Do you think I could run Linux on an old Quadra Macintosh? It's got IDE and is pretty crappy when running the Mac OS. It is an LC630 with DOS compatibility and it's no use otherwise.

Yep, try Yellow Dog Linux... It waas made exactly for that purpose...

Pretty sure mandrake has a PPC port as well.

I would like to ask something about macs once we are talking about it here := I'm willing to buy a really old Mac and set Linux on it for general learning purposes...
Most of them I've seem, cost less then 30 US, but comes without the monitor... Would pieces of hardware like PC's keyboards, monitors and mouses work on it by any chance? Sorry if this is the dumbiest question ever, but I never touched a Mac before... well, I did, at Uni, but for like 2 minutes in all my life

Thanks

In short.....no, unless it's got a VGA video card (y'know the one with the 15 pins). As far as the keyboard and mouse, vintage Macs use what's called ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) for mouse & keyboard, which is not the same as a serial or PS/2 connection on a PC. If you're going to get an older Mac, I'd recommend a 7300, 7500, 7600, 8600, 9500, or 9600 series for a lot of reasons. One, they've got at least 3 PCI expansion slots (6 for the 9500 & 9600 series), so your PCI video cards will work. Two, you can add USB and Firewire cards to them easily. Three, the memory for them is relatively cheap (for Mac standards). Fourth, they all can be upgraded to G3 or G4 processors; just remove the old processor daughtercard and pop in the new one. Fifth, they all can handle up to 1GB of memory (up to 1.5 GB on the 9500 and 9600 series). Sixth, if you upgrade it to a G3 or G4 processor, you can run Mac OS X on it (which is Unix-based).

wow thats like 99% more than i ever new about macs. now im gonna have to find one just for fun i think.

I'm with ya! If you find a deal that is too good to be true on a 9500/9600 why don't you post it up for all of us! Oh, that would be only if there are more than you desire of course

Cool

So Mr./Ms. Apple,
If I got one of those and added in some USB slots, could I then use a USB mouse thus eliminating the "ADB" thingie?

Thanks! And really, that is more info on macs than I've ever known, just like Brain Drop mentioned. They seem to be a lot of smoke and mirrors and "man behind the certain" type things. Also, those who do know, don't seem to care to 'dummy it down' for those of us who know nothing about them.



Thanks for all the info.

Cool

Here's some mac hardware sold by yellowdog...

http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/st...ware&submitimg[hardware][apple]=1

A very, intriguing idea, i've heard mac hardware is top-notch, but you have to pay for it.

Man that Apple Power Mac G4 is sweeeeeet

Oh my god... Dhimani just joinned and is kicking arses already literaly . That's what I would call a pretty detailed info. I will bookmark this page and search for a Mac right now

Thanks a lot guys

P.S: now you all wanna have a mac too huh hehe

Your USB mice will work, if you've got the USB/Firewire card to put in the machine. Any USB/Firewire devices you have should work too, that's the beauty of it! You might have to download drivers, but that's no sweat. Just make sure the Mac has got at least Mac OS 8.5 or newer. If not, the OS can be updated easily. MacAddict and MacWorld magazines have some specials listed from different vendors in the back of the mag. eBay sometimes has some outrageous deals on older Macs. Look under "computers & office", then under "Apple, Macintosh" select "Desktops". Once the page loads, on the left side select "Power Mac", then "Other". The 8500 is an ok machine, but it only takes a max of 512 MB memory. Be weary of units missing hard drives, though. Get a Power Macintosh--don't even mess with a 68K machine (Motorola series 68xxx processor), they're too old and would cost too much money to upgrade to any kind of decent performance. The Power Macs all have RISC chips....WAY better!

I just got hold of 2 Macs. 1 is an 8.6 and actually boots up with an old pc monitor. The other one just shows a blank screen, so I don't know whats up with that one. I also don't know anything about Macs. Time to do some searching.

is this a ppc mac or an m68k? pretty much your only option for m68ks would be debian's 68k version, but it would kinda work, i've used it, but you have to have a 68040 not a 68lc040 chip

If the Mac starts up ok and the desktop loads, you can find out info on the hardware in the machine including the processor type by launching the Apple System Profiler. Just click and hold the mouse button on the multi-colored Apple logo (Apple menu) in the upper left corner. Then highlight "Apple System Profiler" in the menu and release the mouse button. That will launch the profiler. Once it loads, make sure the "System Profile" tab is in the foreground and click on the little blue triangle next to "Hardware Overview" if the triangle is pointing to the right. That will display your machine info, including the processor type. If you've got a Power PC chip, it'll say something like "Processor type: Power PC 603". What you're after is a Power PC 601, 603, 603e, 604, 604e, G3, or G4. If it doesn't have the words "Power PC" in the type, then you've got a Motorola 68k series. The "Devices and Volumes" tab displays all the drives and interfaces in your system.