MorphOS: a modern operating system for PowerPC
When it comes to modern operating systems for PowerPC-based systems such as pre-Intel Macs, or other PowerPC-based systems such as older or newer AmigaOS compatible systems, there is a increasing lack of options. For the 32-bit PPC, official Linux support has already been dropped, leaving only unofficial versions and of course AmigaOS as well as AmigaOS-like operating systems. So what if you have a PPC-based Mac system around which you don't want to just run the same old, unsupported copy of macOS? In a recent video, [Michael MJD] decided to try out MorphOS 3.17 on a Mac G4 Cube.
Originally created for the now defunct Pegasos PPC series of computers and PPC accelerator boards for Amiga systems, MorphOS is based on the proprietary Quark microkernel. In its current version, it supports a range of G4 and G5 based Apple computers. systems, as well as the AmigaOne 500 and X5000, with a few asterisks. In addition to its own applications, it supports AmigaOS applications, including those targeting the m68k architecture, through its JIT emulator.
A quick look at the community shows that MorphOS is useful for being a fast and relatively up-to-date alternative operating system, especially for PPC-based Macs. The price of €79 per system (transferable to a new system) should provide some guarantee of continued development, which includes e.g. the Wayfarer browser for MorphOS, which is based on Webkit, but optimized for e.g. Altivec.
Even though the MorphOS install went relatively smoothly for [Michael] (with just a minor monitor issue), he didn't try too hard beyond a first impression of the interface graphics and pre-installed applications. There is also a 30 minute timer on the trial version (resettable via reboot) which ended [Michael's] review on that OS.
What are you running on your PPC-based machines, and have you used MorphOS? What do you think of this operating system?
When it comes to modern operating systems for PowerPC-based systems such as pre-Intel Macs, or other PowerPC-based systems such as older or newer AmigaOS compatible systems, there is a increasing lack of options. For the 32-bit PPC, official Linux support has already been dropped, leaving only unofficial versions and of course AmigaOS as well as AmigaOS-like operating systems. So what if you have a PPC-based Mac system around which you don't want to just run the same old, unsupported copy of macOS? In a recent video, [Michael MJD] decided to try out MorphOS 3.17 on a Mac G4 Cube.
Originally created for the now defunct Pegasos PPC series of computers and PPC accelerator boards for Amiga systems, MorphOS is based on the proprietary Quark microkernel. In its current version, it supports a range of G4 and G5 based Apple computers. systems, as well as the AmigaOne 500 and X5000, with a few asterisks. In addition to its own applications, it supports AmigaOS applications, including those targeting the m68k architecture, through its JIT emulator.
A quick look at the community shows that MorphOS is useful for being a fast and relatively up-to-date alternative operating system, especially for PPC-based Macs. The price of €79 per system (transferable to a new system) should provide some guarantee of continued development, which includes e.g. the Wayfarer browser for MorphOS, which is based on Webkit, but optimized for e.g. Altivec.
Even though the MorphOS install went relatively smoothly for [Michael] (with just a minor monitor issue), he didn't try too hard beyond a first impression of the interface graphics and pre-installed applications. There is also a 30 minute timer on the trial version (resettable via reboot) which ended [Michael's] review on that OS.
What are you running on your PPC-based machines, and have you used MorphOS? What do you think of this operating system?
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