

PowerPC support at the Linux kernel level was first released in the 2.2 kernel version back in 1999, and now it is still being developed as the main Linux kernel.īack at that time, many Linux distributions were providing support for PowerPC, including Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE. Now, Apple computers use Intel’s CISC processors (since 2006) for all their personal computers. The last PowerPC-based Mac shipped and sold was the PowerMac G5 in January 2006. According to Steve Jobs (Apple co-founder), Intel processors provided them more performance per watt than what PowerPC processors did.
How to install ubuntu on a mac g5 2006 series#
But in 2006, Apple changed their entire new series to Intel x86. Running with such OSs, made PowerBooks, iBooks, and iMacs the right choice for personal and everyday computing.Īpple used PowerPC processors in its product line for about 11 years. Fienix The derivative of Debian was specifically written for PowerPC.īack in the 1990s, Apple's classic MacOS and AmigaOS were two popular Operating Systems supporting the PowerPC architecture.Fedora This widely-used distro of Linux for G3 and G4 up to release 17 and for G5 thereafter.Adélie Linux This operating system is suitable for G3, G4, and G5 versions of PowerPC.Gentoo Linux A great choice for a PowerPC operating system because it is suitable for a wide range of PowerPC versions.Void Linux ppc This operating system for PowerPC will work on POWER8 or later.MintPPC This distro is a blend of Linux Mint and Debian sid – it was specifically designed for PowerPC.Lubuntu This lightweight version of Ubuntu is an option if you have PowerPC versions for Apple G3, G4, and G5.Ubuntu 12.04, 14.04, and 16 Go back to these earlier versions of Debian to get a PowerPC-compatible version.Debian sid This operating system is available for some editions of PowerPC.Debian 6.0 and 7 – EDITOR'S CHOICE PowerPC support is not included in the current version of Debian but look for versions 6 or 7 instead.Here is our list of the Top-10 PowerPC Linux Distros: It is time to clean that dusty PowerBook and put your Linux skills back into the table. In this post, we’ll go through the 10 best PowerPC Linux Distributions, their latest working versions, and where to find them. But since Apple shifted to only Intel processors, PowerPC was left alone, and support for PowerPC-based computers started to decline.īut now, the ingenuity of the Linux community along with their Linux distributions, are helping bring old G4 PowerBooks and iMac G5s back into life. Based on RISC architecture, the PowerPC 32-bit or 64-bit (ppc64) machines were great alternatives to Intel’s x86 and AMD processors. Back in the 90s and early 2000s, PowerPCs were starting to show a lot of potential.
