> I am looking to get the best linux for my G3
> Powerbook. Let me define 'best':

I know nothing about PowerBook versions, so I don't know if you need a
distro that works on an Old World or a New World machine.

> 1) I want to have a responcive GUI (last time I tried
> Linux on a Mac, the X-11 was slow as molasses)

If you don't have enough RAM or your system uses a graphics chip from a
manufacturer that does not release programming info, the Linux GUI
might not have the same performance as another OS. Depending on how
long ago you last tried Linux, the graphics drivers may have improved.

> 2) not a RAM hog

The Linux GUI _is_ a RAM hog, I don't think you'll get around that.
There are several people here that could recommend tweaks to use less
RAM, but that gets to

> 3) fairly easy to install software - I don't want to
> have to waste a couple of hours tinkering with source
> code to get it to compile right / install right.

Installation of any Linux distro is pretty painless now, configuring it
for your needs and tastes can get you into deep water if you want to go
beyond what the GUI allows you to configure.

With all that, if your system has 512 MB of RAM or more and is New
World, I would recommend

Ubuntu
Fedora Core
YellowDog

My opinion.


Charles Dostale
System Admin - Silver Oaks Communications
http://www.silveroaks.com/
824 17th Street, Moline  IL  61265


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