👀 PowerPC 40x Processor Support To Be Dropped From The Linux Kernel
— @phoronix
"Back in 2020 was a proposal for dropping PowerPC 40x support from the Linux kernel given that the code was orphaned for a long time with no apparent users. The PowerPC 40x processors were found in thin clients, set-top boxes, and other devices during the 90's. Finally now it looks like that the PowerPC 40x removal is set to happen"
I did discover that three clips that hold the front broke off already, need to glue them back at a later date, but the 8100 is mostly restored and quieter now as it only runs off the BlueSCSI, the HD is disconnected, but causes a slight about 10 sec delay when it cold boots.
The G3 Accelerator Upgrade for the Power Macintosh 8100. It should speed things up considerably as the 601, while fast back in 1994 eventually got outpaced by the 604 and eventually the G3.Wait, you can upgrade CPUs? Yes, you can with these accelerator cards, something you can't do with modern Macs.
Sure, the Power Macintosh G3 are faster, but it can't run Mac OS 7. Adding this will make it a fast Mac that can run it.
Finally cleaned the corner of my desk, which has the vintage computer corner of the desk, which consists of a Power Mac G4 Mirror Drive Door from 2022, a Macintosh 8100/100AV, to run older Mac OS games that won't run on Mac OS 9 or run too fast, and a custom Wintel (eww) Pentium III games to run older PC games.
The 8100 restoration is in it's early stages. I have a Wombat ADB to USB adapter to allow the use of a USB KVM switch, which allow me to switch between these three vintage computers seamlessly and switch the source on the monitor. The 8100 now sports an external BlueSCSI to boot from flash media with an AAUI Ethernet adapter to get new software over the network. There is no need to burn discs or use floppy disks to get software on there.
I'm not complete with the 8100 yet, Need to repair some stuff, upgrade it to a Newer Tech G3 Accelerator, and probably max out the RAM.
The custom Pentium III machine is not plugged in yet, need a DVI to HDMI adapter or DVI to Displayport adapter, but it will happen in the future.
I'm using a Sabrent USB peripheral sharing switch to share the keyboard and mouse between all three computers.
Czas na codzienną dawkę narzekania na #RustLang. Tak, ekosystem działa super.
#UV jest zależne od biblioteki tokio-tar. Tokio-tar jest spieprzone na #PowerPC, nie przyjmuje zgłoszeń błędów (!) i zdaje się być całkiem martwe. Parę łatek czeka sobie radośnie od 2022, a repozytorium ostatnią aktywność ma w połowie 2023. Niemniej, wysłałem łatkę, naprawiającą PowerPC, choć nie żywię wielkich nadziei, że ktoś ją przyjmie, wyda nową wersję i doprowadzimy UV do działania.
Na dodatek, tokio-tar to fork z async-tar, powstały na początku 2021 roku. Nie wygląda na to, by opiekun trzymał je w synchronizacji, a async-tar umarło jakoś pod koniec 2021. Za to chociaż ma możliwość zgłaszania błędów, dzięki czemu możemy lepiej obserwować, jak bardzo jest martwe.
Przepisywanie wszystkiego na Rusta jest super. Późniejsza opieka nad projektami, od których zależą inne projekty, już nie.
I finally got the Power Macintosh 8100 and it's apparently its the more expensive 100/AV model, which allows you to connect to S-Video and input/output RCA Audio. _The computer is surprisingly in good condition and I didn’t pay too much for it (around $100 not including shipping). The only thing is the CD cover is loose, but I can probably 3D print a new one or if the plastic bits might be in the computer, glue it back.
I still need to open it up to remove the battery.
Can't do much with it since I don't have the BlueSCSI yet and I don't have any blank CD-Rs to reinstall the OS.
Need to get an AAUI Ethernet adapter and a few more things to make it operational.
Also, Mac OS 9 Macs had so many killer features like:
Multiple Accounts
Voice Login
Themes
Keychain
PlainTalk
File sharing
USB Audio and printer sharing
Dual boot into 9 (Classic) and X.
Up to a G4 processor
My weekend project complete. Emulated #PowerPC Macintosh G4 running MacOS 9.2.1 (via #QEMU) with 1GB memory at 900MHz on Apple M1 silicon MacBook Pro running #MacOS 14.2.1, with functioning networking and printing to my networked Brother laser printer. #retrocomputing#vintagecomputing
Saved the old Performa 6116 from my mom's basement, and just introduced my kid to KidPix Studio. Within 5 minutes he discovered the 🧨 eraser. Some things never change. :)
Ah, the game running on the PowerPC Amiga is Frogatto and Friends.
First time I try running a platform game on this board, and unfortunately scrolling was a bit sluggish in the highest quality modes. Perhaps this port doesn't render on the GPU, and the 32-bit PCI slot of the Sam440ep doesn't have enough bandwidth to transfer 60 high-resolution frames per second to the GPU.
Anyway... it runs and seems like a fun platform game!