Ubuntu only mentions “G4 and G5” on their front page, but I’ve read many success stories with Ubuntu on G3 hardware. So if you’ve got open source fever after reading Ubuntu’s public commitment, it’s time to get down and pick out that old Mac on which you’re going to try Liinux. The importance of this cannot be overstated – with other distros, you may find yourself compiling packages by hand to stay up-to-date while you’re waiting for your vendor to put out an official patch. This’s important, because some vendors just don’t take the time to optimize their PPC Linux, if they make one at all.Īnother big plus is that Ubuntu releases a new version every six months and is committed to providing updates to the current version in the meantime. This means they have put considerable effort into making their PPC version on par with its x86 counterpart.
Gftp for mac software#
First and foremost, in my mind, is their credo that everyone with a computer should have access to free, usable software no matter what platform they use. The front page of Ubuntu’s website contains a declaration of principles that they call their “public commitment”. Indeed, their slogan is “Linux for human beings”, and I don’t think I’ve ever come across a Linux distribution that’s as easy to set up, maintain, and use for daily tasks as this one. Ubuntu Linux has done some of the best work in the open source community at making Linux palatable for the average end user. In last week’s column, I outlined the requirements for setting up a useful and fast PowerPC (PPC) Linux desktop, and I’m going to start with what I consider the best of the bunch.