On Mon, May 03, 1999 at 04:08:47PM -0700, George Bonser wrote:
> On Mon, 3 May 1999, G. Crimp wrote:
>
> > Does anyone know if the same is possible in the ix86 architechture ? I know
> > I could set him up with a diskless box booting off a server in another room,
> > but could that diskless box also have a fanless powersupply ? I figure the
> > cpu would still need its fan. Anyone think that the absence of a fan in a
> > diskless box would cause heating problems ??
>
> Not sure about ix86 but a netwinder might work ... they draw only 15
> watts. I would think that even if they have a fan, it could be
> disconnected. Would be interesting getting to to boot over the net but
> should't be impossible.
>
This raises two questions in my mind, if you have the patience to
deal with them.
1) What about application/utility compatibility ? I often heard a
few years back, when the alphs port was the only other Linux, that it worked
fine, but there were not as many goodies to run on it. If I suggest a
strongarm cpu to this person, how limited is he going to be ? I don't know
why stuff can't simply be recompiled for a new architecture, I jus tknow it
can't.
2) In the "I don't know why, it just is" department, why would this
be any more difficult to boot over the network than an ix86 ? Simply
because no one has taken the time to write the code ? Or, as your statement
above leads me to suspect, because something in the Arm architecture makes
this an exercise in binary gymnastics ?
Thanks for the info,
Gerald
