Yellow Dog Linux

Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) is an open source Linux distribution based on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS operating systems. It was initially designed to support the PPC (PowerPC) architecture.

It is a very old distribution of Linux developed since year 1999 and designed to provide users with a high-performance computing environment on multi-core CPUs. Over the last decade it matured enough to support the modern Power Architecture (Power7) hardware platform.

Designed for the Power architecture

The distro was known world-wide as the premier Linux operating system for the Power architecture. The latest version was introduced by Fixstars Solutions back in 2012, along with the PowerLinux 7R2 Yellow Dog Appliance.

The operating system was known to support the old Macintosh computers that were powered by the deprecated PPC (PowerPC) architecture, as well as PowerStation and Sony’s PS3 (PlayStation 3) gaming console.

Uses the Enlightenment desktop environment

YDL combines the modern and lightweight Enlightenment desktop environment with a very stable Linux kernel that provides out-of-the-box support for most hardware components, as well as a large collection of handpicked open source applications for common tasks.

Default applications

Default applications include the OpenOffice.org office suite, Ekiga VoIP application, GIMP image editor, Gnash Flash player, gThumb image viewer, Mozilla Firefox web browser, Evolution email and news client, Pidgin multi-protocol instant messaging client, Rhythmbox music player, and Totem video player.

In addition, it includes the Evince document viewer, HP device manager tool, tsclient terminal server client, Gedit text editor, Xpad note-taking app, XSane scanner tool, Wicd network manager, Sound Juicer Audio-CD ripper, and Nautilus file manager.

Bottom line

All in all, with Yellow Dog Linux you could revive an old G3, G4 and G5 Apple computer, either by dual-booting both Mac OS X and YDL systems, or by installing it as the only computing environment. In addition, you can install a third-party OS in your PlayStation 3 console.

What is new in this release:

• After a four year hiatus, Yellow Dog Linux is back for POWER! Supporting the latest IBM PowerLinux 7R2 Yellow Dog Appliance hardware, Yellow Dog Linux brings the reliability and functionality of Enterprise Linux 6 along with enhanced features for POWER7 in a 100% open source and free-as-in-beer offering. The following are the versions of the main packages included with Yellow Dog Linux 7...
• Linux kernel 2.6.32
• GCC 4.4.6 and 4.7.0
• glibc 2.12
• M³ Platform (Optional)

What is new in version 6.2:

• USB boot and install support;
• Linux Kernel 2.6.29 PPC64;
• Linux Kernel 2.6.27 PPC32;
• Added the Xfce 4 desktop environment;
• Updated IMB Cell SDK to version 3.1.0.1;
• Updated the OpenOffice.org office suite to version 3.0;
• Updated Mozilla Firefox web browser to version 3.0.6;
• Improved wireless support;
• Improved Shockwave Flash support;
• Better PS3VRAM support;
• Updated Gnash to version 0.8.4;
• Added Libfreevec.

What is new in version 6.1:

• yellowdog-6.1-ppc-DVD_20090201_NEW_PS3.iso
• Download this DVD if:
• You are installing on a newer PS3 model. This includes the 80GB PS3 (Model Number 98015 and later) and the 160GB PS3 (Model Number 900006 and later).
• This ISO contains a patch for a boot issue on the newer model PS3.

What is new in version 6.1:

• Fixstars today released Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) 6.1 for Apple G4/G5, Sony PlayStation 3, PowerStation, and IBM Power Systems. Built upon the CentOS foundation, a derivative of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, YDL 6.1 offers several end-user and development tool improvements. For end users, YDL 6.1 offers an updated Firefox and OpenOffice.org, a vastly improved graphical wireless configuration tool, and the introduction of ps3vram functionality which enables use of PS3 video RAM for temporary storage or swap. For developers, 6.1 offers the latest stable kernel, an updated GCC, the open portion of the IBM Cell SDK v3.1, and through a working relationship with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, YDL 6.1 now ships with the new Cell Superscalar.