From: dnewcomb@cybernet.cse.fau.edu (Dan Newcombe) Subject: Re: Can you port Linux to my Refrigerator? Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1993 18:37:58 GMT
Steve.Yelvington@launchpad.unc.edu (Steve Yelvington) writes:
> In article <QUINLAN.93Sep8132001@rose.cs.bucknell.edu> quinlan@spectrum.cs.bu
> >This "port Linux to everything thing phenomenon" is rather silly. Why
> >on Earth would you want to port it to anything nobody uses anymore? I
> >don't want to know how slow any Unix would run on my Commodore 128
> >(yes I still have a working one). I know that we aren't all made of
> >gold, but 386's are dirt cheap these days.
You have to remember how Linux started - as an experiment into playing with
the TSS properties of the 386. And from there it kinda expanded (a tiny bit
:)
Personally, I think it'd be great to have linux on different computers,
especially cheap ones - that way I can run a connection right to the toilet
and have my ZX81 hooked up to a sony Watchman, and whistle while I ....
But the main problem is what would have to be ported:
The kernel - a lot of which is 386 specific.
The Drivers - see above
The Utils - not as bad, just a recompile once you port
GCC - ugh. Even though it is out for different
architectures, you'd still have to do a linux port.
X386 - Hmmm....I see a problem in the name itself.
XZ80 anyone?
Once you get done with all these, or even just the Kernel and GCC, it's
not really Linux anymore :(
-Dan