New Linux User

Explanation: Will Linux Run On That?

by Jon on December 14th, 2005

In an early episode of the GNU/Linux User Show, Kelly asked me on air if she could run GNU/Linux on her Mac. Without thinking I said ‘No, you need an intel processor’. Well, holy moly - the emails sure flew that week. Close to 100 listeners emailed me to tell me what a dork I was and to point out just how many platforms Linux will run on (I’m using ‘Linux’ here because in some cases we’re only talking about the Linux kernel with specialized operating system components).

For starters, here’s a quick view of platforms that enterprising Linux enthusiasts have put Linux on:

• PC-based :
  Intel/AMD/Cyrix 386SX/DX/SL/DXL/SLC;
  Intel/AMD/Cyrix486SX/DX/SL/SX2/DX2/DX4;
  AMD K5, K6, K6-2, K6-3 and K7/Athlon;
  Cyrix 6×86, 6×86MX;
  Intel Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium II (including the Celeron series) Pentium III and Pentium IV;
  IDT WinChip C6;
  Symmetrical Multiprocessing (multiple CPUs)
• Non PC-based:
  Digital Alpha;
  Sun SPARC;
  Macintosh
• Platforms Nobody’s Ever Heard Of: Click the link. I can’t even begin to name them
• Microsoft Virtual PC
• Sony PSP: Scroll down a bit.
• Embedded Devices: This is likely the most surprising category of Linux devices. Internet tablets, motherboards, PDAs, Portable Media Players, Interac Terminals, GPS…you name it, Linux is in there.
• iPaq!

When I stop to think about it, Linux in embedded devices (or any device that is going to be built from the ground up) is really a no-brainer. Why give away part of your profit to licensing fees? Start with the GPL’d kernel and go nuts.

So now when people ask me ‘Will Linux run on this?”, my answer is “Probably, let me go check.”

Anyone else have any experience with ‘oddball’ Linux appearances?

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