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Serving Up Delicious Webpages

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Dan over at PPC Luddite posted a great intro tutorial on how to use your Mac as a server.

Granted, this is an area where a basic install of Debian or some other GUI-less Linux can excel, even on a Power Mac G5. You’ll have more secure and recent versions of various kinds of server software, get more performance out of your machine, and can fine tune every aspect of your computer’s connection to the outside world. With Mac OS X Leopard, you have a great number of components built-in that can get you started, but they tend to be much older versions of server favorites.

As an addendum to PPC Luddite’s post, another option is to install XAMPP.

XAMPP is a combination package of great server components like Apache, MySQL, Perl, PHP, and so on. Combined into a single install, XAMPP makes it easy to setup test environments to see how websites and complicated scripts work before you put them on an external server. Of course, you could use XAMPP to turn your Mac into a nice file or database server, if you wanted. The nice thing about it is that it comes with plenty of documentation and built-in features, like phpMyAdmin, which allows you to create, edit, and delete databases from your favorite web browser.

XAMPP

Again, the benefit of XAMPP is that it is just a folder that you copy to your Applications folder on your Mac. You can easily delete it without mucking up anything else. You aren’t installing over your base Apache that comes with Leopard (or Tiger). You can run or turn off services as you need them using the simple GUI that comes with it above.

The downside is that while XAMPP provides some newer server software, such as PHP and mySQL, it’s still outdated. Leopard features Apache 2.2.17, while the latest XAMPP for PPC runs Apache 2.2.14. If you want the latest and most cutting edge, you might want to try a setup using homebrew or fink. Or just give your preferred version of Linux a shot.

The last version of XAMPP to run on PowerPC machines is 1.7.3. You can get it from Sourceforge here.

New SSD on the block

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Right now, our list of compatible SSDs remains pretty small, but I am hoping that changes as people out there continue to experiment with different models.

Mushkin, a typically solid producer of solid state drives, has come out with a new model that is a NewEgg exclusive called the ECO2 line. They are cheap. Not just cheap, but super cheap. These are some of the most affordable options out there from a reputable brand.

The question is – do they work on G5s?

I have a little hope that they do. For one, they are aimed at the lower end of the market and use an older version of the Sandforce controller. This means that they are intended to be used in older and newer systems, maximizing compatibility. This also means they are at least worth exploring.

The prices are just nice, topping out at a retail price of $159.99 for a 480 GB variant. They are marketed as having a real solid speed. Of course, real world numbers can vary, but for older computers like ours, we’d never see all that speed anyway.

You can read up more about them here: Mushkin’s ECO2 SSDs Bring Fast Storage to Small Budgets.

The question is – am I going to be the one who gives one of these a test go? I’ll see.

— Nathan

Dropbox Alternative: Box

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We are around 2 months away from Dropbox unceremoniously logging out PowerPC users, kicking us to the curb via a digital eviction notice.

There is no sign that the growing thread in the Dropbox forums is changing anyone’s minds, although there were rumors someone was going to try to port the newer Python framework to Leopard. We’ll see.

In the meanwhile, let’s begin to look at some alternatives to syncing and sharing your files online.

My first choice is to point folks to Box.

Box screenshot

Box is similar to Dropbox in that it gives you a folder that can be synced across different computers. It also has the ability to share files and public folders via a few easy clicks and includes access via some fairly decent mobile apps. The web interface is very useable, and the client (if it works on your computer) is similar enough to Dropbox. I’ve had a Box account for a while with a nice amount of space, but I couldn’t get into it because it initially had an issue with some Mac files with bundles. That is now fixed.

In a quick glance, here are the ups/downs:

Pros

It tends to be generous with space. Dropbox starts you off with a few GB though you can add more via pay or referrals and stuff. Box tends to be more generous – I got 50 GB through some deal for free.

Webdav support is awesome. You can mount your Box folder via the command line or using Go -> Connect to Server.

Generally has similar features to Dropbox and integrates with other services.

Cons

There is no client for PowerPC Macs. You will have to rely on its built-in WebDav protocol to mount and make use of your folder.

Copying files is not particularly fast via Webdav. I’m not sure if I have something setup incorrectly or if it’s just a slow protocol. This is annoying. I’m still waiting for 4 files to copy totaling 410k in size after at least 5 minutes. A Webdav client (like CyberDuck) may not have these issues.

FTP access is possible for paid accounts, not for free accounts.

Update: Here’s a quick follow up reading to help get you started with Box. It seems Box support recommends using third party clients to map your drive in Mac OS. Good to know. CyberDuck does work a bit smoother in some initial testing.

In summary, Box is a reasonable option to check out. You can still have access to the same pool of files across a variety of devices, keeping in mind that your G5 will still feel a bit like a second class citizen without the great sync features of Dropbox. As you give it a test run, let me know how it goes.

Links for You

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It’s been nearly a month since my last post. I’ve basically just been very busy with travel and projects caring for homeless men and women in my community.

So to tithe you over, here are a few links for your continued perusal and learning.

The Quadras, Cubes, and G5 blog followed the exploits of its author in trying to get his G5 back and running after it failed to boot up. It’s a good read if you have similar issues with your G5, because someday, you will. Maybe it’s the G5s finicky power management system? Who knows. Read the first one here, then his followup, and then the exciting conclusion.

Good news: TenFourFox 31.5.0 is out. Also, in that same link, find out how to build RAM disks in Tiger/Leopard if you want. Cool stuff.

PPC Luddite provides a quick and dirty comparison of the various ad blockers for Firefox. The winner: uBlock.

Have you ever heard of Hollywood? No, not THE Hollywood. Hollywood is also a multimedia app development kit that can work on PPC Macs and a whole other range of hardware. I’m intrigued.

— Nathan

The FX4500 & Your G5

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Peter, one of the intelligent readers of this blog, wrote in with a nice money saving workaround to upgrade your video card to the best available option.

He suggests flashing a compatible FX4500.

In most benchmarks that I’ve seen, the FX4500 does edge the 7800GT in some tests. It was really designed to be more of a workstation card as opposed to a general usage or gaming card. You will probably see more benefits if you are rendering video or something of that nature, but as prices have fallen, it is cheaper to max out your G5 by grabbing one from eBay. Mac compatible ones, which may be just flashed cards, run around $100, but PC versions are available for $40-50.

Here’s an alternate route – get a PC version of this card and flash it. Peter tells us how:

It is trivial to flash a PC version of the NVIDIA Quadro FX4500 with the Mac firmware. These cards can be obtained on eBay for ~$30 and are much cheaper than the “Mac” versions, that typically cost around $100+. The only important thing is to make sure that the card you get has RAM on both sides of the card. Newest versions of the card only have RAM on one side of the card (the fan & cooler side) and will not work with the G5 (but they will work on the Mac Pro with the correct firmware).

This card has RAM on the back side of the board and is good for flashing with the G5 firmware:

This card does not have RAM on the back side and will not work with the G5 firmware:

You can find the ROM and utilities over at the Mac Elite wiki site.

This info has me tempted to try it on my own.

— Nathan