I probably should have asked if this was a pc. I totally forgot that linux runs on mac.

Ohh well , at least there's a tutorial here for the next guy that want's to install houdini on linux.

Hey Flash, if you do get a pc with linux installed, at least now you'lll be able to install it!

If you want to uninstall, just remove the houdini directory located in /opt.

/Rick

Perhaps the long post is somewhat salvegeable if copied into odwiki [odforce.net]?

Oh my gosh this has been a great form.

And I am not giving up. Though, I'll grant the incompatible binary thing is a considerable wall to get over, I am still going to try and take this a step further.

I have two questions. The answers to which will let me know how far I can really go on this notion.

1.) Some Apple computers, like the MacBook Pro, and iMac- ship with Intel processors. I am considering buying a MacBook Pro for other. But since it has an Intel CPU under the hood, would Houdini work if I ran linux on that processor?

2.) Using a serious math compiler such Xcode 2 or MATLAB, could I port the linux code to the PowerPC binary?

Perhaps this is not the right form to post this question. But I have to admit I am very curious about this possibility. I must have Houdini.
cg

I honestly have no idea how Houdini would run on an Intel-based Mac in either OSX or Linux. It would be a beautiful thing if it did, though. With regards to recompiling it, you would first need the source code which I don't think Sesi is going to release any time soon.

As an aside, XCode is not a compiler, but rather an “Integrated Development Environment” or IDE for short. It's pretty much set of tools for making the programming process easier. XCode itself doesn't actually do any compiling, but instead offloads the task to a compiler program such as gcc or javac. Matlab is a program aimed at doing Digital Signal Processing, and doesn't do any compiling at all. Lastly, the term “math compiler” should be “compiler” or “code compiler” as source code is what gets transformed by a compiler.

Just to offer a ray of hope, I think (wildly speculate) that the introduction of the Intel-Based Mac might possibly pave the way for a Mac-Based Houdini release. Just wait a few months and see if any press releases appear. Just gotta keep in mind that all the little architectural difference make the porting process a bit of a pain, and that Houdini's a pretty complex app. They're probably just doing good QA in the meantime before they ship *crosses fingers*

How would running Linux on an Intel-based Mac be different from running Linux on an Intel-based PC? Shouldn't it be the same?

Probably, although I'd argue you might have more troubles with drivers since who knows what custom stuff they'll be putting in there?

As far as the Intel Mac - I'm not sure that's going to tip things very far one way or the other as far as Houdini goes - AFAIK Houdini doesn't use assembler. It still would need to contend with all that OSX GUI layered on top of a BSD core. That's not to say it won't happen, but I'm unsure that having Intel particularly makes that much of a difference.

Cheers,

J.C.

well, the thing about intel macs is that they still have plenty of proprietary hardware. simply, enough drivers don't exist for a third party os to really run well. though, this is just what i've heard.

im installing ubuntu linux on my macbook, and will be trying houdini out tonight. ill let you know.

matthew