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Kernel, Shell Boots on DS Linux

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the pokemon-and-penguins dept.

mrseigen writes "According to dslinux.org, the Linux kernel successfully boots on the Nintendo DS along with a simple shell, sash. Input is done via the d-pad. How long until Netstumbler?" While maybe not the most practical platform, it's impressive on its technical merit.

16 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. Well by elid · · Score: 5, Interesting

    How long until they can get it working with the touch screen as a text input device in Linux? That would be really amazing.

    1. Re:Well by Janitha · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The familiar linux project mainly aims at the arm processors, but they are slowly but steadily perfective the art of linux on the handtop, and I specially like the few on-screen keyboards, and the handwrite recognition apps they had included. A port of the familar distro (http://familiar.handhelds.org/) would be very nice to see on the DS.

    2. Re:Well by Noodlord · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Familiar is mostly a kernel, so it would be more likely to see the GPE or Opie environments recompiled for the DS Linux kernel.

  2. Thats cool by macaulay805 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I covered this on my blog earlier today! As I was saying on my blog, it'd be a good thing if the DS could be a low cost replacement for a voip phone or PDA!

  3. Troubling... by Sheetrock · · Score: 5, Interesting
    It's a great technical achievement, but I'm concerned it will be turned to piracy uses eventually.

    It would be nice if console developers would release or permit to be released an official version of Linux for their platforms so that hardware and software exploits didn't need to be used.

    --

    Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
    -- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.




    1. Re:Troubling... by cgenman · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If they released an official version of Linux for their platforms, it would allow unsigned, uncontrolled code to run on their platforms. They could no longer demand licensing revenue, because people could just release their games under the linux portion of the OS, not that is a significant threat. What's more troubling would be, for example, Microsoft's security model based around not allowing anything unsigned onto their network. An Xbox with full network access running arbitrary code can now do nasty things with billing servers, the services of other people, or simply cheating in online games.

      Plus, of course, it's a lot of resources to get Linux to run on a new platform, even though someone always seems willing to do it. And hardware and software exploits are going to be released anyway... flash carts for the DS existed long before Linux ran on it.

      --
      The ______ Agenda
  4. The PSP is next by a3217055 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I bet these guys will get linux to work on the PSP next, that would be just swell. But they should make game hardware that is open and people can install what they want on it. Thus have a great game system and also a great mini computer that can do other small things such as read email or maybe mount remote file systems. Well all this is great congrats guys. A tin of Skoal for eveyone of you :)

  5. Re:That's truly stunning... by mcc · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Let me see here

    A device with
    • A touchscreen
    • An auxiliary screen
    • 802.11
    • For $150
    Find a way to boot off of a flashcart DS cart, and fuck, this sounds like a really good deal to me.
    --
    Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
  6. He needs new friends by bluGill · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wish I were this guy's friends. I'd be impressed, and encourage him to keep hacking.

    Sadly, I have the same problem I'm sure he does: lack of friends who care about things that are important to me. Great for a game of racquetball (and I need the exercise),but they know nothing about BSD for the most part. I can't get into an argument about how BSD is better than linux because they have no clue about either. I'll bet this guy could give me some reasonable arguments in return.

  7. This is Cool by linguae · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This seems cool, and it reminds me of when Amid Singh ran some ancient Unices on his GBA emulator. Pretty impressive, it can only get better. Makes me a little more interested in shelling out the $149 for a Ninetendo DS; I can see a lot of usefulness in having an ultra-portable *nix system around me at all times. I wonder if there are any small keyboards for the Nintendo DS?

    Now if only NetBSD does a port....

  8. Actually this has a lot of potential by Frangible · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The DS has two cartridge ports for potential storage, Wifi, and the bottom screen could serve as a soft keyboard. The DS has enough CPU power, but is kinda low on RAM. Still, if this was developed enough, it'd be a decent and inexpensive Linux machine with a lot of possibilities.

  9. Re:PassMe by mcc · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The passme sticks out of the case in a really ugly way, necessarily requires the use of both slots, and requires you to buy a gba flashcard. I think I'll just wait for the DS flashcarts. I want something I can take to Panera Bread.

    --
    Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
  10. Re:Not practical? by xenocide2 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Just thought I should mention that the WiFiMe does indeed require more hardware than just a DS and gba cart. You also need a wifi card that has a specific chipset. And it's not the popular atheros one. There's little hope of that particular project ever supporting another card, as the wifime replaces the driver with a different one to communicate with the DS.

    --
    I Browse at +4 Flamebait

    Open Source Sysadmin

  11. Re:any chance by Time+Doctor · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I meant that if you put a GBA cart into the DS to play versus another player on a DS or GBA, you can't. While, yes, Nintendo has a track record of porting popular properties to every platform they make, some people might like to play Advance Wars 1 or 2, instead of the future DS version.

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    Check out ioquake3.org for a great, free, First-Person Shooter engine!
  12. Hey! by 3.5+stripes · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's not completely obsolete!

    Plus, mario64 DS fucking rules.

    --


    He tried to kill me with a forklift!
  13. Re:What I'd like to see by Pepsiman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is a VNC client or X11 client for the machine. This way, I could be somewhere else in my house, and check my emails from my DS, instead of going to my computer. Or I could check something on the web from the couch in living room.

    Somebody needs to work out how to program the registers for the wifi in the ds first.

    VNC and X11 should both be possible.

    Or modify the kernel so that an attempt to read any file actually streams it from the network to your DS for execution or editing.

    That's called "nfs", there's no reason why this wouldn't work.