[Wylug-discuss] *nix on G4 Mac Mini

[Aaron Crane]

Peter Nix writes:
> If you stick with macos as a base system you can add Fink
> http://www.finkproject.org/about.php

I used a Mac as my main machine for about a year.  One of the things
that made me go back to Linux on the desktop was the way package
management works on the Mac.  I'm used to the Debian/Ubuntu way, where
the OS provides everything, and it all Just Works.  With Mac OS X,
there are three entirely separate approaches to package management,
none of which are really good enough:

  - The Mac-native "drag an application bundle from a .dmg to the
    /Applications folder" approach.  This is (just about) simple
    enough to explain to non-technical people, but it's not very well
    done.  In particular, the OS has no way of upgrading such things.
    This causes every developer to build their own self-update system
    (which means that you get annoyed by "would you like me to update
    myself" messages whenever you launch the application -- that is,
    whenever you're just starting some task).

    It's also inadequate for applications that need integration with
    other parts of the system, so there's a separate installer system;
    that does (just about) allow automated uninstalls, but it's not as
    convenient or simple.  And you still don't get automated updates.

  - DarwinPorts, an implementation of the BSD Ports system for OS X.
    (Apparently renamed to MacPorts since I stopped using the Mac.)  I
    keep hearing from BSD fans about how the Ports system is the best
    thing since sliced bread, but even if that's true on a real BSD,
    it's certainly not the case for Mac OS X.  Ports is based on the
    notion of compiling software on your own machine.  I don't have
    the time to compile software, or even to wait for software to
    compile, so that's a significant disadvantage for me.

    In addition, DarwinPorts suffers from poor integration with the
    OS itself.  At one point, I wanted to install DBD::mysql, the
    Perl library for accessing MySQL databases.  Despite the fact
    that the OS ships with a perfectly reasonable Perl installation,
    DarwinPorts decided that the best option was to build not just
    the whole of MySQL (server and all), just to get the client
    access libraries, but also an entirely separate Perl.  I let it
    go ahead with that, so I was allowed to spend a couple of hours
    waiting for the compilation before I could actually get on with
    my work.  (Compare Debian or Ubuntu, where a single command can
    install DBD::mysql and its dependencies in a matter of seconds.)
    Then I ended up with a system containing two versions of Perl,
    with overlapping sets of modules available for each one.  Not a
    net win.

    I also recall finding it hard to discover the Ports commands for
    what struck me as simple administrative tasks: upgrading a specific
    package to the latest version, updating lists of available package
    versions, upgrading all packages, etc.  Possibly I was missing
    something, but I strongly suspect that someone who's accustomed
    would find those tasks similarly difficult.

  - Fink, an implementation of Apt for Mac OS X.  It seems to me to
    lose many of the advantages of Apt for Debian or Ubuntu.  First,
    many packages require compilation after download.  While the
    work is taken care of for you, there's still a large delay.
    Second, Fink (like DarwinPorts) fails to integrate well with
    packages that ship as part of the OS, such as Perl or X11.
    Third, the inventory of available packages is much more limited
    than any of Debian, Ubuntu, or DarwinPorts.  Finally, and most
    annoyingly, for reasonable compatibility with other software,
    Fink has to pick an installation prefix not used anywhere else.
    So even using Fink-installed software requires a certain amount
    of pain and suffering, especially if you have non-trivial shell
    configuration settings.

Going back to Dave's question: I'm afraid I don't have any experience
of running Linux on PowerPC Mac hardware (though Google suggests the
PPC Mac Mini runs Linux just fine).

But I'm a huge fan of the Intel-based Mac Mini.  For £400 including
VAT and delivery, you get a 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo, 1 GB of RAM, an 80 GB
disk, a DVD reader/CD writer, VGA and DVI video output, a remote
control, gigabit ethernet, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, Firewire, and 4 USB
2.0 ports.  The case is only 51×165×165 mm, and the system's all
but silent.  I installed Ubuntu using a standard Feisty CD without any
trouble at all.

There are only two caveats for running Linux on the Intel Mac Mini.

First, the system won't boot up without a monitor plugged in.  (That
particularly annoyed me given that I bought mine to run headless.)
Googling reveals some workarounds, including a VGA connector with a
resistor soldered across two of the wires, or a £20 third-party dongle
that pretends to be a monitor for DDC/EDID purposes.

Second, current Linux kernels seem to have some issues with the ethernet
chip, at least using the sky2 driver: occasionally (perhaps once a week
or so on average) the network connection drops, and can be restored by
unplugging and replugging the ethernet cable.  However, I've had similar
issues with the sky2-driven ethernet chip in my laptop, and they've been
resolved by kernel updates, so I don't expect this situation to last
forever.

-- 
Aaron Crane