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MkLinux: The delightfully weird PowerPC Mac Linux Distro of the 1990s
Co-Developed by Apple, with Linux running as a user-mode task. Seriously.
June 01, 2023
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In 1996 -- just two years after Linux, itself, hit version 1.0 -- a version of Red Hat Linux was ported to PowerPC Macintosh computers... by Apple.

Seriously.

The very same Apple that currently opposes people running macOS on any non-sanctioned hardware -- and who fights (rather hard) to keep non-macOS systems from running on Apple hardware -- used to actively help port other systems to the Macintosh computers.  My-oh-my how times have changed.

Known as MkLinux -- short for "Micro-Kernel Linux" -- the development was a joint project between Apple and "The Open Group Research Institute" in France.  And it was a truly fascinating beast... because it wasn't quite your typical "Linux" system.

In fact, MkLinux really consisted of two different kernels:

  1. "Open Group Mach" -- a variation of the Mach microkernel which had been ported to a number of platforms, including: HP PA-RISC, x86, and (of course) PowerPC Macintosh.
  2. "Linux" -- a port of the Linux kernel itself.

What made MkLinux so strange... is that "Open Group Mach" was the lowest level kernel.  It would boot the system and provide a subset of hardware access... then "Linux" would actually be run as a task within "Open Group Mach".

A user mode task, no less!  Yes, in MkLinux... the "Linux" kernel is run as a standard, user-mode application!

Wild!

Over the years, MkLinux gained support for a number of different PowerPC Macintosh models (including some G3-based machines)... and, reportedly, had somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 total users before eventually being all but abandoned by Apple and moving to become a small, community project.

I have personally run MkLinux on a Power Macintosh 6100 running at 66 Mhz.  Was it a speed demon?  No.  It felt quite a bit more sluggish than MacOS (7.x or 8.0) on the same system.  But, you know what?  It was a surprisingly usable Linux system!  Mostly stable, and fairly high quality!

In order to preserve some of the memory of this marvelously weird Linux "distribution", what follows is a bit of a visual tour of what using MkLinux was like on PowerPC Macs of the 1990s.

The official MkLinux website (note that it was hosted by Apple itself):

0141f1.jpg

As part of the installation process, you would place the Mach Kernel and bootloader into your Mac Extensions folder.

 

The MkLinux boot screen (a MacOS application that launched when your Mac booted... with buttons that let you choose whether to boot Mk Linux or MacOS):

Splash Screen

The MkLinux Installer!  Note this is a slightly modified version of the old Red Hat installer:

Installation Path

What kind of Mouse?  An ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) mouse, naturally!

MouseConfig Screen

Screenshot from a PowerBook 1400cs/133 running a customized MkLinux DR3 (Developer Release 3) installation:

pb1400cs-mklinux-080119-03-gif.814865

Another screenshot of MkLinux DR3:

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You can find an archive of the very first release of MkLinux on Archive.org, and a great deal of in-depth details at MkLinux.org.  Unfortunately, that site hasn't been udpated since 2009.  Just the same, the information is historically fascinating.

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Lunduke's Week in Tech : June 21 - June 27, 2026

Operating System Age Verification! Paid Web Browsers! Wikipedia Bannings! XLibre Success! XFCE & Wayland Bad Decisions! Plus: The Awesome FujiNet!

The Article:
https://x.com/LundukeJournal/status/2071396065857937889

Emacs & Vim Lunduke Journal Lifetime Walls:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/emacs-and-vim-lunduke-journal-lifetime

Get on The Wall with a Massively Discounted Lifetime Sub:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/50-off-yearly-and-massively-discounted

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:29:00
Emacs vs. Vim : The Lunduke Lifetime Walls

As Lunduke Journal subscribers race to add their names to the "Lifetime Walls of Shame", which will be the most popular? Emacs or Vim?

Emacs & Vim Lunduke Journal Lifetime Walls:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/emacs-and-vim-lunduke-journal-lifetime

Get on The Wall with a Massively Discounted Lifetime Sub:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/50-off-yearly-and-massively-discounted

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:11:29
Sony PlayStation Deleting Purchased Movies

Purchase "Terminator 2", "Evil Dead", or "Hot Fuzz" via Sony PlayStation?
You can't watch those anymore. You'll own nothing, and you'll be happy.

Ubuntu 4.10, C64, & BeOS added to the Wall!
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/ubuntu-410-joins-lunduke-journal

Get on The Wall with a Massively Discounted Lifetime Sub:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/50-off-yearly-and-massively-discounted

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:20:00
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

You guys will love this: Ford Brings back Humans and AI is sub par.

This is an adoption problem. Companies introduce AI and then reduce staff BEFORE the AI proves itself. Not very smart. Lots of companies are going through this.

Story: So it turns out that a computer algorithm cannot teach itself what decades of hands-on, grease-under-the-fingernails human experience already knows.
Ford executives just peeled back the curtain on a massive strategic pivot. The automaker frantically brought back 350 veteran technical specialists to fix a lingering quality and recall crisis that their shiny AI systems simply could not solve.
Some of these seasoned experts were former Ford employees who had previously retired or moved on. Others were specialists poached back from various supplier companies. Either way, Ford leadership looked at their internal metrics and realized they needed the old guard back in the room.
So what exactly is going on?
Ford's Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra ...

4 hours ago

A very interesting video card!

7 hours ago

China has matched Anthropic in cybersecurity, resetting AI rac
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/china-has-matched-anthropic-in-cybersecurity-resetting-ai-race/ar-AA26I0hA

Banning access to models is futile.

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Emacs & Vim Lunduke Journal Lifetime Walls Are Here!

TL;DR

The Commodore 64 Wall is full, and the Emacs and Vim Walls make their appearance! Lifetime Subscriptions continue to be discounted all June long for those who want to get on the Walls!

Emacs & Vim Lifetime Walls!

Lifetime Subscribers to The Lunduke Journal filled up the “Commodore 64” Wall in just 10 days! Awesome.

And with the “Ubuntu 4.10” and “BeOS R5” Walls almost full of names as well (just a few spots left on each), it’s time for some new Walls for Lifetime Subscribes to put their signatures on!

This time, let’s have a bit of a friendly competition: Vim vs Emacs.

 

Both Walls — “Vim” & “Emacs” — appeared at the exact same time.

Let’s see which one gets full first. To keep it fair, I’ll cap both off at the exact same number of names.

When they’re full, I’ll included a statement of “Filled in X Days/Hours” next to each on Lunduke.com so everybody knows which one was more popular.

In fact, maybe I’ll add exactly that sort of “Filled in X Days” label for all of the existing Retro Computer Lifetime Walls. Just for fun.

Will Emacs or Vim win? I have a guess. We’ll find out!

Support The Lunduke Journal & Get on The Wall

Want to take part (and support The Lunduke Journal in the process)?

  1. Go to Lunduke.com, scroll down to the bottom and see which Walls are currently listed as still having space available for more names.

  2. Then scroll down on this page and grab a Lifetime Subscription (if you don’t already have one) and email “bryan at lunduke.com” with which Wall you would prefer to be on.

Note: One Lifetime Subscription = One Listing on One Wall. These fill up insanely fast, so I have to put this limit in place. You are more than welcome to get multiple Lifetime Subscriptions if you want to be on multiple Walls.

Your name will then appear on a Wall… on both Lunduke.com & during the end of new Lunduke Journal shows.

Lifetime Discount Runs Through June

For the entire month of June, Lifetime Subscriptions are discounted down to $125 (regularly $300).

How to Grab a Discounted Lifetime Subscription:

There are 3 different ways to pick up a Lunduke Journal Lifetime sub: Locals, Substack, or Bitcoin.

All of them work great and include the same perks. Choose whichever works best for you!

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select “Give Once“.

  3. Enter “125“ into the amount field.

  4. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Substack:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Substack.com/subscribe.

  2. Select the “Lifetime Subscription” option.

  3. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

If you would also like full, Lifetime access to Lunduke.Locals.com (which is included):

  1. Make a free account on Lunduke.Locals.com.

  2. Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the email address you use on both Substack and Locals (can be different email addresses).

  3. Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status on Locals.

Get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

Bonus: Save an extra $10 with the Bitcoin option, as Bitcoin processing has fewer fees associated with it.

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  • Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com or Substack.com.

-Lunduke

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Lunduke's Week in Tech : June 21 - June 27, 2026

Lunduke’s Thoughts of The Week

This week, like most weeks, was an absolute rollercoaster in the world of Computer News (tm). Organizations banning co-founders. Corporations taking away access to media you’ve purchased. Wild stuff. See all of that below.

But let’s get off the crazy Tech News Rollercoaster for a moment, and talk about something truly inspiring. And, importantly, stupidly fun.

I would like to point you towards FujiNet.

I’ve talked about FujiNet before but, if you haven’t looked at it recently, you owe it to yourself.

It is, in part, a WiFi adapter for a wide array of 8-bit computers. Atari, Tandy Color Computer, Apple II, and DOS. But that really doesn’t do these sweet little devices justice.

Because the FujiNet adapters handle all of the internet protocols on-device, they allow such feats of technical wizardry as… using an Apple II to connect to a modern SSH server running on a Linux host. Wild.

The team behind these amazing little gizmos have been working on two new things lately, both of which brought a tremendous smile to my face.

The first is a series of FujiNet programming manuals, and user manuals, for each supported retro computer platform. What’s more… they took the extra effort of making the PDF manuals use the classic styles of each platform’s own manual.

For example: The Apple II FujiNet “Getting Started” manual is designed to look like the old Apple IIc manual. Same with the Coleco Adam manual.

It’s a little touch… but it really tells you a lot about the love these guys have for these classic machines.

The second thing they’ve been building, is a set of Android emulators, for those retro computing platforms, with built-in emulation of the FujiNet itself. So you can, for example, have a “FujiNet” enabled CoCo… online. Emulated on your Android phone/tablet.

Because the team has taken the time to build online multiplayer games — with versions for each computer — you could use an Android phone to emulate a CoCo and play a multiplayer game with someone on an Atari Lynx.

If you’re interested in this retro computing magic, I recommend following Thomas Cherryhomes on X. He regularly posts goodies related to FujiNet. And, honestly, it’s just too much fun for words.

Biggest Tech Stories - June 14 - June 20, 2026

Here are the major stories from the last week, with direct links to X and Substack.

See Lunduke.com for all other platforms (Rumble, RSS Audio Podcast, etc.).

  • Which Operating Systems Are Refusing to Do Age Verification? (X, Substack)

  • Paid Minimalist Brave Browser? Yes, Please! (X, Substack)

  • Wikipedia Bans Wikipedia Co-Founder For Saying Wikipedia Should be Neutral (X, Substack)

  • XLibre, the “Vanity, Protest Fork” of Xorg, Has Yet Another Major New Release (X, Substack)

  • XFCE’s Wayland “Preview Release” is Horribly, Expectedly Broken (X, Substack)

  • Sony PlayStation Deleting Purchased Movies (X, Substack)

Huge thank you to all of The Lunduke Journal’s subscribers. You make all of this possible.

-Lunduke

 
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C64 & Ubuntu 4.10 Walls almost full!

TL;DR

The “Commodore 64” and “Ubuntu 4.10” Lifetime Subscriber Walls will be full within the next day or two. Reminder: Lifetime Subscriptions are massively discounted through end of June (less than 5 days).

14 Retro “Lifetime” Walls! And Counting!

I want to offer a huge “Thank You” to everyone who has picked up a Lifetime Subscription to The Lunduke Journal.

Not only have you directly made it possible for The Lunduke Journal to continue to operate, completely free from Big Tech influence… but those of you who have added your names to the Lifetime Subscriber Walls have sent a loud message to the Tech industry (and the world of Open Source in particular).

14 walls (and counting), filled with the names of normal people, rejecting the crazy Woke politics invading so much of Tech, standing with the work of The Lunduke Journal.

That’s awesome. You are awesome.

For those of you yet to grab your own Lifetime Subscription, they are massively discounted through the end of June (for the next 4 days and change).

Scroll down for the details, grab one, enjoy the perks, and get on the Wall.

Three Retro Lifetime Walls Open

Which means there are 3 Walls currently available to put your signature on:

  • Commodore 64 : Only a few spots left

  • BeOS R5 : 1/2 full

  • Ubuntu 4.10 : 2/3rds full

 

Take your pick. There’s no wrong answer here. Three classic Operating Systems.

Support The Lunduke Journal & Get on The Wall

Grabbing a Lifetime Subscription to The Lunduke Journal — and getting your name on one of the Retro Computer Lifetime Subscriber Walls — is the best way to show your support for truly independent Tech Journalism.

  1. Grab a Lifetime Subscription (1 name on 1 Wall per Lifetime Subscription), scroll down for the links.

  2. Then Email Lunduke (“[email protected]”) with which Retro Computer Wall you would like to appear on (and what name you would like to use).

Your name will then appear on a Wall… on both Lunduke.com & during the end of Lunduke Journal shows.

Note: These fill up crazy fast. We’re talking days, not weeks. First come, first served. If you want to get on a specific Wall, don’t dilly dally.

Lifetime Discount Runs Through June

For the entire month of June, Lifetime Subscriptions are discounted down to $125 (regularly $300).

How to Grab a Discounted Lifetime Subscription:

There are 3 different ways to pick up a Lunduke Journal Lifetime sub. All of them work great and include the same perks. Choose whichever works best for you!

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select “Give Once“.

  3. Enter “125“ into the amount field.

  4. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Substack:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Substack.com/subscribe.

  2. Select the “Lifetime Subscription” option.

  3. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

If you would also like full, Lifetime access to Lunduke.Locals.com (which is included):

  1. Make a free account on Lunduke.Locals.com.

  2. Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the email address you use on both Substack and Locals (can be different email addresses).

  3. Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status on Locals.

Get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

Bonus: Save an extra $10 with the Bitcoin option, as Bitcoin processing has fewer fees associated with it.

bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq

  • Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com or Substack.com.

-Lunduke

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