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Title: An Interactive-Speed Linux Computer Made of Only 3 8-Pin Chips

Link: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/25/04/04/232...

Software engineer and longtime Slashdot reader, Dmitry Grinberg (dmitrygr),
shares a recent project they've been working on: "an interactive-speed Linux
on a tiny board you can easily build with only 3 8-pin chips": There was a
time when one could order a kit and assemble a computer at home. It would do
just about what a contemporary store-bought computer could do. That time is
long gone. Modern computers are made of hundreds of huge complex chips with
no public datasheets and many hundreds of watts of power supplied to them
over complex power delivery topologies. It does not help that modern
operating systems require gigabytes of RAM, terabytes of storage, and always-
on internet connectivity to properly spy on you. But what if one tried to fit
a modern computer into a kit that could be easily assembled at home? What if
the kit only had three chips, each with only 8 pins? Can it be done? Yes. The
system runs a custom MIPS emulator written in ARMv6 assembly and includes a
custom bootloader that supports firmware updates via FAT16-formatted SD
cards. Clever pin-sharing hacks allow all components (RAM, SD, serial I/O) to
work despite the 6 usable I/O pins. Overclocked to up to 150MHz, the board
boots into a full Linux shell in about a minute and performs at ~1.65MHz MIPS-
equivalent speed. It's not fast, writes Dmitry, but it's fully functional --
you can edit files, compile code, and even install Debian packages. A kit may
be made available if a partner is found.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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