i got a mac.. what can i do with it?

my friend just gave me a macintosh server g3 to mess around with, and i was just wondering.. what can i do with a mac. right now i'm a linux guy i'm running an x86 chipset.. i dont really know much about macs but willing to learn. i have a few questions that maybe some of you can answer.

here it goes:
my specs are:

Macintosh Server G3/266mhz/192mb ram/

as i asked before what can i do with a mac?(i dont want to sound rude or anything. remember i run linux, i lead a very sheltered life) ;-)

how far can i upgrade this thing? my friend chucked a G4 in the same model that i have and it worked (i also saw some processor replacements going up to 1ghz) so i just wanted to know how far it would go?

(totally unrelated) i'm thinking of getting a laptop, Apples deal on their G4 ibook (the 12 inch model) seems very appealing to me. what's really going to tip me though are the types of goodies available for programmers, and weather or not it plays nice with a linux distro if i decide to go that way. if anybody knows can they tell me what's available if i decide to go mac and weather it will play nice with a linux distro?

thanks
joe

Yup...Go and play around with the terminal in OS X, and you'll soon realise that you won't want to throw Linux on there....Because, basically, it already is..
Don't let OS X's very pretty interface and ease of use fool you....it's really a "Super Linux"!

If you absolutely must have linux there is Yellowdog (which is red hat based), Mandrake, Debian, Gentoo, Crux, Ubuntu, and an older version of SuSE (I dont think I forgot any). There is also NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Darwin (which is the core of osx. It is a free download with a few different versions, Open Darwin and I think a GNU Darwin).

When you get OS X make sure you avoid 10.0. I am stuck with that while 10.3 is in the mail and it is rough (no gcc or other c compiler is my largesty complaint). If your trying to use anything newer than 10.2 on that G3 then your going to need to use Xpost Facto.

If you are used to GNU/Linux then you should check out the fink project and darwin ports. Fink is an apt-get like package management system with both source and binaries. Darwin ports is similar to BSD or Gentoo style ports (downloading and compiling source). The package lists are still small in comparison to other *nix ports systems, but they have something like 1500 packages each. I don't remember websites off hand, but google knows them.

The fastest G4 upgrade is Sonnet's 1ghz, and the fastest G3 is Powerlogix 1.1ghz.
ATI makes a "mac edition" PCI version of the 9200, and I think the cpu upgrades might increase the amount of ram you can use (I know it works this way with the wallstreet powerbook).

Thats about all I can think of for now.

What do you want to do?

Mac OS X, as you've probably heard, is BSD-style Unix underneath. The kernel, called Darwin, is open source and a free download from Apple. The usual shells and editors, Perl, Python and Java are included with OS X; gcc is part of the Developer Tools, which are free from Apple, along with an IDE called XCode.

Mac OS 9, the "classic" OS, is a different beast altogether. If you're a Linux guy, it'll probably confuse the heck out of you.

There are Linux distros too, of course. Google for "PowerPC Linux" and take a look.

If you choose to run OS X (and I'd at least try it out) then 192MB is going to feel crowded fast. OS X likes memory. Get more, at least 512MB for anything serious.

Upgrade cards do exist for that system; your actual mileage may vary.

J_Villa1983 said:

what can i do with a mac.

Click to expand...

Conquer The World !!


maybe...

Welcome to the world of Macs. i would get OSX and put it on. You will love it. I started on a G3 myself and left the x86 world after a month of using it. Now I have several Macs and a nice new 2.5 dual CPU G5 here!

you know, you toss around terms lik 'kernal', 'linnux based', 'python' and me, a novice, came in w/osx user-friendly interface. Thoes terms do not have the connatation attached to them for me. Where and by whom might I find books on the subject, I thought I read them all, but, I guess, maybe just the 'interface' and
justt os x?

The kernel is the lowest level of the operating system that communicates between the hardware and the higher level programs in the OS. Linux, though commonly refered to as an operating system, is just a kernal. The rest is just GNU and other free software (although not free in some cases) utilities. OS X uses a modified MACH micro-kernel, however, most people using OS X will never have any intimate interaction with this.

Im not sure what you mean about being linux-based, as linux its self is Unix based. OS X is also Unix based. The association of OS's being "Unix based" is a little hairy because of Unix's history. IIRC the Unix of today is essentially just a set of standards.

Python is an open source programming language written by Guido van Rossum. More information can be found at python.org .

As far as books go... I havn't found a really great OS X book yet. The linux RUTE is an excelent book about linux, and is freely distributed on the web. Google can find it. There is ALOT of very good information explaining these topics in excruciating detail available freely on the net. The linux documentation project is a great source of linux info, and alot of the FreeBSD handbook on FreeBSD.org actually applies to OS X.

Keep in mind though that the folks at Apple went through great lenghts to make sure that you never have to learn any of that information. It still applies though.