firmware from your current, working os x in order to get the wireless working.
Posts about powerpc software written by mac powerpc. So why not downgrade to the version you love because newer is not always bett. By installing a flavor of linux, you get access to the latest software, security patches, and a modern browser. Hardware network security cloud software development artificial intelligence. Where to download old mac os software from osxdaily. This post will aggregate a collection of links and resources for finding and downloading old mac software, including old mac system software, old macintosh applications, and more, for everything from older intel macs, to powerpc macs, to 68040 and 030 macs.
They support old apps of the 3 main os, mac, linux and doors oops sorry i mean windows. In this feature we look at how to install linux on a mac including how to completely replace. It doesnt matter if its an ancient powerbook g4 or a. I have an old computer so i should install an old version of ubuntu, right.
So i now have one mac definitely working, and possibly a powerpcbased mac to play with. It would be really great if there were resources for a linux or bsd distro that could be successfully installed easily on older macs perhaps even back to old ppc machines. Do you want to breathe life back into your old powerbook or powerpc machine. Maybe its a powerbook that is running snow leopard, an original imac with tiger, an older macintosh lc 475 with system 7. The linux server i run my entire business on is, in fact, one of many virtualized servers. So if you still have a powerpc mac, you can get some more use out of it by installing linux. I used to think it was because the software centre was just slow on old machines, but ive found it actually works really well when the aptxapianindex package is not installed. We have an older collection of powerpc links and a couple of pointers for debian. I guess the best distro for the powerpc based pc is yellow dog linux ydl. Starting with the beige g3s, apple changed the onboard firmware to open firmware. How to run old software and games on your mac techradar. Unless specified otherwise, software should run on all g3, g4, and g5 powerpc.
Sometimes, you can even revive an old powerpc mac running linux. I dont recall the precise name of whatever bootloader is used on ppc machines, but with a good distro you shouldnt have any issues setting up a dual booting system as there is plentiful documentation on how to dual boot ppc mac os x with popular linux distros. The debian powerpc port began in 1997 at the german linux congress in wurzburg. A key resource for powerpc linux development is penguinppc, which.
Well show you how to try it before you buy it so to speak to see how a specific version of gnu linux, ubuntu, will run on your aging mac. Where can i find the linux distribution for the ppc architecture. Crazy thought, a rack server as a main ppc mac, but hey its still a mac. Revive your old mac g3, g4, or g5 with linux ghacks tech. Nubus systems are not currently supported by debian powerpc. Apple has long left the powerpc based macs of old behind. The linux server i run my entire business on is, in fact, one of many virtualized servers running on a much larger piece of hardware. Download latest newest and older versions of free software. Getting ubuntu linux up and running on a powerpc mac leaman crews 2005. Software for osx and ppc linux rather than scour various forum posts ive decided to put some of my contributions here.
An allinone hardware and software asset management, license compliance, and. You may also find out that your wifi or bluetooth isnt operating. Bootx is a mac os application, so you have to boot mac os first, and then boot linux next. A lot had been said lately about running linux on powerpc and it reminds me a lot about the argument of pcs vs mac. The project began its life as an ubuntu remix, but starting with version 15. Im about to show you how to turn that old mac hardware you have into something useful. Reviving old macs using linux phil shapiro these days, thanks to apples move to intel about a decade back, bringing new life to an old mac by installing your favorite linux distro is just as easy as it is with a standard pc, as you will see in this video. The squeak vm used is the classic carbon vm so can run in intel macs or in the old ppc macs, so if you have some old ibook you use for controlling the 3dprinter. Its kind of surreal that a computer from 1999 using such an old. In this tutorial ill show how you can put ubuntu linux on a powerbook g4 and resurrect one of these durable old laptops from the dead. Get some new life in your old macs with the gnulinux operating system.
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