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Linux Distro for ABIT Hardware
roidrage writes, "It had to happen sooner or later: Linux distributions tailored for specific pieces of hardware. ABIT has announced "Gentus Linux". It's a distribution preconfigured to support Ultra DMA/66 on ABIT mobos. Now if only Creative would come out with SBLive Linux. " I'm going to be introducing a number of new distros: Pre-Coffee Distro as well as Drunken-Sysadmining Distro. Seriously, though, this is an interesting step. Are more and more folks going to issue distributions like this? What do you think?
All these distros make FreeBSD look more and more appealing to me. It's certainly not a bad thing to have more choices, but it may seriously hurt the ability of admins and helpdesk people out there to effectively support linux.
A friend of mine pointed this out this morning. It's RedHat 6.x with s/RedHat/Gentus/g and Andre Hedricks(sp?)s IDE patches applied to a 2.2.x kernel. I'm not sure about the kernel part, but those patches do add support for the UDMA/66 chipset found in the BP6. As for the 1st statement check out:
http://www.gentus.com/qig-images/image002.jpg
and
http://www.gentus.com/qig-images/image030.jpg
I think there can be too much of a good thing, in this case distos. When things get too threaded there could be possible. It should be a top priority for these companies, in this case ABIT, to make sure that their support can easily be incorperated into other distrobutions.
The reason is simple. Essentially you create a piece of hardware that runs with a particular OS and then you don't release hardware for anything but that OS.
I don't think that hardware like this will be suported anytime soon.
I would rather have automatic detection of various hardware and then install the various conf files based upon that information. Having a seperate distro will just end up locking you into that hardware even if it's not the cheapest.
Slashdot social engineering at it's finest
sheesh! this is madness. its enough to make me run to freebsd - with only onedistro. I can only assume things are more sane there. limited - to some degree - but saner, for sure.
fragmenting the linux base can only have detrimental effects in the long run. if the linux distro market becomes so splintered, the anti-linux crowd will see this as a sign of disorder (disorganization) and we'll lose more credibility than we already have.
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"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
I'm glad they put some work on Linux, but I just don't get why they have to provide a whole distro. I'll stick to my French speaking Mandrake, thank you. Now, if they could just provide drivers for their funky controllers (what about the IRDa subsystem on my BE6? there is no doc on this).
Have they added anything new? Or is it just RedHat with some patches applied? They mention this:
PerMon(TM) is a graphic PERformance and MONitoring Tuner Utility that allows users to monitor driver performance tuning.
-Benchmark IDE performance interactively
-Change driver parameters to fine tune IDE drive performance interactively or automatically
-Extended to RAID performance benchmark and tuning
-Monitor CPU temperature and fan monitor (from BP6mon
Is this new?
What am I supposed to do? Boot into my ABIT distribution when I want UDMA, boot into my Creative Labs distro when I want my sound to work, boot into my ATI distro for graphics?
Why have a distribution when 99% of the stuff hasn't been modified?
By creating their own distribution, this is decidedly fragmentary, and insane.
I wish that I were incredulous at this; after seeing what LinuxOne has to offer, I'm not...
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
I still think there will be one or three very large popular distributions. But that still lets there be room for the cad/uf/science/slashdot/freak distro to be made for people who are into cad/uf/science/slashdot/being freaks.
This I think will be a good thing TM as features from these will be picked up in the major distros and things will keep getting better.
So when is the slashdot distro coming out? and whatcha gonna call it? SlashHat? DebbieDot? AC Linux?
Noel
RootPrompt.org -- Nothing but Unix
kayaking
At one time, most hardware had its own OS specifically optimized for that platform.   I see this as no different.   Linux, as they say, is "just a kernel", one that can be tweeked, streamlined, and made to be optimized for your hardware.   The fact that Linux is actually "GNU/Linux" tells you something - that it was made to be freely available for such tweeking.
When I walk into the cereal aisle in a supermarket in the U.S., I am presented with an obscene choice of brands to choose from.   I don't know about you, but I don't complain about having the ability to pick and choose which to buy.   However, note that not every cereal originally put on the market is still around.   Quality control, marketing, popularity, etc., influenced what sits on the shelf today.   Likewise, we're about to possibly have an explosion by GNU/Linux of the same caliber.   A good rule of thumb is "Caveat Emptor"...   "Let the buyer beware".
I guarantee that time will tell and the wheat will be separated from the chaff.
-- Win2k: "It's not so much that it's only 65,000 bugs, it's just that they stopped at 65,535 to prevent an overflow."
As many people have pointed out, this is "bad" fragmentation. It's another distro with hardly any value-add, aimed at a tiny section of the market.
But the good thing is that they didn't start from scratch. They started with the most famous (if not the biggest) distro and made some minor changes. If you can handle RedHat, you can handle Gentus (probably). So long as future releases stay current with RH, there shouldn't be a problem. I don't know how likely that is to happen, though.
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E_NOSIG
Tell me about it! I spent $70 to buy a modem for linux, (there are probably cheaper modem, but that's the only one label "linux compatible" in CompUSA) and then I fount out the cheap box running SiS 6326 video card. Nothing graphical works. I'm stick with a shell and I don't even remember what shell OpenLinux defaulted it for me. Now I have to buy a used Matrox video card just to run linux. These winhardware just won't leave me alone.
/_____\. .......|
cy
vvvvvvv../|__/|
...I../O,O....|
...I./
..J|/^.^.^ \..|.._//|
...|^.^.^.^.|W|./oo.|
Tuning a distro for a specific machine is what needs to be done. Start from one of the main distributions then tune it to your hardware offering. When you ship a Linux/*BSD distro with your system, ship a tuned version for the hardware shipped. Making a new distro is way overkill. It may even be counter productive.
I don't really think this is a major issue - it appears to be a pretty standard RedHat distro, with the correct hardware setup already made; OEM copies of Windows (in particular, the HP varient that doesn't even HAVE a real install disk, just a flashable image) have been doing this for years in the Microsoft world, without people saying it is going to splinter Windows and end the Windows dream.....
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-=DaveHowe=-
One could see this as a protest against the failure to include UDMA support in other distributions. (There are very good reasons, certain drives spontaneously corrupt data under UDMA) In essence, getting UDMA to work under many distros is somewhat difficult and obscure. (you can email me for pointers,which are beyond the scope of this comment)
Thank you for not thinking.
it dosen't matter to me. I'm still going to use slack :)
no but seriously. I feel it can only help the linux community. Because in my mind the linux community is a rare beast indeed. One that thrives on fragmentation. Dont ask me why but it does. The bigger and more diverse we get. The stronger we become, so I say Bring everyone on-board the linux distro train..
OK, at first I said "What are they thinking?!?"
I thought, why don't they just make some RPMs since their ripping RedHat. That would keep it simple.
Then I read their snazzy little explanation. I have an ABIT BP6 board, and I have managed to get everything working on several distributions. The only problem is that with any normal distribution, you have no initial support for the DMA/66 controller. So, if you have a system with one drive and you want to use the faster controller, you have to install it with the drive on the DMA/33 controller, and then move it to the DMA/66 controller after installing and tweaking.
The first time I had to go through all that, it was a challenge. I had fun. Although, I'm not sure most people would agree. The second time, I didn't bother. I just bought more drives, and installed to the DMA/33 controller. I tweaked some things and put my more demanding partitions on the new drives (DMA/66).
I like to use a different distro every few months just to keep a finger on the pulse of how linux is changing. I sure wouldn't enjoy doing an install to that machine so often if I only had one drive.
This is not an issue of making sure something is supported in the kernel. It is supported with kernel patches, and can be with any distro. Too bad no distro thinks to put support in to their install. This must be a job for Gentus' (or whatever that name was).
So before you guys go off slamming this, read a little of the BP6 pseudo howto and the docs to install a distro on the DMA/66 controller. Most folks wouldn't bother, and therefore wouldn't get the full benefit of the hardware they paid for.
TheRipler
Any grammatical errors are purely intentional.
Creative has one at opensource.creative.com. Pros: cool digital matrix mixer, bass and treble controls, up to 24 programs can open /dev/dsp and play noise at once. Cons: no Soundfonts, external MIDI only.
:)
ALSA has the other one (which will probably at 2.5/2.6 become the kernel's built-in driver) at www.alsa-project.org. This one has a more traditional mixer setup with some minor bugs, but it has great-sounding Soundfont and MIDI playback that more than makes up for it's other problems IMO
That's what initrd stuff is for. Red Hat already lets you boot off devices that are only modules using initrd, I don't see how the HPT-66 stuff could be any different, unless it can't be compiled as a module...
WWJD? JWRTFM!!!
Having unique distributions for particular pieces of hardware frightens me. In my opinion, one of the great thing about Windows is that I can go to the store where there is only one copy on the shelf. I don't want to be concerned with the particular pieces of hardware that I own.
If dozens of specialized copies appear I'm afraid that the public impression of Linux will be tarnished. Which one do I need? I know I have a sound blaster... but which one? Even though this way of thinking is ridiculous since the packages will probably be built around a commercial distribution.... I think the confusion will occur (and is probably what the hardware companies are banking on to sell their custom distro's)
Instead of having specialized copies of the distributions, I believe the masses would benefit more if hardware companies (or anyone...) would create a simple way to drop in a new device driver, no strings, every time. The user would go to the hardware companies site (or floppy/CD), get the driver, click on it and reboot (if required). No thought would be required... the point is that you dont have to do ANY work, or read any README, be concerned with your kernel version..... and it would work everytime.
I'm not saying this would be easy...but for the case of a motherboard that wont boot without the correct drivers, having a way to EASILY plug in modules during the installation would be great. Whatever the solution is, I believe it must be SUPER EASY.
Yes, you can get HPT366 on the BP6. You can also get DVD on it. But forget about HPT366 and DVD in the same kernel. They just won't compile together.
Then I think about the average computer user (these days). What do they see? Well, they see RedHat linux, Corel Linux, Caldera Linux, Debian GNU/Linux, Storm Linux, Slackware Linux, Yellow Dog Linux, Stampede Linux, Abit Linux, etc etc. They were thinking about trying out Linux, until they started to look for a particular distribution to try out and got a migraine trying to figure out which one is the best. Now for people already familiar with the way Linux works, this really isn't that big of a deal. I know, and most of the Slashdot audience (I'm suspecting) knows that Linux is Linux, and all the different distributions really are nothing more than different packaging on the same product. But I think this is something that will escape the first time user. And how long before there is the backlash against all these different flavors that do nothing but confuse the vast populace who want the power but do not want to learn how to use it. What then happens when the force of clueless billions force Linux into a nicely shaped box, trumpeting that now this great package of power can be easily used by all with no fear of serious repurcussion.
I'm not about to go into whether this is a good or a bad thing. That, I fear, is nothing but fodder for the flame-mongers (but surely there aren't any flame-mongers at Slashdot ... *cough* *cough*). But I do think it is a topic that requires some serious thought by any and all Linux users. Often I muse over whether or not it would be a good thing to have everyone and their brother using Linux. On the one hand I think, yes, it would be of great benefit to all to have at their diposal an operating system and software environment that was of such a wonderful caliber and rooted in the best of ideology at the same time. And then I wonder how painful it might be to be forced to sit back and watch the maddening hordes take something that has real value and trivialize it and dismantle it and distill it into easy to swallow placated bits, forever doomed to be taken for granted with that high degree of apathy that all things taken for granted are bound to receive.
Well, I had intended this to be a comment of only a few sentences so I will climb down off my soapbox now.
RFC2119
We drunken admins resent that. No distro can replace out jobs!
And what about those poor suckers that have an top of the line sound card, and top or the line video card and top of the line UDMA controller. What are they going to give up on... which vendor's RedHat release are they to run?
If someone has their hard drive connected to an ata/66 port on their abit motherboard, they won't be able to install RedHat (or any other distro, I'd imagine) because RedHat requires a hard drive to install and doesn't recognize drives connected to the ata/66 on an abit motherboard. This is quite different from a sound card, which isn't required during installation and a driver can be installed at a later time if the distro doesn't have one.
No shit. I totally agree. What I hate about FP is that not only are ' turned into ?, but it always looks like shit on my Linux Netscape. Worst of all, the web page is a mile long but only takes up 4 inches across of my 19 inch monitor. Come on! I have all this monitor space, use it!
Linux O Muerte!
I don't know about Linux for ABIT systems....
But I've GOT to get me a copy of that Linux for drunk-sysadmins. Extra large icons in X, double font size in text mode. Special "anti-wobble" code on the mouse routines.
Of course if your system dosen't have one of those spiffy 20x beer can holders it won't do you much good.
--- Juggle juggle@hitesman.com
"New ABIT Mainboards with Gentus? Shipping 13/February/2000
ABIT will be shipping Gentus? with all motherboards, including all of the new models from ABIT.
For more info on the newest ABIT motherboards please go to:
http://www.abit.com.tw
"
Now, regardless of whether this is 'merely' a re-packaged version of Redhat or not, _think_ about this a moment!
_Every_ motherboard ABIT ships is going to have a copy of Linux along with it. And if it's repackaged RedHat, so what? RedHat is a high-quality, professional distribution, and now it's being delivered to a potentially _vast_ quantity of new users.
Gear up the newbie sites folks. If this trend continues, we're going to see Linux gaining a huge chunk of market share very soon.
Why should your mom have too? Unless she is the one buying a new sound card and installing it, which shows she has some sort of technical skill already...
Not everyone has the ability to be a Linux admin., but not everyone needs to be...
There is a space for pure users, who can call on you occationally if they have a problem..
Solaris, etc have been filling this nitch in business for ages..
Blessed are the pessimists, for they have made backups.
Ok, Abit is taking RedHat, customizing the install bootdisk and kernel, adding at least one new tool, and giving it away free over the internet and with EVERY new motherboard shipped.. That's right, every motherboard that leaves Abit's hands will come with Linux.
What are you all wining about? It's not as if they decided to throw out the conventional file layout or config format or ANYTING... It seems this is a free, officially unsuported release of Linux made to work easily on their hardware and any other hardware out there. I can't see any downside, except that people might not know they are really using a RedHat variant.
First we complain Linux isn't getting enough respect.. Then a company ships out a Linux distro with it's products, and all we can do is wine. This move by Abit is a good thing that will put Linux in the hands of more people who wouldn't otherwise have it, and make it easier to install on a particular piece of hardware.
Blessed are the pessimists, for they have made backups.
This, in and of itself, is not that bad of a thing. Splinter distros can be made to be very useful, and this a great example. It was a horrendous chore to install Linux on a UDMA-66 motherboard before now simply because no distro (AFAIK) has UDMA-66 support for the install kernel. Go to www.bp6.com and read up if you don't believe me. Abit fixed this problem, and everyone is better off because of it.
/opt. Why? Completely nonsensical. Discussing the relative merits of /usr versus /usr/local would start a jihad amongst some bored Slashdotters. There just aren't standards for where to put things like there are in Windows, and because of that Linux is always playing catch up in terms of developer support. Even something as mundane as popping up a web browser from within a program turns into the chore a.) finding which browser came bundled with this distro, then b.) finding where it's located in this distro. Windows does this all in the registry. Now the coherent thing to do here would be to create a single, unified standard for something link this - "Okay, henceforth /usr/bin/browser will be a symlink to Netscape/Opera/Lynx/whatever you want."
What I think everyone is worried about here, rather they realize it or not, is the lack of standards. Linux really has none. I quit fooling with KDE a year or two ago, so this might have changed, but it used to everything in
These kind of inter-distro compatility issues pop up all over the place. RedHats prior to 5 came with nonshadowed passwords for some reason. I could write a book on the compiling problems I solved for people who were getting things to compile on the (shadowed) Slackware machines but couldn't make it work on their RH box for this reason.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Good luck, as a developer, if you want to bring up a PPP modem link from inside your program. If the user is on Redhat, you could try "/usr/sbin/usernetctl ppp0 up" and it might work. On SuSE, it's 'wvdial' and/or YaST. It's probably different for Debian and Slackware too. If they're on KDE on any distro, they might have kPPP installed - who knows?
It's things like this, I think, that often annoy developers into giving up on porting/writing apps for Linux. There's so much more work involved in just figuring out what you're dealing with that I think they all figure it's more worth their time to write another app for Windows than port an existing one to Linux.
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I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
I assume you mean the DVD IOCTLs patch and the UDMA patch. This finally got fixed. Check out the mailing list archives at opensource.creative.com for the dxr2 project. Jens Axobe (please pardon spelling errors, it's early) finally got the two patches together. Using them currently on my bp6 and they work beautifully!
:-)
I don't know if the link ever made it to his main site. If not, drop me an e-mail and I'll give you the latest one I've got.
Now if I could only get my USB mouse to work too...
-- IANAEG - I am not an elder god.
Have you tried kernel > 2.3.30 ? And you're not getting APIC errors ??
I've been running a BP6 with 256MB RAM and dual 466 celerons with 2.2.13 in SMP mode with no APIC errors for months. To what specifically are you referring?
> And you're not getting APIC errors ??
;-)
I get those damn things constantly. I'm glad to know it's not just me.
25% Funny, 25% Insightful, 25% Informative, 25% Troll
this is true. but support is one thing; rolling your own distro JUST for a single patch is way overboard.
I'd like to see an official patchset from them and have it integrated into the kernel. you can support linux the direct way or the roundabout way (which is what they've done so far).
so I'm not knocking them, completely; just the fact that they are trying to grab too much linux PR - and doing it in the wrong way.
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"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Yeah. Just like S3 and Video cards or Rockwell and Modems.
When you make the chipsets and unknown manufacturers use your refrence designes plus your brand name to sell the damnd things you may just as well be a manufacturer.
PS : The VIAGRA had that in bold multicolord letters on the largest chip on the board ( not counting the changeble CPU ). VIA was also plaster all over the box.
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?