“One of the most popular distributions of Linux for the
PowerPC is LinuxPPC. Closely derived from Red Hat, the distribution
is developed and maintained by LinuxPPC, a Wisconsin company.
According to its Web site, LinuxPPC runs on most G4 and G3
Macintosh systems. If you’re not interested in blowing away a
perfectly good new Macintosh operating system to run Linux,
LinuxPPC also runs on a variety of older Apple hardware, such as
the Power Mac 4400 to 9600 models, as well as the Performa 64xx
models. It will also work on Apple Workgroup Server 7250, 8550,
9650 and G3.”
“A few other well-known Linux distributions that have been
ported to PowerPC include TurboLinux, SuSE and Debian. Each of
these distributions is a variation on the original Intel-based
version of Linux, each respective company maintains.”
“SuSE and Debian offer a load of configuration tools and are
aimed primarily at users looking to replace the Apple operating
system with Linux on old Mac hardware. TurboLinux includes several
network and server administration tools with its PowerPC
distribution and could be considered better suited for setting up
as a server for the Web or LAN.”