I started out with Linksys NSLU2 (even ran my site off one for a lark), then moved to ODROID, Raspberry Pis, etc. These days I've got a few Rockchip variants around, and it's pretty amazing to consider how things evolved over the years (even without mainstream Linux support for some of the chips I've used).
My SBC Collection
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Re: My SBC Collection
#12No one remembers the GuruPlug, or better yet - the GuruPlug Server Plus, When RPi 1 just came out this little gadget ran x86 Linux (!) and had hdmi out that could handle 1080p video, a feat that only RPi 4 can repeat.
I think you may have mixed up some memories. GuruPlug family is ARM-based.
Right, it was ARMv5 too which meant toolchain support was somewhat lacking and it didn't support non-aligned memory access which meant some programs that were written with x86 assumptions tended to segfault randomly.
Re: My SBC Collection
#13Fun post. I have also accumulated a huge collection of SoCs, SBCs and OTS/Custom/Production PCBs that came about from Client projects over the last 16 years. I love this space, if a project comes up, I usually support it.
Re: My SBC Collection
#14No one remembers the GuruPlug, or better yet - the GuruPlug Server Plus, When RPi 1 just came out this little gadget ran x86 Linux (!) and had hdmi out that could handle 1080p video, a feat that only RPi 4 can repeat.
I think you may have mixed up some memories. GuruPlug family is ARM-based.
I wonder which one is the one GP had in mind, DM&P Vortex86-based ones or VIA thin clients?
Re: My SBC Collection
#15No one remembers the GuruPlug, or better yet - the GuruPlug Server Plus, When RPi 1 just came out this little gadget ran x86 Linux (!) and had hdmi out that could handle 1080p video, a feat that only RPi 4 can repeat.
I have a collection quite similar (in size and content) to the author, but I must have started a bit earlier as I have a bit more of the first RPIs and also a Dream plug (which is another successor to the sheeva plug, like the guru plug)
Re: My SBC Collection
#16The number of affordable still very powerful SBCs has grown to the point we probably need something like the rosettacode (.org) site, but aimed at comparing ways of obtaining the same tasks in a few chosen languages but on different hardware, for example how to flip a gpio, how to send a pwm signal to a mosfet, how to read this or that sensor, how to draw on graphics LCDs, communicate with RF modules, etc. followed then by a list of boards and method to accomplish the task on all of them using similarly named functions and variables when possible to make comparison easier. In some cases the code will likely be identical, while some lower level or optimized stuff will need to be more specific for a given hardware. A site like that could quickly become a place to go when looking for ideas and/or compare different SBCs. Opinions?
Re: My SBC Collection
#17I also have a bunch of SBCs lying around waiting to be used, and also an ODROID HC2 which has been in use for years. I only dislike that it's not powerful enough for encryption--LUKS + samba could not read/write at disk speeds and was unreliable in my testing.
Really wish there would be an upgrade to the HC2 with about three to four times the performance.
Re: My SBC Collection
#18I started out with Linksys NSLU2 (even ran my site off one for a lark), then moved to ODROID, Raspberry Pis, etc. These days I've got a few Rockchip variants around, and it's pretty amazing to consider how things evolved over the years (even without mainstream Linux support for some of the chips I've used).
The NSLU2 was pretty slow as a NAS, but the community that grew around it turned it into a really interesting platform for hacking, and I just love that Linksys back them didn't try to prevent hackers from repurposing it with alternate OSes etc.
Here's an archived copy of the then hacking page devoted to the NSLU2.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160320041744/http://www.nslu2-...
Re: My SBC Collection
#19Can anyone recommend an SBC with >=16 GB of RAM that has been confirmed to run stably with the mainline kernel?
Edit: to be clear, I specifically need ARM CPUs. Headless is OK (although a basic console over HDMI would be nice). To answer myself, an Orange Pi 5 might fit the bill but I'm not sure how stable it runs at 100% continuous load (on a mainline kernel).
Re: My SBC Collection
#20My favourite will always be the C.H.I.P. by Next Thing Co[1]. I still have one. They were priced towards 9 dollars, had on-board bluetooth and wifi when the Pi didn't and was significantly smaller. Sadly the company couldn't make it work. They also had a "Pocket C.H.I.P." which was a small display and keyboard you could plug your C.H.I.P. in. Some company did buy their work and is planning to sell the boards and some…
Those were great. I turned one of mine into a 4G enabled garage opener some years ago, battery backup and everything.
Was a real pain to find an archive of the flashing utility and images.