PowerPC Macs and Linux: Dead or Alive?

So, there has been a discussion about Linux on a PowerPC Macs. Let's clear something:

Sure you can install Linux on your PowerPC Mac, but it is not going to be nearly as useable as Mac OS X. I used Kubuntu for pretty much 5 years on my iBook, it was good for reading mail and browsing lightweight websites. However when it comes to work, it was useless. One time I was writing an article using Open Office, when suddenly Kubuntu crashed on me. It was out of nowhere but it did. So that day I decided to move far far far away from Kubuntu, and I installed Debian.

Debian is the worst distro ever. It is easy to install, however making everything work (from video to picture viewing to audio) WILL take several hours. Just looking for the right codecs to play an .mp4 video will consume at least 3 hours.

It is not that I can't, it is not that I don't want you to use or learn about Linux, this is more of a general warning. I remember a time when Walmart was encouraging people to get laptops with Linux, and it was a total fiasco because Linux is not a user friendly operating system. It requires some time to adapt, to learn how the environment is and how to fix things when something goes wrong.

I had the time to adapt and learn about Debian, and it was a good mail reader, and an excellent web browser. Video playback was sort of 'ok', and as far of document editing it was lame. As outdated as Mac OS is, it is much more advanced than any Linux Distro available for PowerPC Macs.

Some persons falsely claim that "You will get a fast, and modern OS" if you install Debian or any other Linux distro. I say falsely because it is not as fast as they picture it, and not as modern as it looks like. As far as security goes for Mac OS, you could just simply remove completely Flash (Using Flash is worst than using Linux on a PowerPC Mac) and install TenFourFox or AuroraFox, which are constantly updated, to browse the internet. In addition to that, get rid of Java for Mac.

If you decide to give Debian or any other Linux distro a try, which I recommend to put your feet on the ground, good luck! Just keep in mind that it will take some time to adapt.

"It just works. 12% of the time"