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Author
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Topic: *nix help
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littlefish
BlabberMouth, a Blabber Odyssey
Member # 966
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posted September 13, 2011 12:56
I need to run some software on mac hardware, but the manufacturer only provides linux and windows versions. Should I be able to run the linux version on the unix goodness of mac os lion? it is supplied as an rpm file.
I've found an rpm port for mac os, but the most recent version seems to be for leopard.
linux is not supported with boot camp, although others have had success.
What is the easiest way to get this running? I don't want to use windows.
Posts: 2420 | From: That London | Registered: Nov 2001
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The Famous Druid
Gold Hearted SuperFan!
Member # 1769
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posted September 13, 2011 16:07
I've never tried this myself, but...
Fink is a collection of Linux ports to the Mac environment, if you're lucky, they'll have ported the app you're looking for.
If not, I'd be very surprised if the Mac is binary compatible with Linux, so your chances of running the RPM are not good, but there's always the option of running Linux in a Virtual Machine on the Mac. I use VMs every day at work, they're surprisingly good.
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If you watch 'The History Of NASA' backwards, it's about a space agency that has no manned spaceflight capability, then does low-orbit flights, then lands on the Moon.
Posts: 10318 | From: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: Oct 2002
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CommanderShroom
BlabberMouth, a Blabber Odyssey
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posted September 13, 2011 18:46
I have tried some of that with bad results, but YMMV.
However I wanted to second TFD's suggestion on using a VM in your Mac. I have had very good luck with VirtualBox. And then you could safely put in Fedora or any other distro that can install the RPM properly.
Posts: 2421 | From: Somewhere between the gutter... and probably another gutter | Registered: Mar 2003
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dragonman97
SuperFan!
Member # 780
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posted September 13, 2011 18:47
I /detest/ Fink & the like. I know people who like it, but IMHO, it's not a natural install and just kinda fscks things up. (When it works, it works...when it doesn't, it's worse than Windows. Needless to say, very un-Mac-like.)
I think TFD's recommendation of VM is a grand one - if the software works on Linux, why not run it on Linux? (on Mac!) I love VMware, but some of VirtualBox is free and probably worth considering as well. (Speaking of which, I really need to install that @home.) A friend of mine ran qEMU on Linux to do VM, but IIRC, that involves CPU emulation, which tends to kill performance. (Perhaps they have a variant that doesn't?)
Take some of the above with a grain of salt - my opinion of Fink and macports dates back to my PPC mini and I've gotten to be grumpier about stuff like that...but when I'm using my Mac, I really try to keep from fscking it up. (That's why I use a Mac in my spare time - I really don't need to fix computer stuff outside of my day job.)
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There are three things you can be sure of in life: Death, taxes, and reading about fake illnesses online...
Posts: 9053 | From: Westchester County, New York | Registered: May 2001
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littlefish
BlabberMouth, a Blabber Odyssey
Member # 966
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posted September 14, 2011 08:02
Thanks all, very helpful. VirtualBox made setting up a virtual machine a lot easier than I thought it would. I've got ubuntu running now, so now all I have to do is make this beta software sing!
Posts: 2420 | From: That London | Registered: Nov 2001
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