Subject: Re: Getting X on Linux/SGI

From: [email-masked] (Larry McVoy)
Date: Sun, 22 Jun 1997 10:50:07 -0700

: 	If the demand for Linux on MIPS chips is comming from the "embedded"
: 	systems then things sure have changed since the early days of
: 	MIPS Computer Systems. 

I think it is safe to confirm that yes, indeeedy, the market has changed.

: 	If fact the original VP of embedded system marketing at MIPS was
: 	Chet Silvestri, now VP of SPARC embedded systems at SUN. 

I know Chet, and Chet was real interested in getting some free OS on 
embedded SPARC when I was at Sun.

: 	Hence I would like to here more about larry's definition of
: 	"embedded systems" because they sure don't sound like any
: 	that our semiconductor partners sell to.

I think almost 100% of what I would call embedded Linux on MIPS is for
game platforms.  What they really want is a full on Unix environment
that they can use for development/debugging.  When they get done,
they want to rip out Linux/Unix and run an app on the bare hardware.
They may eventually want to leave a stripped down Linux in there but I
don't see why today.

What they really want is a reasonable development environment and they are
smart enough to realize they get there fastest with Linux.

---

From: "Christopher W. Carlson" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 1997 12:43:38 -0700

On Jun 22, 10:50am, Larry McVoy wrote:
>-- End of excerpt from Larry McVoy

I would think that the reason they might want to have Linux running on
some embedded system is the same as the reason Microsoft wants to run
Windows on your microwave oven/television/VCR/etc...

I'm sure it isn't "Windows", it's just the core drivers and stuff.  I
think the ultimate goal of Microsoft is to allow people to have
everything electrical in their house networked together.  Then they
could turn on the microwave by logging into their home computer and
telling it to turn on the microwave (of course that's just a
pedagogical example).

FYI, according to an article I read in New Yorker, Microsoft's goal is
to get money every time one of their products is used.  Thus, with the
above scenerio, they could get a penny because you logged into your
home computer and another penny because you enabled your microwave.

I'd prefer to have Linux as the embedded system.  Then my microwave
can run some program using X windows and display it on my home
computer's X server and Microsoft doesn't get anything!  :-)

-- 

		Chris Carlson

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