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Apple PowerBook G3 Firewire (Pismo)
Introduction
This page is a reference to guide you in using Linux on a PowerBook G3 Firewire (aka Pismo). While there may be some manual steps required to get things set up, the Pismo has fairly good support for Linux when all is said and done.
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Specifications
| Name | PowerBook G3 Firewire (Pismo) |
| Processor | 400 mhz PowerPC (PPC) |
| Screen | 14“ 1024×768 |
| RAM | 512 MB (64 MB in stock form) |
| HDD | 10 gig |
| Optical Drive | DVD-ROM |
| Graphics | ATI Rage Mobility 128 graphics with 8 MB of SDRAM |
| Network | 10/100 Ethernet, dual Firewire, optional AirPort wireless |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Yes | |
| Screen | Yes | |
| HDD | Yes | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | |
| Graphics | Yes | With some help, see details below. |
| Sound | Yes | |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Yes | Third-party Broadcom card tested, not genuine AirPort. |
| Bluetooth | N/A | |
| 56K Modem | Not Tested | People still use those? |
| USB | Not Tested | |
| Firewire | Not Tested | |
| Card Reader | N/A | |
| ExpressCard Slot | N/A | |
| Camera | N/A | |
Notes
This information is based on a Debian 5.0 (Lenny) install.
Initially, Xorg.conf is not configured correctly, and when X starts, the screen is a mess of colors and lines. Editing this file manually will give you a functional desktop.
DVD playback is very poor under Linux. I suspect that this is either an issue with the video drivers or configuration. Perhaps it can be cured with further tweaking. For reference, playback was fine under OS X.
While sound works out of the box, the main volume control does not. It must be changed to be acting upon the “PC Speaker”, rather than “Master”.
Suspend and Hibernate did not initially work. Installing the “pmud” package got Suspend working - most of the time, anyway.
Summary
The Linux experience on the Pismo is good. Setup issues aside, Linux is a reasonably functional OS on this classic Powerbook.
