Linux-on-Mac seller aims to fill void

Hmm, perhaps the fact that Apple has dropped PowerPC chips is not a problem, but instead an opportunity for some crafty companies that see the opportunity.

When Apple Computer announced in June that it planned to move to Intel chips, one of the companies left in the lurch was Terra Soft Solutions.

The small Colorado company had carved out a nice niche specializing in selling Linux for Macs and other machines that use IBM’s PowerPC chips. In the days following Apple’s bombshell, Terra Soft quickly announced plans to seek out alternative hardware on which its Yellow Dog Linux could run.

This week, Terra Soft is announcing it has filled some of the void created by Apple’s move. Under a new deal, Terra Soft will resell PowerPC-based servers from Mercury Computer Systems. Mercury’s XR9 systems use the same G5 chip as Apple’s Xserve, but at 2.4GHz, the chips are slightly faster than those used in Apple’s top-of-the-line servers. [Read the rest]