Ivo Elezovic
2004-10-14 13:55:46 UTC
Hi everyone, I'm new to this group, so hello.
I just wanted to say "a few words" about what is my first encounter with a
Powerbook, or better yet, a first encounter with a mac at all.
I got a 17'' g4 powerbook about a month ago, it really is a rolls-royce
among laptops, and | was astonished with it's beauty. But, however, after
a short while strange things started happening, as in the browser kept
crashing, I couldn't configure things, etc etc, and I said to myself,
goddamn it all, I'll put Debian instead of this bastard OS (which I don't
know how to properly use, obviously), so help me god. I really wasn't
happy with Mac OS X, I know it's basically all the same, but I get really
nervous when I'm being asked by the os things like "Do you wish me to make
you happy by doing things for you?").. No, I really am uncomfortable in
such occasions.
Took me a 3 days to install the system, due to my error in trying to use
woody instalation. I had to jigdo myself a sarge, and then I finally
managed to install it.
Took me 4 more days to install X, due to the infamous sandstorm problem.
Some of you may or may not know, that there is one tiny little option
"video=ofonly" in yaboot that stabilizes the console screen while using
framebuffers, but what I did not know at the time is that is also
responsible for a literal sandstorm instead of a picture while running X.
I thought it were the drivers, wrong screen options, unsupported
something, whatever, googled for days tried this and that, and all the
time I actually had only to put a "#" in front of this little option in
the goddamn _yaboot_ file.
Then the joy trully began, as I went to sid instead of sarge, installed
tons of useful software, and finally got an operational system with all
the components (except S-video out, and firwire which I didn't have the
chance to test) functioning without error. Oh, the modem also is "working"
but due to linuxant drivers which are alpha at best, the connection keeps
breaking on it's own every few minutes I am online. O well.
But nevertheless! I have learned a lot about linux, in the fields I
thought I had known already. It teached me humility. I had compiled
hundreds of kernels and could configure a 2.4 one with my eyes closed, but
now... Now I actually feel fear and respect towards the act of compiling
it since something tells me that although everything seems obviously "ok"
there is less than 10% chance that the kernel will actually work. You
don't believe me? I actually used the Debian source that was installed
during the installation - the source of the image that is installed, not
some other, took it's very own .config file from the /boot directory, put
one in another, compiled, installed and it did not boot. It screamed
horribly with some kernel panic, and the obvious helplesness that I felt
at the moment really taught me sense. Let me repeat this. You install a
system. You install also the source from the same kernel that was
installed. You take a .config file and simply recompile the very same
kernel your installation installed, and it won't boot with it? To this
day I haven't figured out the mistery of Life, as this seems to be.
How do I feel about Powerbook and Linux, combined, and the entire 2 weeks
of my life that were gone in trying to put one into another? frankly? I
couldn't be happier. This was a challenge that surprised me with it's
"features" and "tricks", and I really enjoyed it. Would I recoment to to
another? Never. Would I put myself through the same thing again, knowing
that it would be much simpler the next time? Not a chance. Not in hell.
Gah... o well, perhaps. If the hard drive burns out or something, but not
volontairly.
So here I am today, looking at the beautiful digitalblasphemy picture in
the background at it's astonishing but very unstandard 1440x900 pixels,
gnome bar in frontground, gkrellm marrily whistling that the battery is at
97% power, eterm running, and everything seems fine. All the software I
need currently, I have installed, and trust me when I say, debian really
has a BIG repository!
Why have I come to this news group? Well, o well, I do need some help with
some things. Java wont install itself, there is no PPC version at sun's
site, the keyboard illumination won't work, and I was wondering if anyone
else had better luck with the modem drivers. :)
And also if you have any questions about this particular peice of hardware
and it's behaviour under Sid, feel free to ask, I'd be glad to expain how
I configured this or that.
I just wanted to say "a few words" about what is my first encounter with a
Powerbook, or better yet, a first encounter with a mac at all.
I got a 17'' g4 powerbook about a month ago, it really is a rolls-royce
among laptops, and | was astonished with it's beauty. But, however, after
a short while strange things started happening, as in the browser kept
crashing, I couldn't configure things, etc etc, and I said to myself,
goddamn it all, I'll put Debian instead of this bastard OS (which I don't
know how to properly use, obviously), so help me god. I really wasn't
happy with Mac OS X, I know it's basically all the same, but I get really
nervous when I'm being asked by the os things like "Do you wish me to make
you happy by doing things for you?").. No, I really am uncomfortable in
such occasions.
Took me a 3 days to install the system, due to my error in trying to use
woody instalation. I had to jigdo myself a sarge, and then I finally
managed to install it.
Took me 4 more days to install X, due to the infamous sandstorm problem.
Some of you may or may not know, that there is one tiny little option
"video=ofonly" in yaboot that stabilizes the console screen while using
framebuffers, but what I did not know at the time is that is also
responsible for a literal sandstorm instead of a picture while running X.
I thought it were the drivers, wrong screen options, unsupported
something, whatever, googled for days tried this and that, and all the
time I actually had only to put a "#" in front of this little option in
the goddamn _yaboot_ file.
Then the joy trully began, as I went to sid instead of sarge, installed
tons of useful software, and finally got an operational system with all
the components (except S-video out, and firwire which I didn't have the
chance to test) functioning without error. Oh, the modem also is "working"
but due to linuxant drivers which are alpha at best, the connection keeps
breaking on it's own every few minutes I am online. O well.
But nevertheless! I have learned a lot about linux, in the fields I
thought I had known already. It teached me humility. I had compiled
hundreds of kernels and could configure a 2.4 one with my eyes closed, but
now... Now I actually feel fear and respect towards the act of compiling
it since something tells me that although everything seems obviously "ok"
there is less than 10% chance that the kernel will actually work. You
don't believe me? I actually used the Debian source that was installed
during the installation - the source of the image that is installed, not
some other, took it's very own .config file from the /boot directory, put
one in another, compiled, installed and it did not boot. It screamed
horribly with some kernel panic, and the obvious helplesness that I felt
at the moment really taught me sense. Let me repeat this. You install a
system. You install also the source from the same kernel that was
installed. You take a .config file and simply recompile the very same
kernel your installation installed, and it won't boot with it? To this
day I haven't figured out the mistery of Life, as this seems to be.
How do I feel about Powerbook and Linux, combined, and the entire 2 weeks
of my life that were gone in trying to put one into another? frankly? I
couldn't be happier. This was a challenge that surprised me with it's
"features" and "tricks", and I really enjoyed it. Would I recoment to to
another? Never. Would I put myself through the same thing again, knowing
that it would be much simpler the next time? Not a chance. Not in hell.
Gah... o well, perhaps. If the hard drive burns out or something, but not
volontairly.
So here I am today, looking at the beautiful digitalblasphemy picture in
the background at it's astonishing but very unstandard 1440x900 pixels,
gnome bar in frontground, gkrellm marrily whistling that the battery is at
97% power, eterm running, and everything seems fine. All the software I
need currently, I have installed, and trust me when I say, debian really
has a BIG repository!
Why have I come to this news group? Well, o well, I do need some help with
some things. Java wont install itself, there is no PPC version at sun's
site, the keyboard illumination won't work, and I was wondering if anyone
else had better luck with the modem drivers. :)
And also if you have any questions about this particular peice of hardware
and it's behaviour under Sid, feel free to ask, I'd be glad to expain how
I configured this or that.
--
_____ _____
\,, _\/_ ,,/ Ivo Elezovic Linux is like a wig-wam: no gates,
\_'||||'_/ therion.megatherion.com no windows, apache inside.
/__\ ICQ: 308209058
:||: Running at:
:__: Sid @ 2.6.8-PPC
_____ _____
\,, _\/_ ,,/ Ivo Elezovic Linux is like a wig-wam: no gates,
\_'||||'_/ therion.megatherion.com no windows, apache inside.
/__\ ICQ: 308209058
:||: Running at:
:__: Sid @ 2.6.8-PPC