On Thu, Nov 14, 2002 at 06:49:31AM -0700, Will Leingang wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> Thanks for finding this... Unfortunatly as you said, it hasn't been updated
> in years. Considering this, I decided a few months ago to start some
> discussion and see what the interest might be in actually persuing a Newt
> linux port. There were mixed comments, but all in all, there was enough
> support that I decided it would be "worth a shot" at getting linux ported to
> the Newt.
>
I would definitely be interested in seeing Linux on the Newton. I'm a Linux sysadmin and there is console functionality I could make use of; the biggest thing missing in NewtOS (for me) is an SSH client. Being able to boot up a Linux console with networking support would resolve this nicely. Having a dual boot Newton with say, a 32M ATA card with Linux on it would be a dream.
> I've spent the last couple of months mapping the architecture of NewtOS in
> an effort to build a suitable kernel for it. The hardest part of this whole
> project has been getting a reliable bootloader working with the Newt
> Hardware, it's unpredictable at best. Yet it is key to starting any actual
> realtime development.
>
I was under the impression that one of the biggest obstacles to porting Linux to the Newt was lack of documentation for the various chipsets Cirrus manufactured for use in the 2x00s. I'm assuming you're working this out by trial and error?
Just out of curiousity; are you booting directly into Linux when the Newt powers on or are you working on something similar to BootX or loadlin and starting Linux from NewtOS?
I had thought about asking about Linux on the Newton myself, but a search on Google produced only the sourceforge site and many emails about how impossible the project was, so I decided to leave it alone. Now that I know someone is working on this; I don't know if I can be of much assistance, but I can manage the occasional perl script and I can recompile a kernel in my sleep. I would definitely be interested in helping if I can, and would love to hear more about the project as it progresses.
-- Michael C. Graham IT/IS System Administrator Rackspace Managed Hosting Main: (210) 892-4000 112 East Pecan, Suite 600 Toll Free: (800) 961-4454 San Antonio, TX 78205 Fax: (210) 892-4329 Email: mgraham_at_rackspace.com <http://www.Rackspace.com>-- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries List FAQ/Etiquette/Terms: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Mon Dec 02 2002 - 22:02:50 EST