Freeloader Friday Download of the Week
Better Dual Booting
Linux, and on the newest Macs, Windows is now easier than ever to install and use on your Mac. Below are just a few options that allow you to tinker with Linux without touching your internal drive, and load Windows XP on your Intel Mac.
For ages, PC users have enjoyed no-risk Linux previews on their systems via Live CD. Ironic that it took so long for Linux Live CDs to make it to the Mac when it was Mac System 7 that introduced the world to CD booting.
But history aside, the PowerPC Linux Live CDs have arrived. I have selected Ubuntu for its ease of use and at times nearly miraculous hardware support. Download the Live CD image, burn the image using Disk Utility and reboot holding the "c" key. You'll enjoy a complete Linux install, including Firefox, Open Office and more with out touching your hard drive.
Yellow Dog Linux 4.1 (free download)
If you're going to run Linux regularly, you don't want to have to wait on a slow booting Live CD. But many of us aren't exactly enthusiastic about repartitioning their internal drive. For this situation, Yellow Dog Linux has a unique solution. In 4.1 YDL introduced the first distribution installable on a Firewire drive. The release has recently been released free (scroll down to the 4.1 Sagittarius release) - following Yellow Dog's pay-for-the-latest model.
Installation requires you to burn 4 CDs, reboot from Disk 1 and follow the instructions on-screen. Install using the Firewire option and, after reboot with the Option key held down and you'll find a Linux option among the bootable system options. And, with the speed of Firewire you will enjoy a near full speed install. Run into trouble? Visit the Yellow Dog Board.
With your new Linux formatted Firewire drive, the moment will come when you need to access the files on that drive from OS X. This SourceForge project allows you to access drives formatted in the Linux Ext2 and 3 formats and even adds the capability to repair these volumes in Disk Utility. Its a must have for Mac-Linux users.
We all knew someone would do it. And it is one more reason to snap up one of Apple's new Intel Macs. With a simple bootloader, Windows XP can me loaded on to your Mac to run natively. With programmers the world over working to smooth some of the driver issues, the solution can only get better.
It is better than ever to be an Mac user. And even though we have it better, there's no harm in a little dual booting just to make sure.
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