KDE, GNOME and older Power Macs

[Jim Hart]

Recommend you see the articles on LinuxWorld, "How to create a 
Linux-based network of computers for peanuts":

http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32827.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32832.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32838.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32842.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32849.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32857.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32864.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32869.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32879.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32710.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32718.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32729.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32734.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32742.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/32754.htm

They're based on Intel hardware, but most everything applies to Macs, 
as well. You just have to figure out how to install the right stuff 
from YDL. You could, instead, use Debian PPC, which would make the Mac 
environment more like the articles. In any case, please let me know how 
you make out. I'm interested in doing the same thing.


On Oct 18, 2004, at 9:26 PM, David Wadson wrote:

> After finally upgrading one of our departments to some modern Macs, 
> I've now got on my hands an assortment of...
>
> Power Mac 4400 (200mHz 603e, 64MB RAM, 2GB HD)
> Power Mac 7200 (120mHz 601, 48-64MB RAM, 500MB HD)
> Power Mac 8500 (120mHz 604e, 80-96MB RAM, 2GB HD)
>
> I'm hoping to deploy these in a department that currently has no 
> computers, but instead of running their current Mac OS 8.6, I'd prefer 
> to switch them over to YDL 3.0.1. Not just for the stability, but also 
> to be able to run OpenOffice. The machines as configured are lacking 
> RAM, but luckily a number of places have 128MB DIMMs available for 
> quite cheap so the memory can be bumped up to a more decent size.
>
> The basic needs for the machines, in order of priority from most 
> important to least, are:
>
> IMAP-compatible email client
> Word and Excel compatibility for general wordprocessing and 
> spreadsheet tasks (nothing really complicated)
> PDF viewing
> basic web surfing (we can live without Shockwave, Quicktime, 
> RealPlayer, etc.)
>
> I've been using a variety of similar Macs, and some older ones, for 
> running DNS servers, PPP gateways, mail proxies, network monitors, 
> etc. but never with a GUI desktop environment installed. So, I'm 
> looking for some advice and experience any of you may have performing 
> such tasks on this kind of hardware. If it is possible to get a 
> workable solution with this hardware, what's recommended - GNOME or 
> KDE? Does one provide any significant performance gains over the other 
> or is it mostly a matter of personal preference? My sanity might be 
> best served by just buying some newer computers, but that won't happen 
> until next year at the earliest. With this hardware, I have the 
> opportunity, limited as it may be, to get some computers into people's 
> hands now. Plus, even if we do get new computers next year, I'd still 
> be giving Linux serious consideration for the operating system so my 
> efforts deploying this hardware could be worthwhile if just for the 
> experience.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Dave Wadson
> IT Manager
> The Chronicle-Journal
>
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