World's First Linux Computer In A CF Card

An anonymous reader writes "LinuxDevices reports on the world's first Linux computer to fit inside a CompactFlash card. The 'Compact Flash Computer' (CFC) can be mixed and matched with third-party CF cards to instantly create minuscule Linux systems based entirely on CF cards. A wide variety of third-party CF peripheral cards can be used with the CFC, including RS232/485, Ethernet, Bluetooth, USB, 802.11, GSM, GPRS, GPS, and more. A combination power supply / bus expander module on a separate CF card, as well as a tiny 8-slot CF card backplane, are available as options." An anonymous reader adds "The card is based on a Freescale MPC5272 system-on-chip processor and contains 32MB of SDRAM and 8MB of Flash memory, and it comes with a uClinux based operating system and GNU development/debug tools."

Comments

Freescale

[LordMyren]

Motorola spunoff (all|a large section) of their IC department and thus was born Freescale. They've been making CPU's for apple for decades.

IIRC, PowerPC was engineered to be backwards compatible with 68k. To preserve apple's software. The main dis-advantage of this is that you'd have to support the umpteen billion addressing modes.

There is a RISC'ified alternate side though: The ColdFire processors. They've been a uClinux target for a while.

However, whats truly notable is that the new MFC54xx series has a mmu. No need for uClinux, it runs real linux. Quite well i'd imaging: 133mhz DDR ram, 433 mhz, pci-interface, dual ethernet (100 mbit), usb and onboard crypto accelerator. All with a low advertised power consumption.

Still awaiting the Base Support Package. C'mon Metroworks.

Myren