Linux on the DS

A

Alowishus

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 21, 2004
Messages
268
dont know if this has been posted yet, but see for yourselves:

http://www.dslinux.org/

Its pretty crude right now (just the shell) but I guess getting the ds to start up with linux is a huge step in the right direction.
 
what's the point of running linux???

also, how do you install it, and how would you get rid of it in the case something goes wrong..
 
You get to play text games!

Actually, The Gameboy hardware is pretty neat. It is small, low power consumption, Decent I/O, expandability through the cartridge slot, and some pretty powerful processors(Arm 7 and Arm 9), 4 meg of RAM, WiFi. The GBA isn't as powerful as the DS, but it is still a pretty neat device. A custom OS will let the end user modify it to do more then play games.

I've been looking into this recently now that I have a spare GBA.
 
RancidWAnnaRIot said:
what's the point of running linux???

also, how do you install it, and how would you get rid of it in the case something goes wrong..
Click to expand...

You could play homebrew games on it. Plus, if they get far enough into the drivers for the hardware they could in theory make a full-fledged PDA.
 
MemoryInAGarden said:
How much real use outside of gaming could a GBA have?
Click to expand...
Next to nothing. It's just something someone is doing as a hobby. Everyone else hypes it up for how many things it can be used for, although nobody ever will use it for those things because it would be inefficient and annoying.
 
The DS can most certainly be used as a PDA with a web browser. And by web browser, I don't mean something crippled like in Wipeout PSP, I mean some real web browsing.
 
steviep said:
The DS can most certainly be used as a PDA with a web browser. And by web browser, I don't mean something crippled like in Wipeout PSP, I mean some real web browsing.
Click to expand...
This is what would make me buy one, I hope they work it out.
 
steviep said:
The DS can most certainly be used as a PDA with a web browser. And by web browser, I don't mean something crippled like in Wipeout PSP, I mean some real web browsing.
Click to expand...
You think using a DS would constitute "real" web browsing? Clearly, you've never seen a DS in real life.
 
By "real web browsing" I don't mean you'd have as much functionality as a home computer. Duhh.

I meant that you could actually use it to navigate the internet. For instance, you're out and about, and you want to see a movie time. You're at school or in a wifi hotspot zone, you can just whip out your DS and the stylus, type in the web address on the bottom screen, and the top screen would load up your movie showtimes. I could see something like that working.

Certainly working much better than the PSP could do it.
 
steviep said:
By "real web browsing" I don't mean you'd have as much functionality as a home computer. Duhh.

I meant that you could actually use it to navigate the internet. For instance, you're out and about, and you want to see a movie time. You're at school or in a wifi hotspot zone, you can just whip out your DS and the stylus, type in the web address on the bottom screen, and the top screen would load up your movie showtimes. I could see something like that working.

Certainly working much better than the PSP could do it.
Click to expand...
It would work about the same. The PSP would be superior in terms of display and the DS would be superior in terms of input.
 
Yeah, 4.3 inches of screen is slightly bigger than 3. But more than 1/3 of the screen would have to be some kind of keyboard picture, rendering the advantage useless. 2 x 3 inches works better than 1 x 4.3. Now if the PSP had a stylus.... lol.
 
steviep said:
Yeah, 4.3 inches of screen is slightly bigger than 3. But more than 1/3 of the screen would have to be some kind of keyboard picture, rendering the advantage useless. 2 x 3 inches works better than 1 x 4.3. Now if the PSP had a stylus.... lol.
Click to expand...

The screen could always be rotated to span across both the top and bottom display, and if you have used a PocketPC the keyboard can be removed from view at any time. It may not be practical but I can browse the forums on my PocketPC pretty easily, of course a lot of scrolling is involved but if you have a high resolution screen you can shrink the font size down pretty small-- plus there is a wow effect when browsing the web on such a small device.
 
Remember the official motto of Gentoo Linux.... "If it moves, compile it."


I think it is pretty badass personally... just shows the power and flexibility of Linux, if nothing else. :D
 
RancidWAnnaRIot said:
what's the point of running linux???

also, how do you install it, and how would you get rid of it in the case something goes wrong..
Click to expand...

Im pretty sure the installation involves using a flash cart not installing over firmware like you would do with Ipod linux.

PS. The point of running linux? This is just a given; It will add alot of functionality to the DS with nothing to lose (once the project moves along more).
 
Putting linux on everything is kinda stupid imo.
Anybody see ipod linux? It doesnt even have sound support :eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top