Bookmark the date for PCB donation campaign start - GNU/Linux PowerPC
notebook
reddit / BSD

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illumosguy · 2018-12-25 08:55

Good to remember FreeBSD provides [experimental support](https://downl
oad.freebsd.org/ftp/snapshots/powerpc/powerpcspe/ISO-IMAGES/13.0/) for
the PowerPC Notebook project on 13.0-CURRENT; see also
https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-
ppc/2016-October/008480.html

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Kernigh · 2018-12-26 21:21

Your first link points to powerpcspe, but your second link says to use
powerpc, not powerpcspe. [This notebook project plans a 64-bit
processor](https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/faq/), so one might use
FreeBSD/powerpc64. The notebook doesn't exist yet, and when it exists,
it might not boot FreeBSD until FreeBSD adds some code to support it.

I don't know any 64-bit PowerPC laptops. I have a PowerBook G4, but
those are 32-bit. My G4 boots an old Mac OS X or a recent
[OpenBSD/macppc](https://www.openbsd.org/macppc.html). Among recent
systems, OpenBSD/macppc is the easiest to install on a G4,
NetBSD/macppc is more difficult, and Debian/powerpc is most difficult
because Debian's installer is broken. ([Adélie
Linux](https://www.adelielinux.org/) has a PowerPC port, but I haven't
tried it.) One might install FreeBSD/powerpc, but [FreeBSD doesn't
have 32-bit packages](https://pkg.freebsd.org/), so users with 32-bit
machines tend to pick NetBSD or OpenBSD. When a 64-bit PowerPC laptop
exists, FreeBSD/powerpc64 might be the best BSD, because NetBSD and
OpenBSD only run in 32-bit mode.