[ydl-gen] Looking for advice.

[Derick Centeno]

Hi Jason:  My comments follow yours.

Jason Ritzke wrote:
> My girlfriend owns a iBook G4 Mac Laptop, which, I'm sure you all know
> is a ppc architecture system. After I switched to linux a little while
> ago she decided it would be a great idea for her lower spec'd system to
> move to a less beefy OS. I, for my part, have been looking into it to
> see what would be the best option for a ppc-focused linux OS that could
> do all the things that she needed.
> 
> But before I go trying to install ydl on her system, I have a couple of
> questions for the more experienced individuals.
> 
> 1. Are there any problems which could be forseen installing ydl on a G4
> iBook?
> 
If you check the hardware compatibility pages posted here:

http://us.fixstars.com/support/hardware/apple-ibook.shtml

you should discover the information you need.

> 2. How difficult would it be to install the xfce desktop enviroment into
> ydl linux? Are there any reasons it might pose a problem?
> 
That really depends on your skill and familiarity with Linux.  You'll
need to be familiar with xfce itself as well as the intricacies of
building it and all it's dependencies from source.  Also keep in mind
that there may not be PowerPC versions of binaries so you'll need time
to build all of the desktop environment in the correct sequence.  This
is a lot of work for one's own purpose, let alone attempting to do this
for someone else.

However, if you've the time and the temperment you should be able to do
whatever is needed to get things up and running.  Cross check to make
sure that the compilers and installed tools are recommended by the xfce
project.  Sometimes a project is a bit ahead of or more current
requiring libraries which are not within a current release of YDL; in
that case you'll have to install and build those libraries also.
Unfortunately, every distribution is either a bit ahead or behind in
something; also not every distribution formally supports the PowerPC.
By cross-checking I mean first refer to the xfce project regarding what
they recommend, then check the Fixstars website for the official listing
of what is actually included in YDL 6.1 and compare every compiler and
library needed making sure they match.  If they don't then you will have
to go to other projects who wrote the particular library you may need
and see what those libraries need and collect all that before you build
anything.

You'll have to weigh how much work you are going to put into all this.
As I hinted, doing something for your own interest may provide you with
valuable experience and technical acumen, however if it costs you your
friendship - you may feel quite differently.  Advice from Dirty Harry -
one of the characters created by Clint Eastwood - would apply here, "A
man's got to know his limitations."

> 3. Does ydl have any difficulty running typical software? is there
> anything I need to look out for in the basic realm of word processors,
> e-mail clients, and i-pod connectivity?
> 
I don't believe that there is anything "typical" in Linux.  Having said
that you can examine for yourself the software included in YDL 6.1; just
go through http://us.fixstars.com/
There is OpenOffice, lots of email clients, and more.  I prefer Claws
Mail myself although I have to build it, but it works fine within YDL
6.1 and earlier incarnations of YDL; it is however a text only email
client.  No frills other than a rather nice means of tracking who sent
what from where - if you build and install that option.

Regarding the i-pod, I can't speak on that.  Don't have one and never
will.  However there are good programs within YDL 6.1 which do play
audio CDs and can interface with internet radio.  Rhythmbox is pretty
nifty it also has graphics to match with audio play within YDL.  I've
not used it that way, but it's there.

Again because this is Linux, if you want something and have the skill -
you can build it yourself.

> 4. Any advice for how to best go about installing ydl?

The published directions have proven to be more than adequate for me.
Instructions are posted on the official website of Fixstars Solutions.

PS. I know that Linux is a bit much to deal with but here is something
to consider as everyone needs better security.  In professional
competitions testing the security strength of commercially available
operating systems for the last few years OS X has consistently been the
first to fail.  Meaning that you are better protected with Windows than
OS X, if you must rely upon a commercial system.  The system which
failed the least has consistently been Linux.

And just so there is no question whether this problem with OS X is
current here is a recent report from 2 days ago:

http://www.insidetech.com/news/articles/4075-hacker-unveils-stealthy-memory-injection-attack-in-osx

Note: If the server forces the above sequence following http to wrap,
just remember that everything after the colon appears on one line within
the URL.

All the best...


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