Issue 7: More on the Linux Project

I've gotten quite a few responses to the previous article, by and large offering encouragement/advice/question about Linux on the MAC. While I have attempted to make these articles as non partisan as possible, I think I need to clarify that the Linux experiment will be done on PC hardware, and I should also explain my reasoning. Other than practical (I can't spare any Macs we have, they are all used for production) I can't really find a good reason to supplant the MacOS with Linux. Now before all the MkLinux and LinuxPPC advocates begin flaming me, please consider the following:

Linux is incredibly efficient, flexible, and powerful. As such, it requires neither great processor power nor resources to run efficiently. Macs, from their inception, have been designed to run MacOS and all software that run on it and traditionally we Mac users have paid through the nose for this privilege. We all bought Mac because we felt that the OS/Hardware combination made a more compelling computing platform then any other. Now why would I want to put another OS, one which runs on many other (CHEAPER) platforms just as well and with just as many pitfalls than the perfectly functional Mac that I have right now?! If you do, I fully respect your choice. The Mac is perfectly viable hardware for Linux. I'd rather use my Macs for Photoshop.

That said, I've started researching and doing all the preinstallation footwork. Unlike Macs or Windows, Linux neither claims nor is plug and play in any sense of the word (Although newer commercial releases do a pretty good job at probing the PC Buses and tell you what hardware you're using.) This is a good thing, by and large- It allows component swapping and Linux would continue to operate. Try it with Win95... Also, there is a robust driver support for a large variety of equipment and peripherals- and theoretically at least, a Linux installation should go smoothly so long as the installer ensures that all the hardware is supported and have drivers, addresses, interrupts, and DMA requirements handy (My friend the Administrator smirked at me and said :" "Linux installation should go smoothly?" no such thing. While the installer may go smoothly, I have never met one person who ended up with an install they where happy with the first time (be it because of settings or just fine tuning/tweaking)" At this stage, I set out to review my hardware:

(WARNING: PC TECHNOBABBLE FOLLOWS!!)

• Motherboard: Tyan Thunder II 1696LUAN, Intel 440LX chipset, single Celeron 300A CPU
• Storage: Adaptec 7895 embedded dual F/W UltraSCSI controller
• Intel 82371AB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller [part of the 440LX MB Chipset-Mike]
• Network: RealTek PCI 8029 10/100 Ethernet Adapter
• Display: Matrox MGA 1064SG (Mystique)
• Sound: Yamaha OPL3 Embedded Audio (ISA PNP)
• Modem: Supra V.90 Internal (ISA PNP)

I welcome all questions and comments at akoyshman@jps.net or designamics@jps.net