Crux-PPC Evolution has been released weeks ago, in the middle of November, and we were really happy to hear from Crux-PPC developers about it.

Now I am very happy to present it in this article. I will do it quite quickly, as always. And I can only suggest to install it and try it. Maybe it is not easy to use as other distribution we reviewed here, but, in my opinion, it gives the user more room for customization: runlevel and configuration scripts are simple and easy to understand, the packaging system will allow everyone to build custom packages in few minutes.

Crux-PPC Evolution 2.0.1.1, codenamed Simona, is the first effort to port an extended Crux version, already available for the x86 architecture, to PowerPC too. We covered Crux installation in an old article. I liked Crux. I can only love Crux Evolution.

The main difference of the Evolution version against the standard one is the content of the distribution: complete desktop environments (Gnome and KDE) come with Evolution. Along with them an almost complete suite of applications for desktop users.

Gnome 2.8, Kde 3.3, Linux kernel 2.6.8.1, the Ximian Evolution mail client, the Epiphany browser, X.org 6.7, these are just few examples of applications included in this desktop-ready release of Crux.

The installation does not differ at all, if you read the above cited article you will get a precise idea of the needed installation steps. Anyway, just to resume: text-based installer, a well-done handbook that you can consult during the installation procedure and will guide you through all the tasks, fast installation. Moreover: this Evolution release comes with plenty of packages while the standard Evolution does not.

The handbook will be useful after a complete installation too, as it explain the basics of the packaging system. This is composed of a ports system working together with a set of pkgadd, pkgrm, etc, tools that will let you easily download, compile and install all the software you need without problems.

I love this distribution for its simple scripts and its simple packaging system: after the installation I noticed that Anjuta, the IDE I often use, was not included. I gave a look at the Crux handbook and in 3 minutes ore so I created a Pkgfile and built my own Anjuta package ready to be installed using pkgadd.

The packaging system, at least for now, does not check for dependencies, those are left to your care. In my case, I just installed all the available packages shipped on the ISO as I have enough space on my hdd. During the installation process you will be asked to start the setup program (a ncurses-based setup) where you will be asked for stuffs you want installed: be careful to calculate some dependencies. You get some help, as packages are split into categories (base, optional, etc.).

If you stop at the Gnome desktop you get after the installation you will have not an idea of how many things are installed and, above all, installable via the ports system. It is absolutely necessary to read the handbook and get familiar with ports and the packaging utilities. I think that might be the first step, even before configuring the X.org server.

As for X.org it is easy configurable, as always, using the xorgconfig console tool. I have to mention that during the installation I compiled my kernel using the included Apple32 .config to which I made only a pair of changes to include support for additional non Apple hardware I need. That was enough to have zero problems with the naughty nVidia GeForce card I have on one of the test boxes. On the second test machine, a brand new 12" G4 iBook, i chose to install a 2.6.9 vanilla kernel patched with BenH suspend to ram patch and everything worked flawlessly too.

The Gnome 2.8 installation went fine: I configured the distribution to start the gdm login manager at boot and have seen no problems with it until now. I cannot say the same for Kde: something was wrong during the installation and I am still not able to start it and use it. I have not investigated the problem though, so it is possible that this issue can be solved with a little effort.

This Crux-PPC Evolution is a first release that followed shortly the 2.0 Crux-PPC release. It installs with almost no problems, it works and it gives you a complete desktop environment. I'd say it is very promising and hope it will keep on going this way ahead.

Screenshots

Tested Hardware
Quicksilver PowerMac, 867Mhz G4 cpu, 640 MB RAM, nVidia GeForce 2 GPU;
iBook G4 12", 1.2 Ghz G4 cpu, 768 MB RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 (installed kernel 2.6.9 + BenH sleep patch)