Klaatu wrote:

Gary Heston wrote:

In article <sFAGd.15357$wi2.1787@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com>,
Klaatu  <mutster8_nospam_@netscape.net> wrote:
  [ ... ]

If you run a MAC couldn't you convert it to linux?

  [ ... ]

No, object code for one hardware architecture won't run on
others; there's nothing supporting SGI or Alpha systems, for
example. The operating systems have to be recompiled as well;
modules complied to run on a x86 Linux system will not run
under Linux on a Mac or Sun system, for example.

The Mandrake link includes their OS for the Power PC, not familiar with the
MAC so not sure if it applies.  With all the Linux distributions there must
be one for the MAC.  But the OP mentioned these are work computers so no
option available.  I'm more used to the home environment or a lab where you
can change things as needed.  Here's another interesting link -

MAC on Linux
http://www.maconlinux.org/

All Macs have been built around PowerPC chips for the past five years
or so (originally from Motorola but now from IBM). However, quite a
few other aspects of the motherboard design have changed over the
interval: the first generation being equipped with NuBus slots, SCSI
drives, and proprietary serial ports, being gradually replaced by
PCI, ATA, USB, (and FireWire) through the G3 and G4 product lines. So
I don't think it's just a question of the code being compiled in the
assembly language proper to the CPU, but of the OS being able to
manage the whole architecture appropriately.

-- 
Odysseus