Re: Cheap hardware X-terms?

[Ray Olszewski <ray@comarre.com>]

Asking around about this, I got two sets of advice.

1. Look at the standard Linux distributions for the Mac for this purpose. If
they are 680x0-based Macs, aparently the only game in town is Debian --
start at URL http://www.debian.org/ports/m68k/ . Also check
http://www.linux-m68k.org/dists.html for a larger list of 680x0-based
distributions. But after reading through some of the FAQ-like material
around, I would hesitate before offering to configure any Mac 68k
distribution for inexperienced users. I'm told they need at least an '030,
BTW, with reference to the "how old is old" issue, and I didn't see any
discussion (either way) of support for Localtalk.

If they are Power PC-based, there are more options, such as Yellow Dog,
Linux PPC, and a different Debian port -- all should be at Metalab. But
there seem to be no XTerminal-specific adaptations ... in general, the
Mac-based community seems not to have spawned anything like the wide range
of mini-Linux distributions we see in the i386 world.

And, quoting my informant ...

"2) MacX is a product by Apple Computer that allows even elderly Macs to
run X sessions. I believe it's no longer made, which is a shame, but
therefore it can be found quite cheaply. (They should look on their
current education price list; it was still on there as of a year or so
ago). I bought my copy at a computer swap last year for something like
$20."

Don't know if this helps or not. Sorry I can't do more.

At 07:36 PM 9/21/99 -0400, Doug Loss wrote [in part]:

>Slightly different topic.  Has anyone tried using Linux to convert
>old Macs into X-terms?  One of the parochial schools here has received
>a bunch of old Macs that it doesn't know what to do with.  Assuming
>I can get their permission and get Linux M68K (or Linux PPC, depending)
>working on them, what are the chances of using them as X-terms?

------------------------------------"Never tell me the odds!"---
Ray Olszewski                                        -- Han Solo
Palo Alto, CA           	 	         ray@comarre.com        
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