Xubuntu on PowerPC (ports)

[Larry Cafiero]

On Thu, Jul 10, 2008 at 10:37 AM, Jim Campbell <jwcampbell at ubuntu.com> wrote:

> From my perspective, there are a couple of factors involved.  Of course,
> Macs aren't currently being shipped with PowerPC processors, so anyone
> trying to run X/K/Ubuntu on a Mac is going to be running older hardware.
> The flip-side of that is those running older hardware would be most likely
> to want to run Xubuntu (vs. Ubuntu or Kubuntu).  Do we have anyone who is
> working to maintain this port for Xubuntu?  I don't think that we do.


Hi, Jim --

I'm on the list but I'm not a yet developer (I'm actually a student
and I am still learning to code), but I am a Xubuntu user on the
PowerPC platform.

Your point above is right on the mark -- of all the *buntus that a
PowerPC Mac user would use, I think Xubuntu is best suited (As a Mac
user, I find it best suited, anyway).

If you'll allow me to get on my soapbox: The Mac hardware running
PowerPCs tend to have a long shelf life (with a couple of exceptions),
and with Apple upgrading its predatory-cat operating systems far past
the ability to be used by the older hardware, GNU/Linux becomes a
viable option for PowerPC users "stuck" on OS 9 or OSX 10.1 or 10.2.

Having said this, I think it benefits a distro to continue to develop
for the PowerPC platform because there are many machines out there
that could be spared from a landfill by using Xubuntu (not to mention
having satisfied users not having to dish out hundreds or thousands of
dollars on a new computer by using Xubuntu), and that distro could get
a foothold in this area. Fedora and Debian, I think, are the only
major distros that are still developing for PowerPC.

Now I'm off the soapbox. Again, I wish I were in a position to help
maintain the PowerPC version, but I don't yet think my abilities are
up to it yet. There may be a point where I can contribute, and I hope
when that time comes, there will still be a PowerPC version. However,
I hope there is interest in maintaining this from people more
experienced than me.

Sorry if this tangent is off topic, but I had to weigh in.

Larry Cafiero