Compatibility

[Glock19_11]

I'm new to the forum as well as new to ubuntu(8.04) which i just loaded to my PC. I'm looking to make a linux box out of a mac that i've found but before i buy i would like to know if it will all work out. The specs are listed below if someone could tell me that this will work i'd be really happy!

1.42 GHz Power PC G4 processor; 512K level 2 cache
1024 MB of DDR SDRAM; supports upto 1.5GB
120 Ultra ATA hard drive
DVD±R/CD-RW SuperDrive
14.1 inch (diagonal) TFT active matrix XGA colour display
ATI Mobilty Radeon 9550 with 32MB of video memory
Built-in 10/100BASE-T Ethernet and 56KB modem
Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking
FireWire 400 port; two high speed USB 2.0 ports
VGA video output; S-video and composite video output
Lithium-ion battery for up to 6 hours of running time

[stream303]

Looks good to me. Does it come with original OSX disks? Does everything seem to work with OSX first? Can you get your money back? :)

Is all the equipment oem, that is did the former owner put in his own hard drive, added extra memory etc? I've seen cases where owners try to upgrade systems with parts that aren't up to Apple specs, and then don't have the resources to figure out what went wrong.

I think the thing to remember is that depending on your skill level, this could be a fantastic Ubuntu installation, or a totally frustrating one if you aren't prepared to hit the commandline once or twice to get it up and running. so, caveat emptor

[Glock19_11]

I've yet to purchase said Mac. i'm looking to create a full out linux box and i would like a Mac cause they are sexy and this one has a large hard drive. I've just been browsing the forum trying to decide if i should purchase it or not. and people are having problems with their PowerPC macs.

[stream303]

Well, if anything, make sure it comes with real OSX disks, or if not, at a substantial discount. :)

[thenes]

This sounds like an OK mac as long as it does not cost you too much. I think it would be great to run linux on it, but you have to be aware of a couple of things. The first thing is that JAVA can be very tricky on an PPC Mac, which might limit your web-browsing experience. The second thing is that the amount of applications that work out of the box will be limited.

Please don't get me wrong, you could get a lot of great use out of this Mac by running Ubuntu on it. The standard applications that come with Ubuntu, like Open Office, Firefox and Gimp will work out of the box. I just wanted you to know that the experience on a PPC Mac can feel a little frustrating if you are not aware of the fact that everything will not work the same way as on a never mac with intel processor or a standard PC.

[cyberdork33]

Please don't get me wrong, you could get a lot of great use out of this Mac by running Ubuntu on it. The standard applications that come with Ubuntu, like Open Office, Firefox and Gimp will work out of the box. I just wanted you to know that the experience on a PPC Mac can feel a little frustrating if you are not aware of the fact that everything will not work the same way as on a never mac with intel processor or a standard PC.and if you are not already familiar with Linux, it might end up being too frustrating...