Slashdot Mirror
Photos and Commentary On AMD's PIC
vincecate writes "I just purchased a brand new
AMD PIC
which has been on Slashdot
and
LinuxDevices.
I have opened it up and put
some pictures and comments on the web.
Some interesting things are that the system uses only 8 watts,
the Windows CE does not want you installing any software,
you can not get to the BIOS settings,
and I was not able to boot Linux." (He was able, though, to boot Linux from an IDE device on a mini-ITX system also based on the Geode processor.)
seeing as it has limited hardware or software support under Windows CE if they must have a Windows-like OS then we could get ReactOS running on it.
Free Unix? Free Windows. http://www.reactos.com
This article on LinuxDevices discusses the possibility of installing Linux on the PIC.
My bicyles
Like where to buy one?
I would certianly like to get one to tinker with and make do things that are against the wishes of the manufacturer.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
The problem booting from the CF card is probablly just a partition type or signature thing. It would be interesting to hook the hard drive from the PIC up to a working Linux box (as hdb or hdc) and poke around to see how it is partitioned. Maybe a block copy from the hard drive to the CF would create a booting CF based system. Granted it still would be running WinCE, but it would be a start.....
. there used to be a sig here.....
This sounds like a horrible lock-in to Windows CE ie: "We only want you to run what we want you to run"
However, in the same document:
So it now looks more like; "You can run another O/S but only if all the software is registered with us first"
The first line of attack with getting Linux running on an AMD PIC would appear to be by simply contacting General Software and asking if they are willing to provide some advice (Its worth a try).
Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
Did anyone else think 'programmable interrupt controller'? It's too early...
Look at the target market kids; some village in inner Mongolia or northeastern India saves up to buy a computer with the help of a government grant. The first thing that happens is someone accidentally screws up the BIOS settings or downloads and installs some flakey software. Wanna guess how easy it is to get a tech out to fix it? Be serious and stop your whining about WinCE and no BIOS access. It obviously isn't for you. The thing's capabilitis in terms of software/firmware were very carefully considered in light of its target demographic.
I remember several years ago I was boasting about running some of my servers from Flash IDE drives, and I immediately was blasted with comments like: "yes, but you can only write to the Flash disk so many times before it fails". Any comments on that? Was that ever the case, and if so, is it still the case?
MORTAR COMBAT!
I'm planning my Senior design for next year, and it looks like its gonna involve a computer in a car (I know, original, eh?). The problem was going to be selecting the parts that'd be cheap enough and portable enough.
This would be IDEAL; basically a hopped-up PDA with a regular full screen interface available. BUT: I don't want to run CE!! I know the poster hasn't been able to, but if anyone knows of a hack that has managed to put Linux on this beastie, please post!!
"It might as well not even have a keyboard or monitor port. Yeesh."
Didja read the bit about who the target audience is and what it does do?
"Derp de derp."
If there really is a well designed "OS Handshake" to boot, try to work around it. Can you let WinCE complete the handshake, then use something like 'bootlin' to bootstrap linux? I think there was an evolution of bootlin into the windows days but can't recall it's name.
I saw a Lithium CR232 battery in one of the photos. By making it hard to remove and voiding the warranty by opening it up, this thing is not meant to last for more than a couple of years for the regular Joe.
www.rexguo.com - Technologist + Designer
About Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com.
###
Note: The Microchip name and logo, PIC and MPLAB are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries. PICDEM is a registered trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries. I2C is a trademark of Philips Corporation. SPI is a trademark of Motorola. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies
LinuxBIOS supports the AMD Geodes. You'd have to do a little hardware hacking (flash in a socket, to allow recovery from a bad LinuxBIOS image) to get the first working image of LinuxBIOS working. After that it's just re-flash and you're up and running with LinuxBIOS!
www.linuxbios.com
Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur
Sure you didn't confuse this with the crippled XP Microsoft is selling in Asia?
SoftMaker Office for Windows|Linux|Android
See English or Portuguese article about the SoftMaker apps on AMD's PIC.
SoftMaker Office for Windows|Linux|Android
It's for poor people who can't afford to get online. People who make $1,000-$6,000 PER YEAR. They are people who don't care about linux, who don't want to install p2p, who don't want 17 different media players for their downloaded simpsons.
This PC is not for you, so the fact you don't like it means absolutely zero.
You moaning about it is like if you went to a soup kitchen, moved some starving people out of the way, tried the soup and proclaimed very loudly "This soup tastes like shit! I'm off to a fancy restaurant for a steak!". You don't see the point, as you can afford something better. Not everyone can. Count yourself lucky, don't put down their only option.
It's funny when someone says they tried to install linux and it didn't work, they get chastised for trying. If he never mentioned Linux at all, there would be at least 5 users asking "Yes, but does it run Linux?" ;)
What about a poor geek in such a country? I find this attitude of "It's an almost charity thing and you should be grateful for what we choose to give you." to be very condencending.
It will be perfectly natural for a few recipients of these things to gain skills and to try to find a way to get them to do other things. There is VERY little reason for these to be locked down to the extent that they are.
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 14:06:53 -0600
...
From: "Hale, Brad"
To: Trent Jarvi
Subject: RE: PIC Linux
Trent, thanks for your interest in AMD's PIC. We have not entered an
exclusive agreement with Microsoft and are currently working with a number of
Linux developers for future support. Please check back on AMD's web site for
future announcements regarding Linux support.
Regards,
Brad Hale
Business Development
Value Platforms
Advanced Micro Devices
(XXX) XXXX-XXXX
-----Original Message-----
What about a poor geek in such a country?
This brings up a couple interesting points, none of which are really worth pursuing. But I'm surprised (or maybe not surprised) to see that most Slashdotters posting about this and what it can and can't do have remarkable tunnel-vision.
This isn't meant to be a "geek" machine. This isn't for a "poor geek" (who, I'm sure, if he or she was worth his or her geekiness, would find other, better machines to receive geek training from). It's a *tool* -- much in the same way that a hammer or a pair of pliers are tools.
In fact, you sound like a bunch of carpenters complaining that no one is gonna use a $4 hammer from Home Depot when what they really need is a $49.95 double-balanced claw hammer with an oxide tip to "properly sink nails."
Yeah, that's nice, but when I need a hammer -- I need a hammer. I could care less about the size of the claw or the oxide tip.
I realize most folks here are in college and high school and aren't yet capable (this is gonna sound condescending, but it's true) doing what my old comp sci professor called "taking a step back and shutting the fuck up for a second."
(This is the same guy who urged us all to read Shakespeare in order to understand that what's really at the core of computer science is humanity -- not silicon. At the time we laughed. Now, twenty years later, I've come to understand he's exactly right.)
Anyway. I digress. And I condescend. But, really. the windows/linux stuff is necessary sometimes, funny other times, but in this case, it completely misses the point. What no one is mentioning is the cultural *reason* for such a low-cost box -- and how (and why) the internet has become (oddly?) indispensible -- even for those "poor folks" in the sticks.
That's pretty amazing, actually. And it seems to be the most significant part of this story.