[tht00]

Yup. I acquired an Apple laptop the other day. Pretty bare-bones as far as 'modern' specs go. (It's going to be a 'toy'/learning tool, not a primary computer.)

It's a G3, 300-something Mhz (PPC) with 512 Mb of RAM and a whopping 6 GB hard drive. It has OSX 10.2 on it, I think.

I'm wondering a couple things:
Are there any tricks I can do to squeeze out more power from OSX?

Also, I'm looking at putting a light Linux distro on it. Not a huge system (preferably smaller than an Ubuntu install (~2GB)). I haven't decided on what package management system I want to use, if any.

I might be willing to give Gentoo another chance to keep it minimal and optimized, but the compile times for some software will probably kill. Debian would probably be a solid choice, as I'm already familiar with Ubuntu and the .deb system.

I'm also looking curious about different Window Managers. I almost always use Gnome, and on occasion, I've used Xfce. I'm thinking about Xfce or Fluxbox/Openbox. Any thoughts here?

[Rhonda Schofield]

http://www.vividpicture.com/aleks/macquarium/

[PatrickStar4491]

Originally Posted by Rhonda Schofield

http://www.vividpicture.com/aleks/macquarium/

That's probably the most hilarious thing I've read all day.

[tht00]

Originally Posted by Rhonda Schofield

http://www.vividpicture.com/aleks/macquarium/

Heh. Nice.


Anyways, I've been working on getting Gentoo installed on it. That's been a bit of a pain, but I'm sure learning a lot.

[PatrickStar4491]

Originally Posted by tht00

Heh. Nice.


Anyways, I've been working on getting Gentoo installed on it. That's been a bit of a pain, but I'm sure learning a lot.

I've always heard Gentoo is a bit of a pain. I'm sure you're learning a lot.

Let us know how the install goes.

[guitarguy90]

Originally Posted by Rhonda Schofield

http://www.vividpicture.com/aleks/macquarium/

It looks like they're microwaving the fish. Poor fish.

[tht00]

Originally Posted by PatrickStar4491

I've always heard Gentoo is a bit of a pain. I'm sure you're learning a lot.

Let us know how the install goes.

Yeah. It's a lot of sitting and waiting so far (compiling on an old computer). There is an extremely nice step-by-step guide on the Gentoo website for most platforms.

I'm likely going to have to start over. I screwed up some vital partitioning stuff to start with, and I don't really want to try saving what I've gotten completed so far.

The Gentoo install process is quite different, as you basically boot into a liveCD, copy over a partially working system, chroot into it, and compile and configure from there until you have a bootable system.

I'll post results as I try again.

[PatrickStar4491]

Originally Posted by tht00

Yeah. It's a lot of sitting and waiting so far (compiling on an old computer). There is an extremely nice step-by-step guide on the Gentoo website for most platforms.

I'm likely going to have to start over. I screwed up some vital partitioning stuff to start with, and I don't really want to try saving what I've gotten completed so far.

The Gentoo install process is quite different, as you basically boot into a liveCD, copy over a partially working system, chroot into it, and compile and configure from there until you have a bootable system.

I'll post results as I try again.

Oh, wow. I've been spoiled by double-clicking install on the Ubuntu CD.

[Lt. Turkey]

Originally Posted by PatrickStar4491

Oh, wow. I've been spoiled by double-clicking install on the Ubuntu CD.

Yeah i know....i have been watching this install with tht00 and let me tell you....it has been long, boring and a royal pain do to it being a Power PC and it only having 6 GB of space....lotsa fun...lol

[tht00]

Well, I've got a working Gentoo system on the Mac now. I got hung up on some Mac-related issues and had to take a step back from it (plus, I've been extremely busy).

Today, I've been letting it compile xorg-x11 (groundwork for running GUIs/desktop environments). It'll soon pass 8 hours of compiling... I just saw a flag stating that it's completed 118 of 133 packages... and I thought the kernel compile was slow (~1 hour on this machine).

For the most part, Gentoo is similar to Ubuntu once you get the system built. However, Gentoo is built from the ground up, where Ubuntu is already packaged and just needs to be copied over. There really doesn't seem to be a 'right' or 'wrong' way to do it... they are just different ways to get to a similar end, each with pros and cons.

Certainly, I hope most of the larger packages to install won't take over 8 hours to complete, but really, I am almost working with an antique (~7 years old, ~300mhz PPC)... so it's no wonder that compile times are through the roof.

I will say this for Gentoo -- it is an excellent distro and a great learning tool for getting more knowledgeable with the inner workings of a Linux/GNU setup. There is great documentation to get through the install (Gentoo handbook) and some good stuff I'm just getting to in their wiki. Plus, you can optimize out the wazoo, as everything is compiled from source (with flags you can specify).

Also, if you are going to install Gentoo, do a stage3 install from the terminal. The first time I tried Gentoo out (on my Desktop), I went for the automated install on the liveCD. Not only was I a bit confused as to where some of the inner workings were located and how the package manager worked, I also lost interest pretty quick too. Building it manually lets you get familiar with the 'how and why's as well as giving you a sense of accomplishment when you get it working.

If you want something that 'just works', stick with Ubuntu/Debian/Fedora/etc. If you want to get your hands dirty, even if you're just curious, give Gentoo a try. I might try a x86 install in a VM (Virtual Machine) just for the heck of it.

Well, the compile passed its 8 hour mark and is up to package 123 of 133. Should be done soon.

[tht00]

Success! X11 + xdm + fluxbox works like a charm. Screenshots to come soon.

There isn't a whole lot to do in the new environment though... I've got a few terminals up and xclock. Pretty bare-bones... for now anyway.