Genesi's Open Server Workstation and "MyPowerPC"

Gary · *nix forums beginner Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 3

Andrew J. Brehm wrote:

Andrew J. Brehm · *nix forums beginner Joined: 08 Mar 2005 Posts: 17

Long time no post (me, anyway)...

I am sure everybody has heard about Genesi and their PowerPC machines.

PenguinPPC (http://www.penguinppc.org) faithfully reports and it does
look good.

Now, I am still a PowerPC user, but, admittedly, only because I haven't
yet found a need to upgrade to a new Mac. My next laptop will be a Mac
and will be Intel-based.

However, for my desktop machine, I feel like I want to remain a PowerPC
user, somehow.

I am considering buying whatever will be the last PowerPC Mac Apple will
make. And I am considering buying a Genesi Open Workstation (or whatever
they call it), running Linux (and Mac-on-Linux, and whatever else I can
experiment with).

But that got me thinking (something must)...

In the 90s I had an ISA card for my PC which contained a 68000 CPU, some
memory, and Atari ST ROMs. It was a hardware emulator, if you so will,
and it ran like a DOS session under OS/2. (No, there was no particular
reason for why I bought the expensive thing then.)

Such hardware also existed for Power Macs at a time (A Celeron CPU or
something like it, some memory, and whatever is needed for a PC to
work), and Sun make such cards for their Sparcstations (good idea!).

If Genesi would make a PowerPC-on-PCI card that could run Linux, I would
definitely buy it. They would have to develop OS X (Intel) and Windows
(or Linux) drivers and Bob's your uncle.

I don't see why these cards would be more expensive than a complete
PowerPC box, and they might be more suitable for the tasks people might
need a PowerPC box for:

- Run Linux when architecture doesn't matter. Run Linux under Windows or
Mac OS would only add value, wouldn't it? (And it would be faster than
VMware or Virtual PC or Parallels.)

- Run Mac Classic applications (Mac-on-Linux). Afterall, if you use the
card in an Intel Mac, you ARE running Mac OS on an Apple machine (for
those who worry about the EULA.)

- Run MorphOS for Amiga applications. (If there are people who want to
do that... I am sure they would also enjoy running these programs on the
same PC as Windows or Mac OS.)

- Software development (for Linux) and software testing (Mac OS). I am
sure a PowerPC PCI card is more convenient than a second machine.

- Geeky coolness factor: more CPUs, more operating systems, more
multitasking, more complicated hardware, more special hardware.

- Linux factor: has to do with Linux. People not interested in the
PowerPC but with lots of money might buy it.

What do you think?

Who would buy such a thing?

--
Andrew J. Brehm
Marx Brothers Fan
PowerPC/Macintosh User
Supporter of Chicken Sandwiches

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