Linux / Kegs on a Mac

[Phoenyx <quazar@dcnet2000.com>]

Perhaps this is a bit optimistic as I don't have the hardware to test
this. However, IMHO, Kegs is such a great GS emulator, it would be worth
a Mac users effort to port it. Due to the commonality of the Linux
programs, this should be much easier than porting it to the standard Mac
OS.

For this to happen, you will need to install one of the recent releases
of Linux on your PowerPC equipped Mac. True, this limits a lot of Mac
users with older systems, but those who have the right hardware will
benefit.

Owners of PCI based Macs have the most selection of distributions.
According to the magazine 'Maximum Linux' there are five different
distributions available. These are;

1  LinuxPPC
2  Yellow Dog Linux
3  MkLinux
4  Debian Linux
5  Turbo LinuxPPC

The article recommends 1,2,5 as the best of the lot. It also notes that
many of the clones can also use these versions in particular they mention
'Power Computing' and 'Umax'.

For users with a Nubus based PowerPC  your options are more limited (61xx,
71xx, 81xx or Performa 61xx). In these cases, you (currently) are limited
to MkLinux which supports a variety of PowerPC based Macs. MkLinux and
LinuxPPC are binary compatible so MkLinux users should have no problem
finding software to download.

If this interest anyone, I suggest you find the May/June issue of
'Maximum Linux' for more details. The article offers a lot more details
and even info on installing the OS.

Back to the major point of this message. I have been using Kegs for quite
some time. It's latest version is quite stable. The source seems to be
logically defined and fairly easy to read. In fact, Kent (Kegs author)
has a text file with suggestions on porting the programs. This along with
the more common Linux utilities should ease the porting of this emulator.

I would expect easier access to a variety of disk partitions as well as
actual Prodos partitions similar to the variety I have experienced using
Linux/Kegs on my PC. This may also ease the burden of Appletalk
networking.

Well, for what it's worth, I thought this article was worth mentioning for
all you Mac owing Apple2 users. Who knows, you might turn your Mac into a
new peripheral for your II. :)

Note: This message contains information from the magazine 'Maximum Linux'
and was used only as reference for this message without any permission
from said magazine. It is my opinion such usage falls within the 'fair
use' clause.

-- 

Cheers and best wishes,
Phoenyx

Have you fed your Apple today?

Phoenyx's Pages are back online...

It seems the ZIP.TO link was down for a while.
It is now working again. This is the preferred
link to my site. You may also use the direct link.

http://zip.to/Phoenyx_A2
http://www.tinyangeldesigns.com/Apple2