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Operating System Specific Discussions => MorphOS => MorphOS -- Hardware requirements and availability discussion => Topic started by: Gulliver on October 31, 2009, 07:11:38 PM

Title: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Gulliver on October 31, 2009, 07:11:38 PM
Does any of you know if there is some attempt at porting MorphOS to the Power Mac G4? Is there some developing going on towards that route?

Thanks

PS: Where I live a used MacMini G4 costs aproximately 250 USD and a Power Mac G4 just 100 USD!
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: amigagr on October 31, 2009, 08:30:00 PM
read here http://obligement.free.fr/articles_traduction/itwolsen_en.php
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Gulliver on October 31, 2009, 10:24:17 PM
Thanks @amigagr, but no information on the Power Mac G4, they only mention:
-eMac support in MorphOS 2.5
-PowerBook support sometime later
-Power Mac G5 support very difficult due to 64bit architecture

Anyone know some insider info about Power Mac G4?
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: spihunter on October 31, 2009, 11:24:50 PM
@Gulliver,

They don't mention it because its not in the current plan. there are to many different models and configurations to support the G4 Mac tower. They have focused on the Mini, EMac, & Powerbook because they all have similar hardware.

I'm not holding my breath on the powerbook/ibook. They will have to support battery,trackpad, and other laptop specific stuff on that one.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: recidivist on November 01, 2009, 05:16:58 AM
where I live Mac mini show up RARELY,sell for $200 to$400plus,eMac for $100 and up,and G4 towers from $40 to $400 depending on gullibility;MY G4 tower WITH adc 15" lcd was only $100!(from a person who expected Macs to work just like Windows and who insisted there was no way to hook it to  the Zoomtown(DSL) service.I found the ethernet jack worked just fine for DSL?!
 I suppose that I better grab an eMac before they  become  a hot ebay item.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: spihunter on November 01, 2009, 01:45:25 PM
Emac's go for really cheap these days. I think its beacuse nobody wants to lug a CRT monitor around anymore. I've seen them go for less then $100 around here.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Gulliver on November 01, 2009, 01:58:53 PM
Well, eMacs are okay. Powerbooks for those who want something portable are nice, but then for the ones like me who really want a solid Mac machine, Power Macs G4 are the way to go.
I am dissappointed the are no plans no the Power Mac G4, it would be a cheap, good looking, easy expandable MorphOS entry workstation.
I dont like eMacs, their all-in-one design is not really fancy for me.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: recidivist on November 20, 2009, 02:06:23 AM
Mac mini 1.25 deal made,going to get it tomorrow.Just couldn't find 1.5 at price good for me.Unit has 512 ram,80gb hd  so  hoping to set up dual-boot choice.

NO optical drive in this one;so what is best way to load MorphOS?

Should I use Apple keyboard and mouse from other mac or Windows keyboard and mouse  for best morphOS use?
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Debaser on November 20, 2009, 03:05:09 AM
Congrats on the Emac deal recidivist. You should be able to get the job done with a thumbdrive and you can currently do that with the mac mini.

No optical drive? Hmm externals are cheap too so you shouldn't have a hard time picking one up at around $49 USD, new.

As far as keyboards I use a circa g4-sawtooth keyboard that works just fine with my mini. Just avoid the Apple aluminum keyboard with the built-in usb hub. Hub will work but not the keyboard.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: recidivist on November 20, 2009, 01:49:17 PM
It is a mac mini,not emac.I hope MorphOS developers release eMac version ,too.
I have several  Apple pro keyboards and local store has 4gb thumb drive for $12.Somewhere? I think there was complaint Apple keyboard didn't have all keys needed for MorphOS ......guess I will soon find out!I have a usb iomega dvd/cd r/w-if system sees it or maybe needs drivers downloaded(another Goodwill thrift store purchase)
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: bernd_afa on November 20, 2009, 04:01:14 PM
I think the easiest way to get MOS on any Hardware is when they make a MOS hostet Version simular to AROS hostet or Amithlon.

Users can choose to have MOS as a secondary OS and need not Boot when they want apps that MOS not have.

or make MOS as looks like standalone as Amithlon do and the Linux Kernel run on background.

Apple too use a Linux Kernel.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Piru on November 20, 2009, 04:08:06 PM
Quote from: bernd_afa;530489
Apple too use a Linux Kernel.

No they don't.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: jj on November 20, 2009, 04:52:24 PM
Quote from: bernd_afa;530489
I think the easiest way to get MOS on any Hardware is when they make a MOS hostet Version simular to AROS hostet or Amithlon.
 
Users can choose to have MOS as a secondary OS and need not Boot when they want apps that MOS not have.
 
or make MOS as looks like standalone as Amithlon do and the Linux Kernel run on background.
 
Apple too use a Linux Kernel.

 
Really thats probably news to the rest of the planet.   And your suggestion about MorphOS just seems a bit childish given your falling out with some of the devs.   You said you would never use MorphOS so why do you care how it works.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: HammerD on November 20, 2009, 06:16:52 PM
@recidivist

Where do you live? Move :) Mac Mini's are easily available used here for $200-400 CAD. (in Canada)
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: _ThEcRoW on November 20, 2009, 07:20:53 PM
If i'm not mistaken, mac os x it's based on bsd, so it has a unix/linux part on it.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: gazgod on November 20, 2009, 07:41:44 PM
Quote from: _ThEcRoW;530520
If i'm not mistaken, mac os x it's based on bsd, so it has a unix/linux part on it.

You are not mistaken in that OSX is based on BSD, but BSD in nothing to do with Linux. The internals of the kernel differ considerably between BSD and Linux. Try accessing the /proc file system on any "Unix" that isn't Linux if you don't believe me.

Today most people seem to think that if it runs a gnome desktop and it has a bash shell it must be Linux :(

Gaz
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: recidivist on November 21, 2009, 04:10:41 AM
@HammerD

 Canada too cold for me!

 Bought this mac mini from a "neighborhood apple guy" on craigslist ,just not MY neighborhood;met him  midway  so didn't get to see it hooked up and working.Knew there was no optical drive but now the mini isn't seeing any OS on the installed 89gb Apple hard drive.Otherwise appears ok,heard  startup chimes,have display but it is  blinking question mark alternating with  mac happy face inside folder icon.I
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: recidivist on November 23, 2009, 06:50:58 PM
Well,another lesson in always try to see the whatever plugged in!
The  imac mini's hard drive is bad,just chatters,never loads,but substituting a spare 20gb  laptop drive confirms the G4 itself works.
Trying to get  seller to replace drive; if he doesn't it still wasn't a bad price.
 It IS the 1.25Ghz ,256 RAM,with 32mb video but that should still be much better than the efikas' 400mHz and 128 RAM.
And  a 1GB RAM stick  is on the Christmas list!
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: _ThEcRoW on November 23, 2009, 07:17:34 PM
Quote from: gazgod;530523
You are not mistaken in that OSX is based on BSD, but BSD in nothing to do with Linux. The internals of the kernel differ considerably between BSD and Linux. Try accessing the /proc file system on any "Unix" that isn't Linux if you don't believe me.

Today most people seem to think that if it runs a gnome desktop and it has a bash shell it must be Linux :(

Gaz


But bsd is a unix or a linux kernel?. I*remember that freebsd and netdsb are linuxes.*Could you explain it?. I want to know what are the differences.
Thanks in advance!!!
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Zac67 on November 23, 2009, 07:48:09 PM
There are hundreds of different Unices out there. Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unix_history-simple.en.svg) is a - highly simplified - overview. Linux is just one branch of it, just a rather popular one.
These guys (http://www.levenez.com/unix/) made a surprisingly complete chart - should give an impression on what this is about.
Linux (0.01) surfaces 1991, some 20(!) years after the first UNICS.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Piru on November 23, 2009, 08:03:18 PM
Quote from: _ThEcRoW;530952
But bsd is a unix or a linux kernel?
BSD is more unix than linux is. But it isn't a simple topic, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Software_Distribution

Quote
I*remember that freebsd and netdsb are linuxes.*Could you explain it?.
You remember it wrong.

--

OS X uses XNU kernel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XNU), with much of the userland from FreeBSD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeBSD). No linux there.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: BinoX on November 23, 2009, 08:19:42 PM
I'll put it in basic terms, it's not 100% accurate this way, but it makes the message more clear (I think)

OSX is based on a Unix kernel

BSD is basically a Unix kernel

The Linux kernel is unix-like, but it is, in reality, quite different

Hope that makes sense.

I'd like to make clear (again) that I know that's a very big over-simplification, but it should hopefully point out the difference a bit better
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: gazgod on November 24, 2009, 01:11:04 PM
Quote from: Zac67;530962
There are hundreds of different Unices out there. Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unix_history-simple.en.svg) is a - highly simplified - overview. Linux is just one branch of it, just a rather popular one.
These guys (http://www.levenez.com/unix/) made a surprisingly complete chart - should give an impression on what this is about.
Linux (0.01) surfaces 1991, some 20(!) years after the first UNICS.


@Zac67 I had forgotten that diagram and it sums up the relationships better than I could in a few thousand words.

The important thing to note in this diagram is that most other modern Unix's are in parts based on the versions that came before them. Linux was build purely as a work alike and its code base is completely separate from any other Unix. (remember we are taking purely about the OS kernel internals)

Moral: If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably an open source copy of a duck but not really a duck at all :D

Gaz
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Golem!dk on November 30, 2009, 02:21:03 AM
Quote from: Gulliver;527988
Does any of you know if there is some attempt at porting MorphOS to the Power Mac G4? Is there some developing going on towards that route?

Thanks

PS: Where I live a used MacMini G4 costs aproximately 250 USD and a Power Mac G4 just 100 USD!


Some news, have a look here (http://www.morphzone.org/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6684&forum=11).
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Gulliver on November 30, 2009, 03:53:04 AM
@Golem!dk     
Thanks, that was the kind of info i was looking for! It is great! I better start looking for the proper Power Mac G4.


PS:Nice avatar, from below the neck ;)
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: theformula on November 30, 2009, 10:05:58 AM
I have a  Power Mac Digital Audio @ 667 MHz hoping it will work
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: spihunter on November 30, 2009, 01:45:19 PM
Quote from: Golem!dk;531838
Some news, have a look here (http://www.morphzone.org/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6684&forum=11).




Cool! Thats good news! I'm happy with the mini though.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: recidivist on November 30, 2009, 02:10:27 PM
Great!
 I have two Powermac G4 towers here.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: _ThEcRoW on November 30, 2009, 02:24:23 PM
@piru @binox
Thanks for the examples provided. Now i have it clear hehehe :D
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: takemehomegrandma on November 30, 2009, 05:49:18 PM
Quote from: Golem!dk;531838
Some news, have a look here (http://www.morphzone.org/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6684&forum=11).


It's now confirmed that MorphOS is about to be released for cheap, new world PowerMAC G4 systems, available at speeds up to 1.8 GHz:

http://www.morphzone.org/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6684&forum=11

:-)

Another promising (but still unconfirmed) development is MorphOS for G4 Powerbooks:

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=50075

Go MorphOS, go! :-)
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: amigadave on November 30, 2009, 06:12:15 PM
Does anyone here know if the AGP Radeon 9250 128mb VRAM from my Efika will work in a G4 PowerMac (in case I decide to get one and it has a non-supported video card in it when it arrives)?  I read somewhere that the video cards in Macs have different firmware in some of the Mac models.

I might retire, or sell my Efika, after I confirm that it does not have a hardware failure with it's RAM chips.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: recidivist on November 30, 2009, 06:50:50 PM
I don't see a release date ?

 My G4 Powermacs are 350,400,400,466 MHz, all single CPU .Stock video cards but different ones can be bought if needed.
 MorphOS needs a multi-license discount for family or fanatics who want several MorphOS  computers..
 Some Windows software I've seen has user name and info embedded in the install CD.

 iMac g4 next ?

 My Mac mini installation waiting replacement of hard drive;may have to make do with a 20 gb for now,with a 500 gb 3.5 external for storage.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Everblue on November 30, 2009, 07:47:48 PM
At this point, will Hyperion start releasing OS4 for Apple PPC machines?
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: SamuraiCrow on November 30, 2009, 08:07:02 PM
Steven Solie hinted at the AmiWest speech that the secret project Hyperion is working on is a hardware-related project.

I doubt that it will be a Mac-related thing though.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: HammerD on November 30, 2009, 09:01:38 PM
Sure it will blow away the Efika.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: recidivist on December 01, 2009, 03:11:49 PM
It's Amiga OS 4.1.2 for the Efika!

Hey,the efika DOES have  16 times the speed and 8 times the memory of any Amiga released by Commodore/Amiga/Escom!
Seriously,it should have been a viable candidate for Amiga OS.And $99(Directron price) is very much a figure  loved by Jack Tramiel for home computers;he sold milllions of C64s  at that point.

People in love with antiquated 8 to 25Mhz 16megram computers can be sooooo funny.

It  is like Model T Ford collector trying to say his car is as good as new Focus or Prius!
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: DyLucke on December 07, 2009, 08:53:44 PM
Luckilly i have an 33mhz miggy... So i'm out from that "fun".

Maybe you're forgetting the fact PPC's are not fully compatible, and they're not "real amigas" under a very strict point of view.

Yeah, there are a lot of purists around, but i don't think they're "funny".

I have both architectures. Despite i have a MacMini with Morphos i wouldn't sell my 68k amigas because i have some faster machine. It's not the same... Close but not the same.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: amigadave on December 08, 2009, 01:27:17 AM
Quote from: SamuraiCrow;531984
Steven Solie hinted at the AmiWest speech that the secret project Hyperion is working on is a hardware-related project.

I doubt that it will be a Mac-related thing though.

I hope you are wrong.  I would love to see AmigaOS4.x advanced to SMP (said to be on their road map) and running on a dual G5 PowerMac at 2.5GHz.

With that level of PowerMac I could get by without my 3.0GHz Quad Core PC and have one less computer to mess around with.  I mean I think for what I do with a computer, I could probably be satisfied with AmigaOS4.x, and/or MorphOS2.x, plus MacOSX, or Linux on the dual G5 PowerMac at 2.5GHz.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: recidivist on December 28, 2009, 06:35:10 PM
Here I am logging in and posting from my Mac Mini (1.5GHZ, 1 GB ram, 80 Mb HD ,64 MB vram)!!!
MorphOS install later this week-want to make it dual boot.

This is my second craigslist mini-first one was a disappointment as that seller misrepresented the memory and condition and insisted on meeting in a public place  where incidentally we couldn't plug it in.I failed to pay enough heed to CAVEAT EMPTOR!

 Now I wonder if the Powermac port of MorphOS will use bigger vram or what other advantages it might have over this mini.At 1.5GHz it is actually faster than my current stable of Powermacs.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: amigadave on December 28, 2009, 08:30:51 PM
Quote from: recidivist;535280
Here I am logging in and posting from my Mac Mini (1.5GHZ, 1 GB ram, 80 Mb HD ,64 MB vram)!!!
MorphOS install later this week-want to make it dual boot.

This is my second craigslist mini-first one was a disappointment as that seller misrepresented the memory and condition and insisted on meeting in a public place  where incidentally we couldn't plug it in.I failed to pay enough heed to CAVEAT EMPTOR!

 Now I wonder if the Powermac port of MorphOS will use bigger vram or what other advantages it might have over this mini.At 1.5GHz it is actually faster than my current stable of Powermacs.

Congrats on getting your 1.5GHz G4 MacMini!  I love using MorphOS2.4 on mine.  The 1.5GHz MacMini is likely to be the fastest way to run MorphOS for a while, as the G4 PowerMacs that MorphOS is going to support were only released with 1.42GHz G4's as their fastest option.  Of course they have two G4's, but MorphOS can only use one of them, so unless there is some other part of the PowerMac's hardware design that will speed up MorphOS, the 1.5GHz G4 MacMini will remain the fastest MorphOS machine.  There are upgrade processors for the G4 PowerMacs that can increase the clock speed up to 1.8GHz, or 2.0GHz, but they are expensive new and hard to find used and it is not clear which ones, if any of the third party accelerator G4's for the PowerMacs will be supported in MorphOS, so I would wait until it is released before going out and buying one of those faster G4 cards for your PowerMac.

As for better VRAM capabilities, if you can find one of the already MorphOS supported 8500, 9000, or 9250 Radeon cards that is also supported by the PowerMac and has 128mb, or 256mb of VRAM, then you would have a better graphics card for MorphOS to run on, but the original graphics cards that were available for the G4 PowerMacs and are also supported by MorphOS only had 64mb of VRAM just like the G4 MacMini.  I am talking about the ATI Radeon 9000 Pro 64mb AGP graphics card that was an option at order time for many of the G4 PowerMacs.  I know that better graphics cards are available that will work in the G4 PowerMacs, but have not researched which of those are also supported by MorphOS yet.  Instead, I picked up a 64mb ATI Radeon 9000 Pro AGP card that had been pulled from a G4 PowerMac when it was upgraded for next to nothing and I am holding on to it, waiting for an insane deal to come my way on a Dual G4 1.42GHz MDD PowerMac.  If the MorphOS team finishes work on getting MorphOS to work on a G4 PowerBook before I find that insane deal on a G4 PowerMac, I will just sell this 9000 Pro 64mb graphics card to another MorphOS user that needs it for his G4 PowerMac that they bought with an unsupported graphics card.

Enjoy the blazing speed of your 1.5GHz G4 MacMini and MorphOS2.4.  They are a great combination.  I hope you think so too and will register MorphOS, if you haven't already done so.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: Tenacious on March 15, 2010, 07:04:53 PM
We're into March, anyone heard anything?  I have a 933 MHz Quicksilver just waiting, grin.  Have graphic card spec been published yet?  There is a glut of 32 MB ATI Radeons available.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: mike- on March 15, 2010, 08:03:02 PM
Quote from: Tenacious;547708
We're into March, anyone heard anything?  I have a 933 MHz Quicksilver just waiting, grin.  Have graphic card spec been published yet?  There is a glut of 32 MB ATI Radeons available.


I´ve been trying to keep my ears to the ground, checking morphzone regularly, doesnt seem to be anything new, theres alot of info in http://www.morphzone.org/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6684&forum=11 that thread however. I have a powerbook g4 and itchy fingers too! Maybe someone could pry some info off Piru?
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: dreamcast270mhz on March 15, 2010, 09:03:11 PM
I am posting from my PowerMac G4 MDD 1.5 Ghz (OC) with 1.25GB RAM and a 64mb radeon 9k running Leopard. I sold my windoze workstation and all this needs is a working DVD drive to be complete, and a few minor things: Internal Speaker kit needs replacement, want a dual cpu card I can OC to 1.67 and a copper heatsink w/ cooling tube. I also want to eventually ditch my clicky keyboard and get a mac keyboard and maybe bluetooth.

When 2.5 comes out, I'll DL it and install it on a second HDD, shrink my current HD partition and add a sharing partition.
Title: Re: MorphOS and Power Mac G4
Post by: mike- on March 15, 2010, 10:00:40 PM
Quote from: dreamcast270mhz;547723
I am posting from my PowerMac G4 MDD 1.5 Ghz (OC) with 1.25GB RAM and a 64mb radeon 9k running Leopard. . .


How is 10.5 running on the thing?
I´ve grown attached to this powerbook also, I havent powered on the pc since i got this thing. However i stuck with 10.4, which takes more then enough space anyway. Theres a utility to overclock the ATI chip in here, might be worth researching how to do this in morhpos when it gets here, the chip in here it actually underclocked a few mhz i found. ATIccelerator anyway. Used xbench to benhmark, and official spcs on the ati chip for clock reference.