OS X content and your ideas

I have been very heavy on the Linux content the last while.  For those that prefer OS X related content I just want to say that I am working on a couple things which will be posted in the next couple days.  I still love X very much and use it about 60-70% of the time I compute these days with the rest divided between OpenBSD and Lubuntu.  

After I give X some love in the next 2-3 days my plan is to release part 4 of the 'Video on PowerPC' series which will deal with playback on Linux. 

My intention is to give equal coverage to both OS but the last couple weeks I have been concentrating on the 12.10 issues to help the early adopters.

If anyone has any ideas about content they would like to see me write about please leave a comment about what it is and why you feel it's important to cover.

Thoughts and observations on 12.10

I have been using 12.10 daily builds on and off on my testing system for well over a month.  For the last week I have been using the final release and applying daily updates.  Things are getting better every day but it's still not at a point yet to replace a 12.04 install.

The thing that has really impressed me is how hard the PowerPC developers are working to get everything fixed.  There have been updates every single day ranging from 2 to over 10 per day.  This includes kernel, application and system utility code updates.  I am contemplating becoming a Lubuntu developer myself which will also inspire me to get started on my Puppy Linux for PowerPC project.  I really love both but Lubuntu is already available for PowerPC so it's a good place to start so I can transition from OpenBSD to Linux development while still helping the progression of an OS I fully stand behind.

The advantages to 12.10 do outweigh the negatives but the issue for now is that the negative are big enough (for me at least) that I am not ready to embrace it yet as my main Linux install until some things are fixed.  I will now summarize the good and bad from my perspective which I hope can help people figure if they are ready to replace 12.04 or not.



The good


Update Manager:

This has been renamed 'Software Updater' and it actually works on the PowerPC builds now.  It has crashed once on me but other than that one occasion it works perfectly.  This is a much simpler and user friendly way to update for those that are confused by Synaptic.

Aesthetics and uniformity:

Everything in the GUI has been updated in the default Lubuntu theme.  The LX menu button is now a sleeker squared shape.  All the system and application icons have been cleaned up to be more sleek and less colourful or tacky, depending on how you look at it.  I personally prefer the Industrial theme with the Lubuntu window borders.

Applications:

A few of the default apps are at newer versions that are not availible by default yet on 12.04 even after updates.  Transmission for example is now at version 2.61 vs. 2.51 on 12.04.  Apps like Audacious, GDebi, System Profiler and several other system utilities as well have been updated.  One important update they have put through on both 12.04 and 12.10 is the Firefox updates which is now at 16.02.  There was an issue with the profiler app at first but this has now been fixed.

Installer/Updater:

Not only is the desktop installer a little better now but Canonical has finally made an OS upgrade option that works perfectly.  I was able to run the updater without issue by upgrading 12.04 to 12.10 with the DVD rather than a clean install.  This works just as well as a clean install in my experiences and it also retains all your accounts, apps and settings from your 12.04 install.



The bad


Video playback:

I have tried several videos in both Mplayer and VLC and they failed to play far more than they did.  VLC especially for me has been very troublesome.  Because I'm a video super nerd this is a big issue for me.  There are still radeon driver issues so I'm sure it has to do with that because the system seems incapable of playing multiple frames a second.  The CPU is never saturated when this happens so thats not the issue.  I would like to hear any playback experiences others have in 12.10.

Performance:

I would estimate about a 10-20% drop in overall performance compared to 12.04 on the same machine.  This is on a 400 MHz Sawtooth though so that drop in performance would shrink on a faster system.  I'm sure that with the heavy frequency of updates the performance will be improved over time.  Two months from now I'm sure everything will be close to 12.04 performance.

System errors:

These happen too often for my liking.  It's not that they are always there but its often enough to be intrusive at times.  This is no shocker in this early stage but it may not be what you want to tolerate.  Give it a couple months



In closing

If you like to be part of testing and discovering bugs then this is for you because the more who help with this the faster everything will be fixed.  If you want a well behaved stable system with optimal usability then stick with 12.04 for now.

The main current install issue with 12.10 is video driver based for the most part.  For information on how to resolve this please refer to this Lubuntu documentation page.  For other 12.10 issues please refer to this info.  That last link doesn't deal with Rage 128 GPU so if that is what you have please refer to this fix from the KnownIssues page on the Ubuntu PowerPC wiki.  I would include this info here but it takes away from the efforts of those who made it.  It would also make the post very clunky as there is a lot of text for those two issues.

Midori: Webkit for Linux

I had heard about this for a while but didn't try it until 3 days ago because I'm not a big Webkit fan, until now.  On Mac OS I almost never use Safari or Webkit and it took a Linux adoption of the tech to get my attention.

Over the last 3 days I have run this on Lubuntu 12.04.1 and 12.10 with great results.  It launches in less than half the time of Firefox 16, uses about 40% less RAM  and is noticeably snappier at page loading.  It doesn't have all the brute capability of Firefox but for regular  browsing it's all you will need.  I now keep both browsers installed with Midori set as the default.

One of the real positives about it is that it has a very capable built in collection of extensions like ad blocking, cookie management etc.  So far the built in ad blocking is just as good as ABP.  Very capable bookmark management also.

Those that have installed Lunbuntu should give it a try.  I recommend you find and install it with Synaptic or LSC for best results.  The package on their page (linked below) is x86.

Links:
Midori Page - Screenshot

Linux: The Code

While I evaluate and write about 12.10 I wanted to share a great Linux documentary from 2001 about the fundamentals of the Linux culture.  It also talks about the birth and history of Linux.

After decades of using strictly Mac and BSD I am happy to finally embrace Linux.  The last two years I have slowly increased my Linux use but it's these last 3 months or so that I have really dove into it.  As a BSD user since the 80's I was sort of caught up in that BSD elitism some have.  By that I mean that many BSD heads scoff at Linux for not being 'true' Unix.  The reality is that it may not be as close to true Unix as BSD but all the same advantages are there along with a Linux developer and user base that dwarfs BSD.  The greatest thing about Linux in 2012 is that the pre-existing kernel and package collection that makes up the whole is so big that virtually everything is limitless.  After two decades of heavy growing development there are solutions to suit literally everyone from the most green newbie to a command line wizard.  It's because of all these things that I now heavily promote Linux especially for PowerPC Macs now years after being abandoned by their maker.  I still use BSD every single day but Linux is just as much if not more a part of my life now.  Linux reaches much further into virtually every computing avenue. 

About 10-15% of the video is in the Finnish language without english subs but most parts are spoken in english.  All the core people are interviewed.  I first saw this in 2003 right around the time that I was starting to sway from BSD and it reminded me why I shouldn't.  If you have never seen this or have not in a long time then here it is.

Video
140.9 MB - 58 min 49 sec
320x240 - h.264/AAC - 25 fps

Here is the standard web URL for HTML5.  I have a personal policy here to never embed images or video in my posts.  The reason for this is that it keeps the load time and CPU use much lower.  I also prefer to concentrate on the words and keep a simple elegant look.  This is also why I don't use the blogger navbar at the top.

Low End Melodrama

I want to comment on my recent aggressions toward LEM.  It is not my desire to bring an aggressive mood to my own blog but as noted many times I simply have no tolerance for people that openly spread ignorance as truth.  This however is not something I like dumping on my readers.  My goal was to clearly state that I oppose LEM's stance on Linux which involves actually dissuading people from using it.  One persons limited capacity is not another's and they don't get that.

Although I was just trying to clearly separate myself from LEM I may have been a little melodramatic in my methods.  My stance is still the same but my mind is much more at peace about it now.  They have removed all the links which I appreciate and I am now trying to get them to remove my words that remain.

My issue is not those I disagree with but rather those that actually try to limit the technical journey and experiences of their readers and do it while mooching off my work.  If you cannot look out for the technical well being of your readers then you have no business being a tech writer.  My oath to all my readers is that I will always look out for your overall well being rather than simply feed you misguided info.

For the time being at least (unless they start using my writing as if it's their own again) I will not be writing negative things about them.  This will stay peaceful as long as they continue to respect my wishes of leaving my writing alone.

To those that were bothered by the drama I apologize.  As stated the point was to leave no doubt as to where I stood.  Everyone knows where I stand now so the issue is at an end for the time being.  If LEM continues to respect my wishes then this issue will stay dead forever.

Lubuntu 12.10 final is here

I will be sure to note any install differences compared to 12.04 and update the Lubuntu install guide as needed.  At this point I don't recommend anyone replace a healthy daily use 12.04 install quite yet.  Anyone with a spare system or drive would be wise to use that first.  Although this is a final keep in mind that the PowerPC builds are community supported rather than officially so fixes take a bit longer.  At this stage 12.10 is still for those that like being part of finding and reporting bugs.  The more that do this the faster it will be tip top.

Links:

Desktop image
690.7 MB

Alternate install image  (Debian installer)
667.2 MB

Please report any findings here whether they be good or bad and send all bug reports if promoted to help the developers know what needs to be fixed.  The more we all know the better everything will be. 

Happy 12.10ing!


Linux newbie?  Don't want the bleeding edge?

For those that are tackling Linux for the first time and those that just want as smooth an experience as possible I recommend using 12.04 for now.  Learn something reliable first while the kinks in this early 12.10 PowerPC build get worked out.  12.04.1 (after updates) has almost all the issues worked out and will give you a much smoother experience at this point.  It was released in April this year so it certainly isn't outdated.  It's fully supported and there are frequent updates.  Firefox 16.01 also.

You can download the 12.04 ISO here and you can also refer to my Lubuntu install guide for help in getting everything installed and setup.


Update

Thanks to Keith in comments I was reminded of the simple frame buffer solution for Radeon GPU.  I have confirmed this to work for both updating a 12.04 install to 12.10 and also doing a fresh install of 12.10.

To boot the desktop image and install with Radeon GPU do the following.

Boot the 12.10 ISO and at the yaboot screen type:

'live video=radeonfb:1024x768-32@60'

Change the 1024x768 to your screens default res if it is not that.  32 refers to the colour depth and 60 refers to the screen refresh rate.  For best results confirm what all these are for the display in question.

To confirm your GPU if you're unsure type: 'lspci | grep -i vga'

For people with Nvidia GPU the process is much more in depth.  Please refer to the info at this link.  You will need the Alt. install image rather than the desktop.

I am toying with an updated 12.10 install now.  Everything seems good overall.  The only issue so far was the LXPanel crashed once but relaunched right away.  The GUI is altered a bit and made a little prettier for those that like that sort of stuff.  Here is a screen of it running on my 400 MHz Sawtooth.

Lubuntu PowerPC and CAD

This is specifically meant for my regular reader known as "ta" from the British Antarctic Survey who was asking about CAD solutions on Linux.  Anyone else interested in CAD should also find this helpful.

They were specifically asking about a multi-platform app called Draft Sight.  After looking into things and attempting to install it I received this error saying it's the wrong architecture.  This app is x86 only across the board as even the Mac version is Intel only.  This could take weeks to port so at this moment in time at least that is unrealistic. 

I did some research and found an alternative called LibreCAD which is apparently based on QCAD.

I was able to find and successfully install LibreCAD which appears to be capable enough but I am no CAD expert so I will leave that up to those that are.  Here is a screenshot of it running on my Stormtrooper.

The way I installed it was with Synaptic but be aware that one of the archives within the package is damaged but the fix is very easy.

Method that worked for me:

1. Open Synaptic and search for LibreCAD
2. Double click it to mark for installation then click apply.
3. Click apply again in the window that pops up.  Allow it to install.


If you have errors like I did then close Synaptic and fire up the LXTerminal.

Type:

sudo apt-get clean

After you enter your pass type:

sudo apt-get update

Launch Synaptic again and click the status button followed by the broken filter above.  Right click LibreCAD and select 'Mark for reinstallation' followed by clicking apply.

After the one remaining package installs close Synaptic and enjoy some CAD play.

Let me know if you need more help and how you like LibreCAD.

Reminders

We all need to be reminded of certain things from time to time so I am doing just that for my readers.  Here are a few reminders for everyone.


Blog title

As you all know the title of this place is PowerPC Liberation.  Take special note of the word Liberation.

Websters definition:

1 - the act of liberating : the state of being liberated

2 - a movement seeking equal rights and status for a group 

The name is not PowerPC Idleness.  It is not PowerPC Stagnate.  It is not PowerPC Denial, and it most certainly isn't PowerPC Dies a Lonely Death on OS X.  Everyone got that? 


The future

The future for PowerPC is what we make it.  We are not industry slaves, we are PowerPC users and lovers.  Those of us that are awake in life know that Apple left us for dead long ago and we need to cut the first trail to give our hardware hope in present and future.  


The fanboys in denial

Get the hell out of the way or you will get run over.  There is no place for blind Apple fanboys in the PowerPC world anymore.


LEM could disappear tomorrow and it wouldn't matter

I would say most computer users in the world already have more skill and understanding than these guys do.  I know for a fact that 90% or more of my readers already have more computing ability and true comprehension than any of their staff.  Many of my readers have successfully installed Linux on PowerPC systems so they already have abilities that reach far beyond what their head man Dan Knight has.  

When the average blog reader has more computing ability than the head of LEM should anyone really be listening to them any longer?  

I told them to stop linking to me yet they continue so as I promised them I will continue telling people the sad but true facts about them until they stop being a parasite to this blog.  The good news for my readers is that you all now know that you trump Dan Knight in computing ability and comprehension.

 
Lunbuntu 12.10 final

Will be launched in two days so get your Linux brain tuned up.  I have a blank DVD waiting for it.  Do you?

Puppy love?

I am a big fan of Puppy Linux and I am really feeling the void of there being no PowerPC port.  There was an attempt at a beta back in 2009 with PowerPup but the developer seems to have abandoned it with no updates for 3+ years.

There are others out there in the PowerPC community that like Puppy Linux and a proper version for our favourite architecture is exactly what it needs.  The greatest thing about Puppy is that it runs entirely in RAM which means it's lightweight and extremely fast.

We need developers and testers to step forward and make this happen.  I dabble in OpenBSD development for both PowerPC and x86 myself so I will bring all I can to the plate but I can't do it alone.

Who's in?  We need some great people with amazing skills to step up and push PowerPC forward by helping port what could possibly be the perfect distro for our hardware.


Puppy links:
Official Page - Community Page - Wiki Page

Low End Parasite

The once great Low End Mac has turned into an ignorant fanboy in denial link dump.  All they seem to do these days is attach themselves onto other sites content like a parasite.  My content here seems to be a regular source of their piggybacking which in most cases would be fine but their longtime writer Dan Knight seems to be on a mission to spread his denial and ignorance to their readers.

As if it isn't bad enough that they are incapable of creating enough of their own content with a team of writers they one up their own ineptness by simply just attaching themselves to content from other sites.  This is bad enough but Dan in particular has taken to adding his own little fanboy in denial blurbs at the end of my content that he adds to their page. 

The guy admittedly says he doesn't really have PowerPC Linux experience yet tries to comment on the state of things.  The golden rule for having an opinion is if you don't know what the hell you're saying then shut the fuck up. 

The reality is that Mac OS PowerPC is at a dead end and has been for a good 2 years now.  To actually discourage PowerPC users from trying new secure OS options which will give them valuable new computing skills is a sacrilege and you should be ashamed of yourself, Dan Knight.  Give your little delusional fanboy brain a shake and realize that tech writing is about helping people and not installing your own delusions into them.  You need some capacity to be objective and if you don't then get the fuck out of the way of progressive thinking with your stunted deluded logic.  Delusion is not reality.  Reality is reality.

I have removed the LEM link from my recommended sites list and I am officially telling them to stop mooching off my content.  All other people linking to me currently are more than welcome to continue doing so.  LEM is the only one I have issues with. 

If LEM doesn't respect my wishes then I will have to continue saying bad but truthful things about them.  I would even go as far as legal action because I refuse to be associated with blind ignorance.  It's one thing to provide a link but to actually put some of someone else's content on your own page without permission and even change titles is quite bold.  Note the copyright at the bottom of my blog "Copyright 2012 PowerPC Liberation. All rights reserved".

For anyone bothered by my swearing I do apologize but I needed to get the way I truly feel on the table.

Ubuntu family comparison

I found a good comparison of the entire family of Ubuntu 12.04.  Although it is based on a P4 x86 system all the results translate to virtually the exact same experience I have had with them all on PowerPC hardware.

This confirms my statements about Lubuntu being even lighter and faster than Xubuntu.  Speaking of Xunbuntu, it's sad to say but it has become the most neglected version on PowerPC which I'm sure has to do with the better performance of Lubuntu.  

Don't be shocked by the long boot times it lists because these were all tested on thumb drives.  The point is the overall results and what they tell us.

Link: 

Ubuntu 12.04 vs Xubuntu 12.04 vs Kubuntu 12.04 vs Lubuntu 12.04: Results

Lubuntu install guide

So I guess if you're reading this I should first congratulate you for not being in denial about the future of PowerPC hardware.  You have obviously decided that your Mac's security and capability in the modern world is more important than your attachment to Apple OS.  In all sincerity I congratulate you on this because it’s a big step for most.

In my mind Lubuntu is both the best version for newbies along with one of the best for seasoned users that like minimal performance geared packages.  This is my perspective at least but I encourage everyone to seek out all that interests them in the PowerPC open source world.  As I have written in all my other Lubuntu related content it’s very easy to install but there are a few default events that don’t work as intended in the PowerPC build.

Before we start just remember that if you’re new to Linux you shouldn’t expect things to be perfectly smooth the first time.  You need to look at any issues that come up as a learning experience rather than getting frustrated and running back to an OS X only world.  The methods I explain work perfectly for me but they have all been acquired on PowerMac installs so your mileage may vary on other systems.  Any issues you have that are not covered here should be noted so I and/or others can help you figure things out.




Step 1 – Downloading and prepping the ISO

If you don’t already have it then you first need to download the Lubuntu 12.04 Live Desktop ISO found here.  Once you have it you will need a blank CD or DVD to burn the ISO to for installation.  You can also boot from USB via a thumb drive or other USB storage devices by following the instructions found here.  I do not recommend this method as it is not always reliable enough to get a full install done.  If you really have no blank optical disks and don’t want to buy any then USB is your remaining option.

This guide is built to assist those that are not yet comfortable with Linux installations so I have written everything with the live desktop image in mind.  For those that know Linux on a higher level the Debian installer based 'Alternate' ISO is a quicker more direct way of getting it on your system.  You can download the alt image here.  This is not recommended for newbies or anyone going in with any level of discomfort.  
 
The steps to burn the ISO to a CD/DVD are extremely simple.  Once the ISO is downloaded simply launch Disk Utility in Mac OS.  At the top click the burn button and then navigate to where you downloaded Lubuntu.  Select it and your burn speed and wait a few min for it to finish.  You may as well just leave the disk in the machine since you need to boot from it unless you want to label it first.

Now you have a bootable copy to install with.  You are now ready to do the deed so lets get on to the install.


Step 2 – Installation

Restart your Mac and hold down C on the keyboard to boot from the Lubuntu disc you just burned or by using the USB boot methods mentioned above.  You will be presented with a black screen that contains the yaboot info.  Just watch the show and don’t do anything till the GUI comes up.  You can hit enter or type 'live' followed by enter at the yaboot screen if you wish to shave off a few seconds, but this gives the same result as just waiting.  After the black screen you will see a white one which is initiating the video driver which will go black again for a second and then white again followed by a black Lubuntu screen with progress dots underneath.  After this you will see the Lubuntu desktop.  I am explaining everything that happens at boot because it will seem alien to some so I am giving you a heads up of a normal CD boot procedure.  If you have video issues then reboot the CD and at the yaboot screen type 'live video=ofonly' followed by enter.  

If you still have video issues and have a Radeon GPU use this command at the Yaboot screen:

live video=radeonfb:1024x768-32@60

Change the 1024x768 to your screens default res if it is not that.  32 refers to the colour depth and 60 refers to the screen refresh rate.  For best results confirm what all these are for the display in question.

If you have an Nvidia GPU you will need the Alt. Install image I mention in step 2.  Here is the alt install and here are the configuration instructions for after the install.

For those with ATI Rage 128 GPU you need to follow the instructions found here.

Once you’re at the GUI you can try it out for a bit before you install but keep in mind that the performance off the CD/DVD in no way reflects how it will run on your hard drive. When ready double click the Install Lubuntu icon in the top left.

First you will be asked to select your language then click continue.  This will be followed by the Install prep. panel which will tell you if you have an active internet connection.  If your internet is working then I highly recommend selecting ‘Download updates while installing’ because it will save you a lot of time post-install.  I also recommend you select to install the Fluendo audio codecs for the best possible audio experience.  Click continue.

Now you will see the install options window where you have the option to erase other OS and replace with Lubuntu or a simple erase and install if no other OS is present on the drive.  Below this you will see a ‘Something else” option which is what dual boot on one drive people will need.  Click continue.

In the next window select your Linux partition from the pull down and click ‘Install now’.  Installation continues.  Select your location when prompted soon after.  This helps with finding the closest mirrors for downloading updates or new packages along with keeping your time set properly.  Click continue.

Next you will be prompted to select your preferred keyboard layout.  The detect button in the bottom left never works so just ignore it.  Select your KB language on the left and the layout on the right.  It’s best to choose a Macintosh layout if you have an Apple KB so it puts all or at least most of the keys to their proper use.

The next step will be choosing your user name and password.  You also choose if you want auto login or not at this stage.  Click continue.  All you can really do now is watch the slideshow while it finishes up.  This is good to watch for Linux newbies or even people that are only new to Lubuntu.  It shows you several of the apps included in the package as well as a popular and supported alternative along with a lot of good basic info about Lubuntu.

When the installer is all done you will be prompted to restart.


Step 3 – The first hard drive boot and installing updates

If you chose to require a login at startup simply enter your pass and press enter.  There is a pull down at the bottom which also allows you to boot into ‘Lubuntu Netbook’ or ‘Openbox’.  The default will just say Lubuntu which boots into LXDE.  The Lubuntu Netbook is a sort of lighter weight variant on the Ubuntu Unity user interface  and I don’t recommend it.  Openbox is a lot less user friendly and usable out of the box so I recommend most stick to LXDE while they acclimatize themselves to Linux.  I will write an Openbox setup guide that is Lubuntu based in the near future.  No point in making you drink from the fire hose while still absorbing new things.

Once you have logged into LXDE allow Update Manager to do it’s default thing and look for updates before you do anything.  Do not, I repeat, do not use Update Manager to install anything.  I have never seen it perform properly with any of the Ubuntu PowerPC builds.  Same goes with the Lubuntu Software Centre.  Close UM and go to the System Tools menu to open Synaptic Package Manager.  Synaptic will be your best friend in regard to all updates as well as finding new apps/packages.  It’s the only app you need for all these things and it works close to perfect on PowerPC Ubuntu builds.

Once you have Synaptic open I recommend reading the intro that pops up because it explains a lot of the basics of what Synaptic does and how to do them.  After you get rid of the intro you need to locate the stack of buttons in the bottom left of the main window.  Select the ‘Status' button and then in the sidebar directly above select ‘Installed (upgradeable)’.  Now click the ‘Mark all updates’ button at the top followed by clicking Mark in the window which opens after this.  Now click the ‘Apply’ button at the top followed by clicking Apply again on the popup.  If there are any package errors while installing Synaptic will let you know.  I get errors on occasion but they are all archive related which means that they sometimes become corrupted while downloading or installing.

Anytime you have an error there is a simple fix that is often one task but never more than two.  If it’s a simple broken dependency then this can be dealt with in Synaptic by using the broken filter to find it.  Sometimes you need to be more thorough by launching the LXTerminal in the accessories menu.  Type the following commands:

sudo apt-get clean

You will then be asked for your pass which will not look like you’re typing just like the Mac Terminal.  Press enter then type:

sudo  apt-get update

Allow it to finish to 100% before closing the terminal.  These same terminal commands can be used anytime you have an error with any update so write them down for future use if you cannot remember them.

After this you should logout and back in.  Launch Synaptic again and install whatever updates may be left that came after the error.  When those are done click close and you’re all up to date.


Step 4 – Customizing things to your needs

This is where it becomes all about your personal preferences and needs.  A good first step is to get to know the LXDE menu well and what is available to you in the default package.  This will help you better figure out what you need to add to your install to accomplish all you need.

Anything else you want to add can be done with Synaptic.  Simply launch it and click search.  This is where it gets confusing for some people because with certain searches you will get a lot of results with a lot of what seems unrelated stuff.  The easiest way is if you searched an app name to find the one that matches it in name.  Then double click it to select it and all the directly related packages.  Many things contain screenshots you can quickly download and view in the lower pane for a better idea of what you have found.  If you searched for a technology or driver then you will simply need to read the descriptions.  Once you get used to Synaptic it will be very easy to use but at first it can seem a bit confusing.  Be patient with your learning.

Sylpheed is the included mail app and it’s really not all that different from Apple Mail in layout and function.  If you prefer something like Thunderbird there is a modern updated version available in Synaptic.

The default browser in the PowerPC version of Lubuntu is Firefox rather than Chromium like the x86 version.  This is why there is a red circle with a slash through it down by the LXDE menu in the LXPanel.  Right click directly on the red circle and click 'Application Launchbar settings'.  This screenshot shows what to select followed by clicking remove.  You can also use this panel to add any apps you want to the launch bar.  The good news on the browser front is that after updating Firefox is at version 16.01 right now.  In my opinion FF is the best browser anyway because of how customizable it is.

If you’re happy with Abiword and Gnumeric for office related content then you’re already set but I prefer the LibreOffice suite.  I honestly find it just as productive as my MS Office 2004 suite on Mac.

A list of what I add through Synaptic:

• Kupfer – app launcher
• VLC
• LibreOffice
• GIMP – image editor
• MiniTube - MacTubes-like youtube player/downloader
• Shutter – screenshot utility
• Netatalk - greatest tool yet for Mac OS/Linux networks
• smbfs – SMB compatability and integration files
• Samba – file and print server

I know there are more but that’s the meat of what extra I need to add to have a fully capable system.  Lubuntu's LXDE comes very well equipped out of the box but there will certainly be things you need to add as needs come up that cannot currently be met with the included collection.

To help give you an idea of how things look:
Default look - My preferred look

I prefer to keep the LXPanel at the bottom hidden much like the OS X dock and use Kupfer in the same way as Quicksilver to launch everything.  Play around with the LXPanel settings, add your own wallpapers and just experiment with settings.  Learn what suits you if you don't already know.



One button mouse?  No problem

The default right click activation key is F12 and F11 for middle click.  

Since the time this guide was written I have made a new post explaining how to make the control key activate right click just like Mac OS.   It also goes into detail about changing middle click.  

The second part of the post gives greater detail on finding apps, installing along with updating the OS and apps.

Loose ends

 


Common issues

The most common issue people have is their airport card doesn't work out of the box and some also have sound issues.  I don't use wifi at all or own any airport cards so I cannot directly support this issue because I cannot recreate it.  My sound always works perfectly out of the box on Sawtooth and B&W G3 systems.  Those are the "Screamer" and "Burgundy" sound controllers respectively.  Some PowerBook and iBook users have also said there is no battery indicator by default.

The links below in my closing comments contain this info also but I will point you directly to the help for these three common issues.  

Wifi
Sound
Battery Indicator



Closing comments

This guide was written in my spare time over just a few days but there will be things that come up over time along with things I think to add to this.  The point is that there will be many revisions of this guide so keep checking back. 

I also want to hear any issues along with successes as well.  This will help me revise the info to suit more hardware because at this point all my Lubuntu experience is on two Sawtooth and a G4 upgraded B&W G3.  If you let me and others that come here know what is wrong then we can all work together to figure things out.  Also check the Ubuntu PowerPC FAQ and Known Issues pages for more info on issues and compatibility.

If anyone feels there is important info omitted here please let me know and I will add it.

Happy Linuxing!  Thats a word right?

TCPBlock

I mistakenly left this out of my Leopard security in 2012 post so rather than revise it and hope people read it again I will make a new post about a great security utility for OS X 10.5 Leopard.  We all know what Little Snitch is right?  It's a utility to block any outgoing connections you choose.  They are at ver. 3 now and it does not support PowerPC as it requires Snow Leopard and up.  

Not only is TCPBlock just as capable but it's free (donationware) and never gets in your face like Little Snitch loves to do.  With it enabled along with the white list (safe apps/OS tasks) Leopard is even more secure.  Any little things that won't work like file and screen sharing once this is enabled can be seen as blocked in the 'Connecting Apps' tab then selected followed by clicking the 'Insert into Application List' button.  This is the easiest way to authorize underlying technologies like this that don't necessarily have attached applications.

Not only is this great for privacy but it allows you to learn what apps do call home and use DRM.  I have been using this for around a year and can't imagine a Leopard install without it.  It installs as a preference pane and also comes with an uninstaller just in case you decide against using it. 

If you find it as useful as I do then you should consider a donation to the developer for creating such a great utility.  Now go enjoy a more locked down (in a good way) Leopard.

Official requirements:

PPC / Intel, Mac OS X 10.5 or later

Links:

Download - Blog - Screenshot 

Lubuntu loves a Stormtrooper

Last night I setup Lubuntu 12.04 on my Stormtrooper (B&W G3 w/G4 500 MHz, 1 GB RAM) and it runs beautifully.  With OS X my 400 MHz Sawtooth is normally a bit faster than this machine even with a 100 MHz faster CPU because of the faster memory controller in the Sawtooth.  This is not the case with Lubuntu at all, which would be due to how lightweight LXDE is.  OS X has such a beefy GUI in comparison so increased memory speed will really show a difference with it because of that. 

Another item worthy of note is that of the 5 video cards I have used in all my testing Lubuntu likes a Radeon 7000 PCI the best.  In my 400 MHz Sawtooth I have tried AGP Radeon 7500, 9000, 9800 and a Geforce 6200.  None of them work quite as well as the 7000 PCI and this must be due to it finding an R100 specific Radeon driver vs. the generic ones all the other cards are assigned.  The Geforce 6200 only works when it wants to which is not often.  Linux on all architectures has a history of being sketchy with Nvidia GPU.

 I have tried every version of Linux available for PowerPC and Lubuntu is my favourite by far.  I would put Debian Squeeze and Mint about tied for second.  Just a couple days ago I was running Squeeze on the Stormtrooper and within 30 hours I decided I wanted Lubuntu instead.  It’s all about preference and since Dan at PPC Luddite already focuses mostly on Debian and Mint it would only make sense for me to cover other distros so as not to be redundant.  I will do my best to be a voice for PowerPC Lubuntu.

In terms of the Ubuntu family only Lubuntu gets my personal approval.  I have tried every single one and while they are all complete enough to be usable, only Lubuntu is lightweight enough to match and even surpass Debian performance.  Some people think that installing LXDE in Ubuntu will produce the same OS which is not the case at all.  The lightweight ideology of Lubuntu goes much deeper than the GUI.  Lubuntu has the balance that any good OS needs which is great performance combined with full capability.  Anything you need that isn’t built in can easily be found and installed in Synaptic. 


Install guide coming soon 

I have now done approx. 8-9 Lubuntu installs on three machines so I have become quite fluent at it.  In the next few days I will post a full Lubuntu install guide since I have had a lot of emails and a few comments asking for help.  I will take you from downloading and burning the iso right through to having it fully setup for use.

Clearing up some misperceptions

My recent "Claim your computing freedom" post seems to have led some to believe that I am all about Linux which is totally false.  15 of the 22 posts/articles here are Mac OS related and I will ALWAYS keep writing Mac OS related content.

My goal is to encourage people to use both and I will keep providing solutions and ideas for both.  I never told people anywhere in any of my writing to abandon OS X so I am not sure how anyone thought I was only Linux.  Dual boot is the practical future for PowerPC users.

The day will come when OS X 10.5 and older simply won't be secure enough online.  We will all need to learn to adapt to Linux for secure online activity while keeping OS X around for the mac familiarity we all love.

I hope this clears things up.

Leopard security in 2012

A large majority of people still running PowerPC hardware from Apple use 10.5 Leopard as their primary OS.  This is understandable since it is the final version to run on PowerPC hardware.  Although it’s security technology like socket layers and sandboxing is still reasonably close to modern standards there are other areas where it is not cutting it any longer unfortunately.  These would be java and flash.  Java is halted at 1.5 forever on it, which is very insecure now, and flash stopped PowerPC development at version 10.1.  The good news is that it is totally possible as well as beneficial to live without both on Leopard. 

The thing with Java is that many people think it’s directly involved with JavaScript, which it is not.  Java Script is required by many websites and is a browser only technology for the most part.  If your browser is up to date then so is it’s ability to use JavaScript properly and safely.  Java is used to support the running of some applications such as Java Applets or Runtime and as I mention above it is stuck at 1.5 on PowerPC.  I would say Java 1.5 and older is easily the biggest security risk for all OS X users on PowerPC hardware.


Disabling Java

This is something that literally all PowerPC users on any version of OS X should do.  In Leopard it’s actually very easy to disable.  Simply go to the Utilities folder within Applications and open “Java Preferences.app”.  Then deselect any version selected in the General pane.  After this click on the Security pane and deselect “keep temporary files for fast access”.  For the sake of being thorough click the “Delete Files” button at the bottom for any that may already exist. 

The next and final step is to open all the browsers you use and deselect “Enable Java” which is how most word it.  Although you have already disabled it at the system level this is just an extra measure so that your browsers tell sites right away not to bother with any Java.  If you want to go even further you can find and delete all the files within Leopard that are Java related.  This is really unneeded because as long as you have it disabled in the OS and browsers you’re fine.  For those that really need Java you should look for Linux alternatives and use Java through Linux instead.

JavaScript is far more secure and inherently much harder to make malicious.  As I already mentioned  it is not related to Java  so as long as your browser is up to date then so is your JavaScript in most cases.


Flash

This is a technology that will likely never die because of people’s tolerance of it .  PowerPC users for example should see flash as the plague and avoid it at all costs.  I personally wouldn’t use it even if there were a modern secure version for PowerPC.  In my opinion the flash alternatives like MacTubes or similar apps make the experience more organic at least where YouTube is concerned.  You don’t have all the ads and obnoxious comments in your face nor the bad site design.  It’s much more like watching a video in VLC or CorePlayer.  I actually use CorePlayer to play them mostly but use MacTubes to find and get the direct resolution links for CorePlayer.  This can be done with VLC also.  The reason for adding these extra players in the mix is that they use even less CPU than Quicktime. 

I understand there is a whole world of flash video out there besides what is on YouTube but there are many tools available for browsers that can download flash video from virtually any site.  This will give you a .flv or .mp4 file which you can then play in your favorite playback app.  If this still doesn’t provide a solution that works for you then you need to ask yourself an important question.  What is more important, the ability to watch some online video or the health and security of your computer?  If your answer is to watch the video then I really don’t know what to say other than your priorities are a bit messed up.

For the few that need flash for important things that cannot be avoided like some unfortunate education resource which uses flash then the best thing to do is buy a cheap x86 machine and dedicate it to that.  That way you can run Windows or whatever OS you prefer with updated flash options.  People with PowerPC Macs should never allow a flash plugin on their hard drive unless you like to live on the edge in a bad way.

The only way people can truly unburden themselves from some of the awful technology out there is to avoid it and find other methods which may not be your preference but will be secure and more importantly liberating.  I  use that word because when you can make your own way in the computing world without relying on all the horrible tech most people do it’s a very liberating feeling.


Leopard moving forward

Other than the java and flash shortcomings Leopard is actually quite a secure OS compared to WinXP or Vista or any Mac OS before it.  The people still running Tiger or older should consider upgrading if you have a G4/G5 (no G3 support) especially if they have a Core Image capable GPU and plan on sticking with OS X a good ways into the future.  As I mention in my “Leopard performance on sub-867 MHz hardware” post from August Leopard uses the CPU for Core Image rendering if it doesn’t have a capable GPU which slows the CPU down up to 30%.  If you have a capable GPU then Leopard should run just as fast if not a bit faster.

Tiger and Panther were great versions of OS X but they both really lack all the advances that started in Leopard like socket layers and sandboxing.  Leopard has more security built in than you could ever add to Tiger/Panther.  As I mentioned in my pervious post I encourage people to use Linux also these days but for all your Mac OS needs Leopard can serve you much better.  Although 10.5 is starting to lose a lot of software support it still has a much better/newer software selection.  There are also 2-3 more browsers being developed for Leopard and not Tiger like SeaMonkey, Leopard Webkit and AuroraFox.

Another real advantage to Leopard is that it has a lot more unintended natural compatibility  with devices from the x86 market like wifi and Bluetooth dongles and PCI expansion cards.  I have x86 market gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth dongles on both my main Sawtooth. 

Whatever course any of you take in your computing journey the best security is always going to be an educated user who knows what not to do online just as well as what to do.  When you combine a capable educated user with the best software situation for your hardware then you have the ultimate level of security.  A good NAT router always helps also.

More on Leopard security in the future as things come up.


Other Leopard security related posts:

TCPBlock

DigiNotar neglect on PowerPC