tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10152142362890777982024-03-16T23:24:23.048-07:00TenFourFox DevelopmentWhat's new in TenFourFox, the Mozilla browser for Power Macs.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.comBlogger585125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-12246120010163248662024-02-13T22:12:00.000-08:002024-02-14T19:09:23.092-08:00One less Un*xy option for 32-bit PowerPCMost of you still using a Power Mac as a daily or occasional driver are probably either running Linux, Tiger or Leopard, and a minority on OS 9. Despite many distributions no longer shipping 32-bit PPC installs, Gentoo Linux still has <a href="https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/PPC/FAQ">specific support</a> along with a few others, as does <a href="https://www.adelielinux.org/">Adélie Linux</a> if you like <tt>musl</tt> for breakfast. Still, for server duties, where I come from, you bring on the BSDs. In this blog you've already met my long-suffering <a href="/2018/11/and-now-for-something-completely.html">NetBSD Macintosh IIci</a> which is still trucking to this day and more recently <a href="/2019/06/and-now-for-something-completely.html">my also-NetBSD G4 Mac mini</a> (which later needed, effectively, <a href="https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2020/07/refurb-weekend-mac-mini-g4.html">a logic board swap</a>), but I also have a Quadra 605 with a full '040 running NetBSD I use for utility tasks and at one time I ran an intermediate incarnation of <tt>gopher.floodgap.com</tt> on a Power Macintosh 7300 with a Sonnet G3 running NetBSD too. I stuffed that system full with a gig of RAM and a SATA card and it did very well until I got the current POWER6 server in 2010.
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NetBSD has the widest support, continuing to run on <a href="http://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/mac68k/">most 68Ks</a> and <a href="http://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/macppc/">PCI Power Macs</a> to this day (leaving out only the NuBus Power Macs which aren't really supported by much of anything anymore, sadly). However, <a href="http://www.openbsd.org/macppc.html">OpenBSD</a> works fine on New World Macs, and FreeBSD has a very mature 32-bit PowerPC port — or, should I say, soon will have had one, since starting in FreeBSD 15 (13.x is the current release), ARMv6, 32-bit Intel and 32-bit PowerPC support will <a href="https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-announce/2024-February/000117.html">likely be removed</a>. No new 32-bit support will be added, including for RISC-V.
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Even though I have a large number of NetBSD systems, I still like FreeBSD, and one of my remote "island" systems runs it. The differences between BSDs are more subtle than with Linux distributions, but you can still enjoy the different flavours that result, and I even ported a little FreeBSD code to the NetBSD kernel so I could support automatic restarts after a power failure on the G4 mini. The fact that the userland and kernel are better matched together probably makes the BSDs better desktop clients, too, especially since on big-endian we're already used to some packages just not building right, so we don't lose a whole lot by running it. (Usually those are the same packages that wouldn't build on anything but Linux anyway.)
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This isn't the end for the G5, which should still be able to run the 64-bit version of FreeBSD, and OpenBSD hasn't voiced any firm plans to cut 32-bit loose. However, NetBSD supports the widest range of Macs, including Macs far older than any Power Mac, and frankly if you want to use a Un*x on a Power Mac and have reasonable confidence it will still be running on it for years to come, it's undeniably the one with the best track record.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-43920321708284311602023-09-19T14:06:00.001-07:002023-09-19T14:06:14.880-07:00Google ending Basic HTML support for Gmail in 2024Understandably they're saying little about it publicly, but <a href="https://support.google.com/mail/thread/235320394/can-t-set-basic-html-view?hl=en">word is getting around</a> that Google's fast, super-compatible Basic HTML mode for Gmail will be removed in a few short months. "We’re writing to let you know that the Gmail Basic HTML view for desktop web and mobile web will be disabled starting early January 2024. The Gmail Basic HTML views are previous versions of Gmail that were replaced by their modern successors 10+ years ago and do not include full Gmail feature functionality."
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There are also reports that you can't <em>set</em> Basic HTML mode now either. Most of you who want to use it probably already are, but if you're not, you can try <a href="https://mail.google.com/?ui=html">this</a>, <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/">this</a>, <a href="http://m.gmail.com/">this</a>, <a href="http://mail.google.com/mail/h/">this</a> or even <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/1uukxfkwowdy0/?zy=h&f=1">this</a> to see if it gets around the front-end block.
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Google can of course do whatever they want, and there are always maintenance costs to be had with keeping old stuff around — in this case, for users unlikely to be monetized in any meaningful fashion because you don't run all their crap. You are exactly the people Google wants to get rid of and doing so is by design. As such, it's effectively a giant "screw you," and will be a problem for those folks relying on this for a fast way to read Gmail with TenFourFox or any other limited system. (Hey, wanna buy a Pixel 8 to read Gmail?)
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Speaking of "screw you," and with no small amount of irony given this is published on a Google platform, I certainly hope <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23869483/us-v-google-search-antitrust-case-updates">the antitrust case goes somewhere</a>.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-84313964714076081392023-09-12T23:32:00.001-07:002023-09-19T14:07:20.722-07:00WebP chemspill patch on GithubA fix is in the TenFourFox tree for <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories/mfsa2023-40/">MFSA 2023-40</a>, a/k/a <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/12/chrome_browser_webp_exploit/">CVE-2023-4863</a>, which is a heap overflow in the WebP image decoder. Firefox 45 would not ordinarily be vulnerable to this but we have our own basic WebP decoder using Google's library, so we are technically exploitable as well. I was working on a fix of my own but the PM27 fix that roytam1 cherrypicked is cleaner, so I've added that patch and <s>one</s> <i>two (a followup was needed)</i> more for correctness. Although this issue is currently being exploited in the wild, it would require a PowerPC-specific attack to be successful on a Power Mac. You do not need to clobber to update your build.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-89163748817618981032023-08-31T17:54:00.001-07:002023-08-31T17:54:09.225-07:00August patch set for TenFourFox<a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/commits/master">The next patch set has landed</a>, bringing the TenFourFox security base up to 115ESR. This includes the usual new certificate roots and updates to pins, HSTS and TLDs, as well as applicable security updates such as a full pull-up to the browser's SCTP support (not that this is frequently used in TenFourFox but rather to make future patches a little more tractable). On the bug fix side there is an update to the ATSUI font blocklist (thanks Chris T) and a wallpaper for a JavaScript-related crash on <tt>apple.com</tt> (thanks roytam1). Finally, basic adblock has been made stricter and is now also targetting invasive fingerprinting scripts. This adds a bit more overhead to checking the origin but that all runs at native C++ speed, and ensures we're less likely to get bogged down running JavaScript that we'd really rather not.
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As this is a base pullup, building this time around will require a full clobber, so be sure to <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/wiki/HowToBuildFPR">clear out everything before you begin</a>.
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For our next set, I'm thinking of an update to Reader Mode, since I firmly believe that's one of the most useful modes to run TenFourFox in on limited Power Mac hardware. That's why we <a href="/2020/09/tenfourfox-fpr27b1-available-now-with.html">made it sticky</a> and provided a way to <a href="/2021/03/tenfourfox-fpr31b1-available-now-with.html">automatically open it by site</a> (under Preferences, TenFourFox) — on resource-limited systems a resource-light view of a resource-heavy page is pretty much the way to go. And isn't everything resource-heavy to a Power Mac?ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-87495309650679017712023-07-16T22:06:00.004-07:002023-07-16T22:06:44.516-07:00Floodgap downtimeJust a quick note: Floodgap is down due to upstream issues beyond their control. I'm hoping we'll be back up in a day or two more. Sorry about that. E-mail still works, so anything you've sent me will still get through; this only affects the Web and gopher servers.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-50756723911856563572023-06-05T16:03:00.004-07:002023-06-05T16:52:19.212-07:00Apple provides grated cheese with the wineToday Apple asked, would you like <a href="https://www.apple.com/mac-pro/">cheese</a> with your <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/macos-sonoma-brings-new-capabilities-for-elevating-productivity-and-creativity/">wine</a>?
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It's nice that the stench of Intel has finally drifted off Apple's product line, leaving us once again with a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Mac_G5">RISC cheese grater</a> atop the heap. Still, though (seriously now), no discrete GPUs for those six PCIe slots? Does this mean you're stuck with the <s>MKULTRA</s> M2 Ultra's? That's like throwing a party where you have to wear headphones to hear the music. But at least if you were using it for virtualized x86_64 workloads, <a href="https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization/running_intel_binaries_in_linux_vms_with_rosetta">Rosetta 2's got you covered</a>, and no one's gonna <a href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/2713684/apple-sneaks-safari-update-into-snow-leopard.html">pull an IBM QuickTransit</a> this time — suggesting x86_64 binaries will have a far longer shelf life on Apple silicon than PowerPC binaries ever did on Intel. At $7000 for the base model, though, I think I'll stick to my Raptor Talos II.
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Apple also proved themselves able and willing to compete in drinking games with macOS Sonoma (but fine vintages, mind you), so <a href="https://www.eweek.com/news/longhorn-and-tiger-whos-copying-whom/">start your photocopiers</a>. Quick, drink if you thought Apple would <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/apple-announces-macos-sonoma-with-desktop-widgets-and-more/">basically bring back the Dashboard</a>, which is the first thing I disable when installing Tiger from scratch. If you're Mozilla, drink if you thought Apple would <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/apple-announces-new-safari-profiles-and-webkit-features/ar-AA1c9U1M">rip off Firefox containers in Safari</a>. And, well, I should have a drink too, because now Power Mac upgraders will get a built-in <a href="https://www.imore.com/mac/macos/every-website-can-now-be-an-app-thanks-to-safari-its-macos-sonomas-secret-weapon">TenFourFoxBox for desktop web apps</a>. We didn't get macOS Arvin, macOS Edison (now with more power saving features!) or macOS Chico, but don't worry: it will still cost <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_M._Schulz">Peanuts</a>.
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Don't get me started on <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/">that goggles thing</a>.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-55057965201734796602023-04-20T16:08:00.004-07:002023-04-20T17:06:16.690-07:00April patch set for TenFourFoxAs promised, there are <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/commits/master">new changesets</a> to pick up in the TenFourFox tree. (If you're new to rolling your own TenFourFox build, <a href="/2021/10/the-current-status-of-diy-tenfourfox.html">these instructions still generally apply</a>.) I've tried to limit their scope so that people with a partial build can just pull the changes (<tt>git pull</tt>) and <tt>gmake -f client.mk build</tt> without having to "clobber" the tree (completely erase and start over). You'll have to do that for the new ESR when that comes out in a couple months, but I'll spare you that today. Most of these patches are security-related, including one that prevents naughty cookies which would affect us as well, though the rest are mostly crash-preventers and would require PowerPC-specific attacks to be exploitable. There is also an update to the ATSUI font blacklist. As always, if you find problematic fonts that need to be suppressed, post them to <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/issues/566">issue 566</a> or in the comments, but read this first.
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However, there is one feature update in this patchset: <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/issues/659">a CSS grid whitelist</a>. Firefox 45, which is the heavily patched underpinning of TenFourFox FPR, has a partially working implementation of CSS grid as explained in this <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/CSS_Grid_Layout">MDN article</a>. CSS grid layout is a more flexible and more generalized way of putting elements on a page than the earlier tables method. Go ahead and try to read that article with the current build before you pull the changes and you'll notice that the page has weirdly scrunched up elements (before a script runs and blanks the whole page with an error). After you build with the updates, you'll notice that while the page still doesn't lay out perfectly right, you can now actually read things. That's because there's a whitelist entry now in TenFourFox that allows grid automatically on <tt>developer.mozilla.org</tt> (a new <tt>layout.css.grid.host.developer.mozilla.org</tt> preference defaults to <tt>true</tt> which is checked for by new code in the CSS parser, and there is also an entry in the problematic scripts filter to block the script that ends up blanking the page when it bugs out). The other issues on that page are unrelated to CSS grid.
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This will change things for people who set the global pref <tt>layout.css.grid.enabled</tt> to true, which we have never shipped in TenFourFox because of (at times significant) bugs in the implementation. This pref is now true, but unless the URL hostname is in the whitelist, CSS grid will still be disabled dynamically and is never enabled for chrome resources. If you set the global pref to false, however, then CSS grid is disabled everywhere. If you were using this for a particular site that lays out better with grid on, post the URL to <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/issues/659">issue 659</a> or in the comments and I'll consider adding it to the default set (or add it yourself in <tt>about:config</tt>).
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The next ESR (Firefox 115) comes out end of June-early July, and we'll do the usual root updates then.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-82308935546606092592023-04-18T09:33:00.000-07:002023-04-18T09:33:26.139-07:00Power Mac ransomware? Yes, but it's complicated<a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/04/apples-macs-have-long-escaped-ransomware-but-that-may-be-changing/"><i>Wired</i> ran an article today</a> (via Ars Technica) about apparent macOS-compatible builds of <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/a-deep-dive-into-the-operations-of-the-lockbit-ransomware-group/">LockBit</a>, a prominent encrypting ransomware suite, such as <a href="https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/0be6f1e927f973df35dad6fc661048236d46879ad59f824233d757ec6e722bde/detection">this one for Apple silicon</a>. There have been other experimental ransomware samples that have previously surfaced but this may be the first known example of a prominent operation specifically targeting Macs, and it is almost certainly not the last.
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What caught my eye in the article was a report of PowerPC builds. I can't seem to get an alleged sample to analyse (feel free to contact me at ckaiser at floodgap dawt com if you can provide one) but the source for that assertion <a href="https://twitter.com/malwrhunterteam/status/1647535642232889346/photo/1">appears to be this tweet</a>.
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Can that file run on a Power Mac? It appears it's indeed a PowerPC binary, but the executable format is ELF and not Mach-O, so the file can only run natively on Linux or another ELF-based operating system, not PowerPC Mac OS X (or, for that matter, Mac OS 9 and earlier). Even if the raw machine code were sprayed into memory for an exploitable Mac application to be tricked into running, ELF implies System V ABI, which is similar but different from the PowerOpen ABI used for PowerPC-compatible versions of Mac OS, and we haven't even started talking about system calls. Rather than a specific build targetting Power Macs, most likely this is evidence that the LockBit builders simply ran every crosscompiler variation they could find on their source code: there are <em>no</em> natively little-endian 32-bit PowerPC CPUs, for example, yet there's a <tt>ppcle</tt> build visible in the screenshot. Heck, there's even an <tt>s390x</tt> build. Parents, don't let your mainframes out unsupervised.
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This is probably a good time to mention that I've been working on security patches for TenFourFox and a couple minor feature adjustments, so stay tuned. It's been awhile but such are hobbies.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-27078097885629657812022-09-18T09:46:00.005-07:002022-09-18T09:46:31.608-07:00September patch set for TenFourFox102 is now the next Firefox Extended Support Release, so it's time for spring cleaning — if you're a resident of the Southern Hemisphere — in <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox">the TenFourFox repository</a>. Besides refreshing the maintenance scripts to pull certificate, timezone and HSTS updates from this new source, I also implemented all the relevant security and stability patches from the last gasp of 91ESR (none likely to be exploitable on Power Macs without a direct attack, but many likely to crash them), added an Fx102 user agent choice to the TenFourFox preference pane, updated the ATSUI font blacklist (thanks to Chris T for the report) and updated <tt>zlib</tt> to 1.2.12, picking up multiple bug fixes and some modest performance improvements. This touches a lot of low-level stuff so updating will require a complete rebuild from scratch (<a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/wiki/HowToBuildFPR">instructions</a>). Sorry about that, it's necessary!
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If you're new to building your own copy of TenFourFox, <a href="/2021/10/the-current-status-of-diy-tenfourfox.html">this article from last year is still current</a> with the process and what's out there for alternatives and assistance.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-35608826897641283712022-07-06T14:08:00.003-07:002022-07-06T14:08:31.992-07:00Network Solutions screws the pooch againFloodgap appears to be down because Network Solutions' name servers are timing out and name queries are not reliably resolving (everything's up on this end). <a href="https://downdetector.com/status/network-solutions/">There is no ETA</a>. If this continues for much longer I'll figure out an alternative, but between this and <a href="/2021/01/floodgapcom-down-due-to-domain-squatter.html">the social engineering hack last year</a>, maybe this is a sign I need to move it to a different registrar even though I prepaid a few years ago.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-6368698675100728342022-06-06T11:51:00.001-07:002022-06-06T12:01:58.934-07:00macOS OxnardThose of us in southern California <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/apple-announces-macos-13-ventura-the-next-major-software-update-for-the-mac/">are shaking our heads</a>. I like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventura,_California">the City of (San Buena)Ventura</a> fine, but Ventura isn't exactly in the same snobbish class as, you know, Big Sur or Monterey. I mean, if they really wanted they could have had macOS Camarillo, or macOS Thousand Oaks, or maybe even macOS Calabasas even though that sounds those gourd urns you buy at Pier 1 or a euphemism for unmentionable body parts, but anyway. (macOS Malibu! Buy all her friends!) There was a lot of buzz over the possibility <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2021/12/09/apple-renews-mammoth-trademark-hinting-at-potential-name-for-macos-13/">this could have been macOS Mammoth</a>, and even <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS_Mammoth">Wikipedia went all-in</a>. I can see why they didn't because the jokes would have flown thick and heavy if it turns out as big and ponderous as the name, but when you give up the chance at Point Mugu or Oxnard (or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Conchita,_California">La Conchita</a>: the operating system that collapses on itself!) for a pretty if less ostentatious coastal community, someone at Apple just isn't thinking big. Or, for that matter, mammoth.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-23506096174631066482022-04-30T23:10:00.002-07:002022-04-30T23:14:16.597-07:00April patch set for TenFourFoxI've had my hands full with the <a href="https://www.talospace.com/2022/04/firefox-99-on-power.html">POWER9 64-bit JIT</a> (a descendant of TenFourFox's 32-bit JIT), but I had a better idea about the lazy image loader workaround in <a href="/2022/02/next-update-set-for-tenfourfox.html">February's drop</a> and got the rest of the maintenance patches down at the same time. These patches include the standard security fixes and updates to timezones, pinned certificates and HSTS, as well as another entry for the ATSUI font blacklist. In addition, a bug in the POWER9 JIT turns out to affect TenFourFox as well (going back to at least TenFourFox 38), which I ported a fix for. It should correct some residual issues with IonPower-NVLE on a few sites, though it may allow code to run that couldn't run before that may have its own issues, of course. A clobber is not required for this update. The commits are already hot and live <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox">on Github</a>.
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The next ESR, version 102, is due in June. I'll change the EV and certificate roots over around that time as usual, but we might also take the opportunity to pull up some of the vendored libraries like <tt>zlib</tt>, so it might be a somewhat bigger update than it would ordinarily be.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-33309188312935414432022-02-24T15:17:00.003-08:002022-02-24T15:20:53.996-08:00Next update set available for TenFourFoxSecurity patches and a couple tweaks have been landed <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/commits/master">on the TenFourFox Github</a>, so warm up your computers and prepare to rebuild. The security patches mostly cover DOM and media, but the tweaks add a UA exception for YouTube to prevent it forcing you onto the really slow main page from its "unsupported browser" page, as well as a workaround for sites using lazy-loaded images with <tt>lozad.js</tt>. (I said I scratch my own itches, and these annoyed me personally, so I fixed them.) If you have a custom UA for YouTube in your own settings, it should remain unaffected. There are also the usual updates for the HSTS and TLD lists, and a more complete fix for non-SHA-1 OCSP stapled responses.
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The workaround is needed because TenFourFox doesn't support <tt>IntersectionObserver</tt>. I'm pondering whether this is the point to add <a href="https://polyfill.io/">a global polyfill</a> to the browser that could potentially cover this and other deficiencies, but although it would be nice to not play whack-a-mole so much, that would have some consequences for performance and memory use over a targetted fix like this. I don't want to get too complex with having a "black list" for sites that need the polyfill you can add to, but maybe that's the least bad option. I'll do some thinking.
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In case you missed it, I've always maintained that the most logical upgrade path from a PowerPC-based computer is to ... another PowerPC-based computer. SheepShaver, the well-known classic Mac OS emulator (which many of you use to run Classic apps in Leopard), is <a href="https://www.talospace.com/2022/02/sheepsforza-sheepshaver-power-mac.html">now ported to OpenPOWER</a>, so you can run it on a POWER9-based workstation like the Raptor Talos II or Blackbird. Myself, with this port working, I've migrated almost entirely from QEMU to SheepShaver except for a few apps that still have compatibility issues. Come on in: Power ISA isn't dead, not by a long shot. ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-82412590108027033202022-01-02T20:42:00.006-08:002022-01-02T20:43:34.095-08:00Updates to TenFourFox on GithubHappy New Year (I'd like to say nothing can be worse than 2021 was, but I don't want to tempt 2022). Fortunately, we're starting the year off right with <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/commits/master">new changesets on Github</a> for the TenFourFox rolling release. Besides the periodic updates to TLDs, HSTS and timezone data, these two changesets also fix some security issues, include a minor update to NSS with new support for <a href="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1745600">SHA-2 OCSP stapled responses</a> (thanks to roytam1 for the suggestion), and correct a couple minor Mac OS X-specific widget problems. No clobber is needed for this go-around, so just pull down the changes and <tt>gmake -f client.mk build</tt> to fresh your installation. If you're new to self-building TenFourFox on your Power Mac (or unsupported Intel Mac), <a href="/2021/10/the-current-status-of-diy-tenfourfox.html">read this recent article</a>.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-50006224527533512262021-12-10T09:42:00.004-08:002021-12-10T09:47:36.455-08:00The strawberry iMac that made the Wikipedia<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJOFmjZLDb0KNB-gc7OigMnJ7YUbN1YJXHmu5BFq0mwz2cZb9gQFK1rdgkr4nBylAIpyIlFJI7-NJyaLpQyLtWfE-oogpvUg-ahW2bfp9MxizpVqDl838VvBm4GqsE-hJJeKnddAOX5xu0QQtuPLyehjoMb5UTD8HbwwxjtVK2x5kX7Mmc2VYBZ_2wrA=s2048" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1337" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJOFmjZLDb0KNB-gc7OigMnJ7YUbN1YJXHmu5BFq0mwz2cZb9gQFK1rdgkr4nBylAIpyIlFJI7-NJyaLpQyLtWfE-oogpvUg-ahW2bfp9MxizpVqDl838VvBm4GqsE-hJJeKnddAOX5xu0QQtuPLyehjoMb5UTD8HbwwxjtVK2x5kX7Mmc2VYBZ_2wrA=s320"/></a></div>
Apparently the strawberry iMac G3 is <a href="https://screenrant.com/wikipedia-nft-founder-computer-sale/">to blame for Wikipedia</a>, and in keeping with the stupid prices people are paying for collectable Power Macs (to the chagrin of those of us actually <em>using</em> them), <a href="https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/birth-wikipedia/strawberry-imac-2000/141267">you can bid on it</a>. The first edit he allegedly made in 2001 <a href="https://www.christies.com/features/First-Wikipedia-edit-to-be-sold-as-NFT-11983-1.aspx">is available as an NFT</a>, also for $tupid money, which I have reproduced here for the nominal charge of your eyeballses:
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgW8pVM50R4OGUMjyqc-4IOK69XEY5jZqvOY3LPXjH6eg7ItJNX9B5j8kEfuPtJyYkf6UUJEFT_YthZgdf-dLJ1SjRbt_ngGftQxBjjEzl9p-lZ7duwBoqhV87p0wcv6uJUtmJpNYKLPcQba8Qv1SzoEHlBYudjlvGjv8940ZZIjpbSICISpt7qiS88BA=s1200" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgW8pVM50R4OGUMjyqc-4IOK69XEY5jZqvOY3LPXjH6eg7ItJNX9B5j8kEfuPtJyYkf6UUJEFT_YthZgdf-dLJ1SjRbt_ngGftQxBjjEzl9p-lZ7duwBoqhV87p0wcv6uJUtmJpNYKLPcQba8Qv1SzoEHlBYudjlvGjv8940ZZIjpbSICISpt7qiS88BA=s320"/></a></div>
In 2001 this was probably Microsoft Internet Explorer on OS 9, maybe OS X Cheetah, but the NFT doesn't say and this substantially diminishes the value of it in my eyes. Seriously, if you're buying for the history, provide the damn history. Also, the strawberry iMac G3 <em>I</em> have in the music room is in rather better condition and even has a Sonnet HARMONi upgrade card. I'm just saying, because I'm not selling.
<p>
Back briefly on topic, watch for a dump of security updates in the next few days now that I've made some more progress on the <a href="https://www.talospace.com/2021/11/big-and-little-power-shouldnt-just-be.html">POWER9 JIT for my Raptor Talos II</a>.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-56255891343201716092021-11-23T08:26:00.002-08:002021-11-23T08:29:21.577-08:00Do you run Void on your Power Mac?If so, heads up, because <a href="https://voidlinux-ppc.org/news/2021/11/big-endian.html">builds for your configuration may be ending soon</a> (along with Void PPC on big-endian platforms generally). If you want this to continue, and you've got the interest, chops or gumption, <em>you</em> can help by becoming a maintainer -- take a look at <a href="https://github.com/void-ppc">the Void PPC Github</a>. Most of you are probably running the <tt>glibc</tt> variant, which will end by January 2023, but if you are running <tt>musl</tt>-based packages those repos will be taken down by the end of 2021. Don't whine to the maintainer, please: the current matrix is four different repos which all require their own maintenance and builds. Even just 32-bit <tt>glibc</tt> would probably benefit a whole lot of people and yourself. If this is important to you, there's no time like the present to step up.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-2408145606255327672021-10-29T21:03:00.001-07:002021-10-29T21:03:38.539-07:00The current status of DIY TenFourFoxDue to family and work issues my time has been curtailed for all kinds of things, but at this point, at least, there's something for you to work with: as promised, the <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox">TenFourFox source code</a> has been updated to use 91ESR for the certificate and security base and the roots pulled up accordingly. I've also got a few security updates loaded and backported a performance tweak intended for Monterey systems but also yields a small boost on any version of Mac OS X. The browser will now be forever "45.41.6" (ESR32 SPR6) with the perpetual name "Rolling Release." This version number will not be revved again without good reason.
<p>
So now it's time for you to make your first build (and, if you feel adventurous, find a problem and try to fix it, but let's take baby steps). Officially, we have <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/wiki/HowToBuildFPR">documentation for that already</a> using MacPorts. A semi-frozen build of MacPorts what I use on my G5: I have three trees, one being the main testing debug tree which pulls from Github, and then two local subtrees that pull from the local debug tree (created with <tt>git clone --shared</tt> so that they are about 25% the size) which I use to make rolling G5-optimized (for my Quad) and 7450-optimized (for my iMac and iBook) builds. I do my work in the debug tree and make sure everything functions properly, then check it in and <tt>git pull</tt> and <tt>gmake -f client.mk build</tt> in the optimized subtrees to roll up the changes. When the subtrees are happy too, I'll <tt>git push</tt> from the main debug tree into Github. I consider this as officially supported a solution as presently exists under the circumstances. The Quad runs TenFourFox directly from the G5 subtree now.
<p>
However, MacPorts does have a lot of prereqs and requires some additional prep time (sometimes many hours) to build the tools from source. <a href="https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/the-unofficial-tenfourfox-toolkit">Macintosh Garden has an "unofficial TenFourFox toolkit"</a> that contains an Automator workflow, a supervising script and a fully precompiled toolchain. You will have to install Xcode first (2.5 for Tiger, 3.1.4 for Leopard), but that is the only apparent requirement, and multiple users have reported it builds the browser successfully.
<p>
One common problem that gets reported on non-G5 systems is the dreaded <tt>internal compiler error</tt>. However, when the build is restarted, it usually progresses and continues for awhile without incident. The problem is likely tied to memory pressure and compilers really thrash memory. If your system hits this a lot and starts to annoy you, consider removing <tt>-j2</tt> out of the build flags in whatever <tt>.mozconfig</tt> you're using (change your copy in <tt>.mozconfig</tt>, not the master <tt>*.mozcfg</tt>). This will only run one compiler instance at a time, which is slower, but requires less memory and is more likely to complete the build in one shot without manual intervention.
<p>
If you really don't want to build it yourself, however, you do have at least one option: <a href="https://github.com/wicknix/InterWebPPC">InterWebPPC</a>. This is a modified build of TenFourFox that explicitly removes some features for performance, so it is not equivalent with TenFourFox, and it is not necessarily built on any particular schedule either. It also does not have separate G4/7400 and G4/7450 builds, though this may not be noticeable on your particular system. You can download <a href="https://github.com/wicknix/InterWebPPC/releases">prebuilt binaries</a> for G3, G4 or G5 as well as compile it from source using the "unofficial toolkit" above. I haven't seen other downstream builds yet but if you know of one, plan to make one or are using one, post it in the comments.
<p>
There are a couple other security fixes I'm reviewing, and I'm toying with some Github specific hacks to deal with its dependence on <tt>async/await</tt>, but these again will not be done on any particular timetable (I'll post here when or if I get around to them). Still, some of you have already built the browser successfully, and if you can build TenFourFox on your Power Mac you can build pretty much anything. Perhaps this might spark some additional development interest ...ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-24321361403051104822021-10-03T15:41:00.003-07:002021-10-03T15:43:09.197-07:00TenFourFox FPR32 SPR5 available (the last official build)TenFourFox Feature Parity Release 32 Security Parity Release 5 "32.5" is available for testing (<a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/tenfourfox/files/fpr32.5/">downloads</a>, <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/wiki/Hashes">hashes</a>). Aside from the announced change with <a href="/2021/09/questionable-rce-with-weblocinetloc.html"><tt>.inetloc</tt> and <tt>.webloc</tt> handling</a>, this release also updates the ATSUI font blacklist and includes the usual security updates. It will go live Monday evening Pacific as usual assuming no issues.
<p>
<a href="/2021/05/tenfourfox-fpr32-spr1-available.html">As stated previously</a>, this is the last official build before TenFourFox goes into <a href="/2020/04/the-end-of-tenfourfox-and-what-ive.html">hobby mode</a>; version checking is therefore disabled in this release since there will be no new official build to check for. I know I keep teasing a future consolidated post about how users who want to continue using it can get or make their own builds, but I want to update the docs and FAQ first, plus actually give you something new to test your build out (in this case it's going to be switching the certificate and security base over to Firefox 91ESR from 78ESR). There are already some options already apart from <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/wiki/HowToBuildFPR">the official method</a> and we'll discuss those, but if you yourself are gearing up to offer public builds or toolkits, feel free to make this known in the comments. Work is a little hairy this month but I want to get to this in the next couple weeks.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-75167623445362883852021-10-02T10:38:00.007-07:002021-10-02T10:50:51.403-07:00curl, Let's Encrypt and Apple lazinessThe built-in version of <tt>curl</tt> on any Power Mac version of OS X will not be capable of TLS 1.1 or higher, so most of you who need it will have already upgraded to an equivalent with MacPorts. However, even for later Intel Macs that are ostensibly supported -- including my now legacy MacBook Air with Mojave I keep around for running 32-bit Intel -- <a href="https://letsencrypt.org/docs/dst-root-ca-x3-expiration-september-2021/">the expiration of one of Let's Encrypt's root certificates yesterday</a> will suddenly mean <tt>curl</tt> may suddenly cease connecting to TLS sites with Let's Encrypt certificates. Yesterday I was trying to connect to one of my own Floodgap sites, unexpectedly got certificate errors I wasn't seeing in TenFourFox or mainline Firefox, and, after a moment of panic, suddenly realized what had happened. While you can use <tt>-k</tt> to ignore the error, that basically defeats the entire idea of having a certificate to start with.
<p>
The real hell of it is that Mojave 10.14 is still technically supported by Apple, and you would think updating the <tt>curl</tt> root certificate store would be an intrinsic part of security updates, but you'd be wrong. <a href="https://eclecticlight.co/2021/10/01/why-wont-safari-open-that-web-page/">The issue with old roots even affects Safari on some Monterey betas</a>, making the best explanation more Apple laziness than benign neglect. Firefox added this root <a href="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1289889">ages ago</a> and so did TenFourFox.
<p>
If you are using MacPorts <tt>curl</tt>, which is (IMHO) the best solution on Power Macs due to Ken's diligence but is still a dandy alternative to Homebrew on Intel Macs, the easiest solution is to ensure <a href="https://ports.macports.org/port/curl-ca-bundle/"><tt>curl-ca-bundle</tt></a> is up-to-date. Homebrew (and I presume Tigerbrew, for 10.4) can do <tt>brew install curl-ca-bundle</tt>, assuming your installation is current.
<p>
However, I use the built-in <tt>curl</tt> on the Mojave MacBook Air. Ordinarily I would just do an in-place update of the root certificate bundle, as I did on my 10.4 G5 before I started using a self-built <tt>curl</tt>, but thanks to System Integrity Protection you're not allowed to do that anymore even as <tt>root</tt>. Happily, the cURL maintainers themselves have a <a href="https://curl.se/docs/caextract.html">downloadable root certificate store</a> which is periodically refreshed. Download that, put it somewhere in your home directory, and in your <tt>.login</tt> or <tt>.profile</tt> or whatever, set <tt>CURL_CA_BUNDLE</tt> to its location (on my system, I have a <tt>~/bin</tt> directory, so I put it there and set it to <tt>/Users/yourname/bin/cacert.pem</tt>).ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-46124554806605517112021-09-23T14:49:00.000-07:002021-09-23T14:49:26.829-07:00Questionable RCE with .webloc/.inetloc filesA report surfaced recently that at least some recent versions of macOS can be exploited to <a href="https://ssd-disclosure.com/ssd-advisory-macos-finder-rce/">run arbitrary local applications using <tt>.inetloc</tt> files</a>, which may allow a drive-by download to automatically kick off a vulnerable application and exploit it. Apple appeared to acknowledge the fault, but did not assign it a CVE; the reporter seems not to have found the putative fix satisfactory and public disclosure thus occurred two days ago.
<p>
The report claims the proof of concept works on all prior versions of macOS, but it doesn't seem to work (even with corrected path) on Tiger. Unfortunately due to packing I don't have a Leopard or Snow Leopard system running right now, so I can't test those, but the 10.4 Finder (which would launch these files) correctly complains they are malformed. As a safety measure in case there <em>is</em> something exploitable, the October SPR build of TenFourFox will treat both <tt>.webloc</tt> and <tt>.inetloc</tt> files that you might download as executable. (These files use similar pathways, so if one is exploitable after all, then the other probably is too.) I can't think of anyone who would depend on the prior behaviour, but in our unique userbase I'm sure someone does, so I'm publicizing this now ahead of the October 5 release. Meanwhile, if someone's able to make the exploit work on a Power Mac, I'd be interested to hear how you did it.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-23826670825211580552021-09-04T22:27:00.006-07:002021-09-04T22:28:09.348-07:00TenFourFox FPR32 SPR4 availableTenFourFox Feature Parity Release 32 Security Parity Release 4 "32.4" is available for testing (<a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/tenfourfox/files/fpr32.4/">downloads</a>, <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/wiki/Hashes">hashes</a>). There are, as before, no changes to the release notes nor anything notable about the security patches in this release. Assuming no major problems, FPR32.4 will go live Monday evening Pacific time as usual. The final official build FPR32.5 remains scheduled for October 5, so we'll do a little look at your options should you wish to continue building from source after that point later this month.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-74573921332984143552021-08-17T09:39:00.001-07:002021-08-17T09:39:56.172-07:00Unplanned Floodgap downtimeFloodgap is down due to an upstream circuit cut and TenFourFox users may get timeouts when checking versions. All Floodgap services including web, gopher and E-mail are affected. The telco is on it, but I have no ETA for repair. If the downtime will be prolonged, I may host some services temporarily on a VPS.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-2085152830402681522021-08-07T15:42:00.002-07:002021-08-07T15:42:21.393-07:00TenFourFox FPR32 SPR3 availableTenFourFox Feature Parity Release 32 Security Parity Release 3 "32.3" is available for testing (<a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/tenfourfox/files/fpr32.3/">downloads</a>, <a href="https://github.com/classilla/tenfourfox/wiki/Hashes">hashes</a>). There are, once again, no changes to the release notes and nothing notable regarding the security patches in this release. Assuming no major problems, FPR32.3 will go live Monday evening Pacific time as usual. FPR32.4 will appear on September 7 and the final official build FPR32.5 on October 5.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-28503030630006301842021-08-05T11:25:00.002-07:002021-08-05T14:33:14.720-07:00And now for something completely different: Australia needs to cut the crap with expatsI'm going to be very tightly focused in this post, because there are tons of politics swirling around COVID-19 (and anyone who knows my actual line of work will know my opinions about it); any comments about masks, vaccines, etc. will be swiftly removed. Normally I don't discuss non-technical topics here, but this is a situation that personally affects me and this is my blog, so there. I want to talk specifically about the newly announced policy that <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-says-it-will-lock-in-returning-citizens-who-permanently-live-abroad-20210805-p58gb9.html">Australians normally resident overseas will now require an exemption to leave the country</a>.
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I80laWy4jnU/YQv0sfbr1FI/AAAAAAAACbM/A9rBOlqYtE4KsQx0NvooDX9GqKsMGxBigCLcBGAsYHQ/s930/E8B0qvPVkAAg2B0.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="930" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I80laWy4jnU/YQv0sfbr1FI/AAAAAAAACbM/A9rBOlqYtE4KsQx0NvooDX9GqKsMGxBigCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/E8B0qvPVkAAg2B0.jpg"/></a></div>
<div style="text-align:center">(via <a href="https://twitter.com/linzcom/status/1423265764006449153">twitter</a>)</div>
<p>
I am an Australian-American dual citizen (via my mother, who is Australian, but is resident in the United States), and my wife of five years is Australian. She is legimately a resident of Australia because she was completing her master's degree there and had to teach in the Australian system to get an unrestricted credential. All this happened when the borders closed. Anyone normally resident in Australia must <a href="https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia">obtain an exemption to leave the country and cite good cause</a>, except to a handful of countries like New Zealand (who only makes the perfectly reasonable requirement that <em>its</em> residents <a href="https://safetravel.govt.nz/covid-19-coronavirus">have a spot in quarantine</a> for when they return).
<p>
It was already difficult to exit Australia before, which is why, for the six weeks that I've gotten to see my wife since January 2020, it was me traveling to Australia. Here again many thanks to Air New Zealand, who were very understanding on rescheduling (twice) and even let us keep our Star Alliance Gold status even though we weren't flying much, I did my two weeks of quarantine, got my two negative tests, and was released into the hinterlands of regional New South Wales to visit that side of the family. Upon return to Sydney Airport, it was a simple matter to leave the country, since it was already obvious in the immigration records that I don't normally reside in it.
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CATliu9dNsU/YQxYqUz5UPI/AAAAAAAACbU/L03HU_UHsIQTKZzF5deyz5rMjIOdRiF3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/image.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CATliu9dNsU/YQxYqUz5UPI/AAAAAAAACbU/L03HU_UHsIQTKZzF5deyz5rMjIOdRiF3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/image.jpeg"/></a></div>
<div style="text-align:center">(The nearly abandoned International Terminal in Sydney when I left.)</div>
<p>
Now, there is the distinct possibility that <em>if</em> I can land a ticket to visit my wife, and <em>if</em> I can get space in hotel quarantine (at A$3000, plus greatly inflated airfares), despite being fully vaccinated, I may not be able to leave. Trying to get my credentials approved in Australia has been hung up for months so I wouldn't be able to have a job there in my current employ, and with my father currently on chemo, if he were to take a turn for the worse there are plenty of horror stories of Australians being unable to see terminally ill family members due to refused exemptions (or, adding insult to injury, being approved when they actually died).
<p>
I realize as (technically) an expat there isn't much of a constituency to join, but even given we're in the middle of a pandemic this crap has to stop. Restricting entries is heavyhanded, but understandable. Reminding those exiting that they're responsible for hotel or camp quarantine upon return is onerous (and should be reexamined at minimum for those who have indeed gotten the jab), but defensible. Preventing Australian citizens from leaving altogether, especially those with family, is unconscionable and the arbitrary nature of the exemption process is a foul joke.
<p>
If Premier Palaszczuk can strike a pose at the International Olympic Committee and Prime Minster Morrison can go gallivanting with randos in English pubs, those of us who are vaccinated and following the law should have that same freedom. I should be able to visit my wife and she should be able to visit me.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1015214236289077798.post-71183878996273329962021-07-30T21:27:00.004-07:002021-07-30T21:30:39.597-07:00And now for something completely different: "Upgrading" your Quad G5 LCSOne of the most consistently popular old posts on this blog is <a href="/2014/04/long-life-computing-plus-quad-g5-cpu.html">our discussion on long-life computing</a> and how to extend the working, arguably even useful, life of your Power Mac. However, what I think gives it particular continued traction is it has a section on how to swap out the liquid cooling system of the Quad G5, obviously the most powerful Power Macintosh ever made and one of the only two G5 systems I believe worth using (the other being the dual-processor 2.3GHz, as it is aircooled). LCSes are finicky beasts under the best of conditions and certain liquid-cooled models of the G5 line have notoriously bad reputations for leakage. My parents' dual 2.5GHz, for example, succumbed to a leak and it ended up being a rather ugly postmortem.
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The Quad G5 is one of the better ones in this regard and most of the ones that would have suffered early deaths already have, but it still requires service due to evaporative losses and sediment, and any Quad on its original processors is by now almost certainly a windtunnel under load. An ailing LCS, even an intact one, runs the real risk of an unexpected shutdown if the CPU it can no longer cool effectively ends up exceeding its internal thermal limits; you'll see a red OVERTEMP light illuminate on the logic board when this is imminent, followed by a CHECKSTOP. Like an automotive radiator it is possible to <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20140410214408/http://www.saunalahti.fi/~holindho/g5-quad-v1-lcs-repair.html">open the LCS up and flush the coolant</a> (and potentially <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20140410214408/http://www.saunalahti.fi/~holindho/g5-quad-v1-lcs-repair-pump.html">service the pumps</a>), but this is not a trivial process. Additionally, those instructions are for the <em>single</em>-pump Delphi version 1 assembly, which is the <em>more</em> reliable of the two; the <em>less</em> reliable double-pump Cooligy version 2 assemblies are even harder to work on.
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Unfortunately our current employment situation requires I downsize, so I've been starting on consolidating or finding homes for excess spare systems. I had several spare Quad G5 systems in storage in various states, all version 2 Cooligy LCSes, but the only LCS assemblies I have in stock (and the LCS in my original Quad G5) are version 1. These LCSes were bought Apple Certified Refurbished, so they were known to be in good condition and ready to go; as the spare Quads were all on their original marginal LCSes and processors, I figured I would simply "upgrade" the best-condition v2 G5 with a v1 assembly. The G5 service manual doesn't say anything about this, though it has nothing in it indicating that they <em>aren't</em> interchangeable, or that they need different logic boards or ROMs, and now having done it I can attest that it "just works." So here's a few things to watch out for.
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Both the v1 and the v2 assemblies have multiple sets of screws: four "captive" (not really) float plate screws, six processor mount screws, four terminal assembly screws (all of which require a 3mm flathead hex driver), and four captive ballheads (4mm ballhead hex). Here's the v1, again:
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And here's the v2. Compare and contrast.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TZaoWPR_Mh4/YQTAePEycsI/AAAAAAAACVQ/F1jMiZSEjAMr0TIT_tCJgYSXi_VLFWJGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s817/Screenshot%2Bfrom%2B2021-07-30%2B20-13-44.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="577" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TZaoWPR_Mh4/YQTAePEycsI/AAAAAAAACVQ/F1jMiZSEjAMr0TIT_tCJgYSXi_VLFWJGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screenshot%2Bfrom%2B2021-07-30%2B20-13-44.png"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-laud1HTTvfk/YQTAeDKWwCI/AAAAAAAACVM/rZCF3BGArzkHRG_cBMXD6rgfypEs0WmiACLcBGAsYHQ/s807/Screenshot%2Bfrom%2B2021-07-30%2B20-14-20.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="574" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-laud1HTTvfk/YQTAeDKWwCI/AAAAAAAACVM/rZCF3BGArzkHRG_cBMXD6rgfypEs0WmiACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screenshot%2Bfrom%2B2021-07-30%2B20-14-20.png"/></a></div>
The float plate screws differ between the two versions, and despite the manual calling them "captive" can be inadvertently removed. If your replacement v1 doesn't have float plate screws in it, as mine didn't, the system will not boot unless they are installed (along with the terminal assembly screws, which are integral portions of the CPU power connections). I had to steal them from a dead G5 core module that I fortunately happen to have kept.
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Once installed, the grey inlet frame used in the v2 doesn't grip the v1:
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7BsIluDdmCo/YQTNplyS4tI/AAAAAAAACVc/Y54v9gom-Ec6o_NBH368NnimdNIO7KlqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/PXL_20210724_224957602.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7BsIluDdmCo/YQTNplyS4tI/AAAAAAAACVc/Y54v9gom-Ec6o_NBH368NnimdNIO7KlqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/PXL_20210724_224957602.jpg"/></a></div>
The frame is not a necessary part. You can leave it out as the front fan module and clear deflector are sufficient to direct airflow. However, if you have a spare v1 inlet frame, you can install that; the mounting is the same.
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The fan and pump connector cable is also the same between v1 and v2, though you may need to move the cable around a bit to get the halves to connect if it was in a wacky location.
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Now run thermal calibration, and enjoy your renewed Apple PowerPC tank.ClassicHasClasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331846076856918359noreply@blogger.com21