[ILUG] linux +Macs

[lbedford at wbtsystems.com]

On Sat, 5 Jun 1999, Paul Curtayne wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I don't own a Mac, I don't like Macs, I don't know anything about
> Macs.
Ah now, they're harmless.
> 
> Now that's out of the way, could someone edify me as to what older
> macs could run Linux? Is there a minimum spec for a minimum install? a
> comfortable install?
There are a few different types of Mac, the older ones with the 68K series
of processors, and the newer Power PC ones. In the Power PC ones, there
are the PCI and non-PCI ones, and now the new Blue/iMac ones.

For the older type (the LC and above) m68k linux runs on the ones with
Memory Management Units (can't tell you which ones they are though :()

For the PPC ones, linuxppc (www.linuxppc.org/.com) runs on the PCI ones
and mkLinux runs most of them. I have tried both, and prefer the linuxppc
port. It's monolithic, so it's more like the intel version. mkLinux runs
ontop of a Mach MicroKernel, and I found it really slow on an 8100,
whereas a 7200 with PCI and linuxppc felt lovely and fast (with a slower
processor)
> Is there a vintage which just won't run Linux at all, like for PC's a
> 386 is the absolute min, as the kernel normally won't compile for a
> 286 (AFAIK).
Yeah, the same limit applies, only machines with MMU's. (I know ELKS runs
on 8086 and so on, but not real linux.
(I have R4.1 of linuxppc on a mirror in work, and I'm mirroring R5 which
isn't ready)
HTH
Regards
L.