apple mac laptop from ebay

[Weedman]

i am looking into a ibook (i think). It is one of the coloured older versions rather than the newer white ones.

im wondering if it would be too old to run linux? maybe i am confused after looking at ipod linux.

i like the prices off ebay and maybe it might be a challenge for me.

thanks
weed

[aysiu]

Very few existing computers are too old to run Linux. What are the specifications?

[Weedman]

to be honest, i dunno.

i was told by my cousin that they were cheap on ebay and that they were the coloured versions. i dont know what the specs are, i just know they will run OSX.

edit: got it! it is a iBook /iBook SE released in 2000
cpu speed: 366/466mhz
cpu: PowerPC 750cx

dunno whether that will help. Also it has 64mb of ram.

[Odd_Bloke]

You probably won't be able to run any of the flashy distros on it, but it should certainly run Damn Small Linux or a similarly small package (have a look around on DistroWatch to find others).

One thing to note is that you'll need to make sure that the distros support PowerPC (PPC for short, I think) rather than i386, though I doubt this will really be a problem...

[Weedman]

ok, lets say that i am looking into a mac laptop off ebay. ANY mac laptop. What should i be going for? considering what i was told in the last post. And i do want to run a flashy distro on it.

[deek]

No, not any laptop...when you get into the linux world with macs, you have two types, "old world" and "new world". You might want to do a little research on that stuff. I know 1998, when the wallstreet came out, was still considered "old world", and it is not as easy to put linux on it...

So, find out which laptops are considered "new world" and then you should be well equipped to place some bids on ebay. I picked up a 1998 wallstreet, and I still don't have linux on it, as there is a lost of "closed" hardware on it and you have to fiddle with it a bit more than I was willing to.

[crysalis]

I would defiantely recommend you try to get yourself a "Snow" iBook..Which are the all white models you are talking about...i'm pretty certain that the Clamshell iBooks can run linux on it....But not very smooth....The "Snow" iBook G3 are pretty cheap nowadays and would work well.....anywhere from a G3/500 to a G3/800 would work good with PPC distros....

I have a an old iBook G3/500 that im prepping for YDL 4....Haven't installed it yet...But after some research on Linux i feel confident with my future installation....