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My Business Card Runs Linux

thirtythreeforty.net

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Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#281

Post by [deleted] »

nl wrote: post #17
bsaul wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After reading the post, i was under the impression that the author really did some shopping for major components and assembled everything into a fun shape. Obviously i know nothing about electronic board design, so could you explain which extraordinary skill this required ? EDIT : ok, i missed the part where he actually designed the whole board, obviously..

Embedded systems engineers are (usually) paid a lot less than full stack engineers. Edit: I seem to be getting (a lot!) of downvotes on this. I thought it was quite well known, but apparently not. Full Stack Engineer salary: $93,598 [1] Embedded Software Engineer salary: $74,758[2] [1] https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Full_Stack_Engineer... [2] https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Embedded_Engineer/S...

[deleted]

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#282

Post by serf »

GordonS wrote: post #244
jbuzbee wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You were living large! My first Linux computer was a 20Mhz 80386SX with a 40MB hard drive partitioned half for Windows 3.0 and half for Linux (SLS) and swap. It had a whopping 4MB of RAM and I also compiled my own kernel making sure to trim down features as much as possible. It was magic seeing X11 come up for the first time just like the big-bucks Sun boxes!

Hah, you had it great! My first PC was a 286, which IIRC either had no HDD, OR. 20MB HDD (might be mixing it with our next PC, which was a 386). I'm pushing 40, and still shake my head in wonder sometimes about just how much is possible at such small scale and cost. But this is now turning into "when I were a lad..." :)

Oh, you kids!

My XT had an 8088 @ ~4mhz in it, and we pushed it uphill to school both ways, in the snow!

It was multi-functional though. The power supply was inefficient enough to heat the room, while simultaneously being heavy enough to bludgeon large creatures for sustenance.

Something inside me misses the radiant heat, sitting here on a cold day with my chilly metallic laptop.

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#283

Post by stephen_g »

xen2xen1 wrote: post #240
KMnO4 wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While this is generally true, I think it’s less true for embedded systems. All of the tools I use at work for embedded systems engineering (JLink, serial adapter, oscilloscope, logic analyzer, nearly all MCU dev boards and FPGAs) are USB-A. I use a MBP and simply could do any work whatsoever without a USB hub. I think it’s fair to assume anyone in the industry can use USB-A.

I would assume someone doing embedded work would not only have to have USB, but serial. Is that incorrect? It seemed like that was even included in your list?

I usually have two or three USB to serial converters plugged into my computer at work at any time. I expect most embedded people would do similar (or use serial console servers over a network).

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#284

Post by catern »

Uptrenda wrote: post #210

My first thought is that literally billions of people already do something similar every day. They use a card that runs its own small, programmable computer, that is portable, energy efficient, and can be powered 'wirelessly.' It's called a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) -- or the chip used in credit cards / sim / ID cards. The OS these cards run is often referred to as the "Java Card Platform." The OS has…

If I was a Java person, I would definitely want to hand out Java Card business cards.

I wonder what would be involved in getting Java Card business cards?

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#285

Post by rs23296008n1 »

GordonS wrote: post #244
jbuzbee wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You were living large! My first Linux computer was a 20Mhz 80386SX with a 40MB hard drive partitioned half for Windows 3.0 and half for Linux (SLS) and swap. It had a whopping 4MB of RAM and I also compiled my own kernel making sure to trim down features as much as possible. It was magic seeing X11 come up for the first time just like the big-bucks Sun boxes!

Hah, you had it great! My first PC was a 286, which IIRC either had no HDD, OR. 20MB HDD (might be mixing it with our next PC, which was a 386). I'm pushing 40, and still shake my head in wonder sometimes about just how much is possible at such small scale and cost. But this is now turning into "when I were a lad..." :)

laughs in 6502 dances in 68k cries in 486

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#287

Post by jokoon »

neurostimulant wrote: post #67

To me it's truly mind-bogging that a tiny $1.42 chip contains almost everything needed to boot Linux: a 500mhz cpu, 32MB SDRAM, 2D GPU, SD/MMC support, and USB controller, all packaged inside a 10mm x 10mm chip? It makes me really want to get into embedded development.

I wish raspberrypi could release something similar. Their product are still too powerful for my taste.

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#288

Post by chrisseaton »

efreak wrote: post #268
chrisseaton wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USB-A is not 'just fine'. It's uni-directional. Which is an insane design for something being constantly plugged in and out. It's also low-bandwidth and low-power. Most devices these days have bluetooth, so it isn't really needed except for power and monitors. USB-C is a step-up in everything and I'm happy with only USB-C.

Not everything needs to be constantly plugged. My desktop doesn't even have Bluetooth in it. I'm quite happy with the USB A ports on my PC when it comes to plugging in mice, keyboards, USB storage, etc. If you use USB devices on a regular basis, you'll remember which way USB ports are oriented, and you can just look at the end of the USB cable to see which way it needs to go in. Having said that, I will say the USB C…

> If you use USB devices on a regular basis, you'll remember which way USB ports are oriented, and you can just look at the end of the USB cable to see which way it needs to go in.

You shouldn't need to remember orientation or look at it! You're apologising for a bad design.

> Power and bandwidth aren't even related to connector type.

Not true! For example the max bandwidth you can currently put through USB-A is 10 Gbps with USB 3.1. Through USB-C it's up to 50 Gbps with Thunderbolt 3.

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#289

Post by stefan_ »

ww520 wrote: post #204

This is pretty cool. What's the time spent on bootup? Hardware POST? I remember seeing some Linux can boot in under a second. It would be cool to see the business card come to life instantly.

You might know this and use it as a short hand, but just in case: ARM doesn't use a BIOS of any sort, so there is no POST, just a bunch of vendor blobs (burned into the chip) that do bootstrapping then jump to your bootloader.

The biggest problem in his case is probably the 8 MiB serial flash; that is going to be rather slow to load from.

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#290

Post by jbuzbee »

jbuzbee wrote: post #211
nabla9 wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling this embedded system feels like insult to the spirit of 'running light without overbyte', because it's so comically capable. My first PC had 66/33 MHz 80486 processor and 8 MB ram, 320 MB HDD. You could run AutoCAD, play Doom, Civilization, have dual boot for Linux, Windows 3.11 etc. It could compile Linux from source.

You were living large! My first Linux computer was a 20Mhz 80386SX with a 40MB hard drive partitioned half for Windows 3.0 and half for Linux (SLS) and swap. It had a whopping 4MB of RAM and I also compiled my own kernel making sure to trim down features as much as possible. It was magic seeing X11 come up for the first time just like the big-bucks Sun boxes!

This time of year is ripe for nostalgia. I recall that it was just about this time in 1993 during Christmas break that I loaded Linux version 0.96(?) onto this 386SX machine. This involved taking a stack of 1.44MB floppies and driving to a place where I had access to the internet. I'd choose SLS packages and copy each to an individual floppy. Then I'd drive home and load them one by one until I had a bootable system. And of course with floppies, it was inevitable that you'd get a error now and then. So, back to the car, download, copy and repeat. All to get away from the limitations of Windows 3.0...
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