Would linux breathe new life into my old powerbook?

November 27, 2009 7:21 PM

I want to have a fast capable NAS/file server/upnp device very similar to the QNAP TS-110 TurboNAS. I have an old 12" Powerbook G4 aluminum MAC OS x laptop. Would it be possible to install a barebones linux installation on the Powerbook to have access to many of the same features of the QNAP device?

My Powerbook is a 1.3ghz with 800mb memory, with OS X 10.5 (leopard) installed. I want to use it to stream movies to my PS3 using upnp. I have tried software like Nullsoft's medialink and the PS3 media server, but the laptop does not seem capable of serving up media files to the ps3 without serious stuttering and lagging. (Even with both devices using ethernet cables - A problem my new shiny macbook pro does not have)

I was considering purchasing a QNAP TS-110 but it seems that my powerbook has twice the power and should in theory make a dandy media server. Would it be possible to learn and install a linux variation on the powerbook to recreate the same core features of the NAS device and turn the old decrepit powerbook into a capable media/file server? Note: I need only serve the file from the powerbook to be played on other hardware.

Is there a particular linux distribution I should use? Or would it be better to upgrade to a dedicated NAS?

posted by jlowen to computers & internet (2 answers total)

NAS Lite M2 ?
posted by Xhris at 10:03 PM on November 27, 2009

Is the upnp media server just streaming files to the PS3, or is it transcoding them into a PS3 compatible format on-the-fly? If it's the former, then the media player software you are using must be pretty poor, because I can't imagine any reason a Mac with Leopard shouldn't be up to the task of pushing the bits fast enough. If it is the latter, then you may be up against the limits of the CPU, something a NAS isn't going to be any better for. It may be that your best bet is to use handbrake or something to convert the files into a format that the PS3 can play natively.
posted by Good Brain at 1:52 PM on November 28, 2009