Hi all... Timing is a bit off, but this isn't an April Fool joke... :)
I have been working on a business venture in embedded computing. It involves computing for environmental controls. For this I have specified a hardware reference platform with minimal requirements that are quite high. I am now sitting on standard ARM 7500 complete system boards with the following spec: 64MHz EP7500FE ARM system on chip (200/400 MHz options) 2x 72 pin SIMM for FPM or EDO memory, up to 256MB. Three ROM sockets, 2MB flash, supports 6MB max. Parallel port, serial ports, floppy Dual channel IDE ATA/33 Integrated video: 800 x 600 @16.7M 1024 x 768 @32K 1600 x 1200 @256 Any user-customizable resolution/frame rate selectable. Integrated 10BaseT Ethernet Integrated ESS audio. 16 bit ISA slot Real time clock I2C bus I am now at the point of needing to obtain or create a basic OS and filesystem for my product. I have no real need to create anything, as Linux or BSD are available... but... I have previously said I'm in favor of a project to port the "look and feel" of SMSQ to the ARM architecture. Well, it's time to work out how to move forward, or drop the idea. Few people expressed interest so there may simply be no demand for it... However, I am happy to open and manage, or let others open and manage a full open source project to create a QDOS/SMSQ-like OS on the ARM platform. The hardware is cheap, fast and available right now. It has a future. If anyone is interested in a major project like creating a whole new OS based on the best of SMSQ's ideas, fixing all of the weaknesses etc, they should let me know. So you know what I picture: * compact, extensible, modular OS (like RISC OS) * built in resources for screen/window handling * built in filing system common to all media * device independence philosophy * incorporate fixed drivers for hardware * modular expansion system * support for languages, notably including a very SBASIC-like one. * Easily accessible, logical OS calls. Users could add or omit any modules they like. 3rd party modules could be GPL or closed source. Any project, if it happens, would be entirely open source. GPL. Free. I've put some thought into if this would divide or split the community. It worries me a little, but it's a matter of perspective. If everything before is QL1, this is QL2, a new thing. It could be from-scratch, or it could be based on Linux code, cut down, chopped up, rewritten to the point where it becomes something else... However, nothing in this would detract from existing QL software/hardware, and it would open up a lot of opportunities for us as a community... Is there any demand/need for this? Pretty much you have to speak up now either way, or the project won't start... Dave _______________________________________________ QL-Users Mailing List
