Quote:

CPU GPU RAM to G4 laptops, almost everything.

Surely x5000 is closeby by design, but even PA Semi was ment for laptop efficiency\
some crazy people made it into a full desktop :D

Quote:

Its a zombie. In SW it isnt dead yet as many Linux distros support it.
But as kernel support for m68k (original Linux arch) is now removed,
one day, not so far will PPC32 at least - PPC64 (G5 plus) might live some more.

We still those QUIRK (I call them WEIRD) CPUs left and some FPGA, and beside
IBM POWER, thats it.

What if zombies could walk

Zombie walk 2022

> kernel support for m68k (original Linux arch) is now removed

Is it? The m68k Linux kernel development mailing list looks busy as usual to me. Besides, the original Linux platform is x86. m68k was second.

Quote:

Hmmm ... my mistake since Linus learne ASM on QLs 68008.
You are right, its about time he got 386 (as usual)

However I am not wrong on moveaway
IDE https://www.phoronix.com/news/m68k-Switches-To-Libata
Kernel https://lwn.net/Articles/769694/

As with PPC it does not kill community efforts.

>>> kernel support for m68k (original Linux arch) is now removed

>> Is it?

> I am not wrong on moveaway
> IDE https://www.phoronix.com/news/m68k-Switches-To-Libata
> Kernel https://lwn.net/Articles/769694/

None of those links supports your claim of Linux kernel support for m68k having been removed. Quite to the contrary, your first link from 2021 describes how m68k support was retained by switching the m68k kernel from the legacy IDE API to modern libata. Your second link from 2018 merely mentions that that year's Kernel Maintainers Summit had discussions of removing support for old architectures like m68k due to their kernels using old APIs. As your first link and the fact that m68k is today, as much as 6 years later, still an officially supported architecture, are testimony of, the m68k kernel maintainers managed to switch the kernel from the old APIs to the new ones (which include both the IDE/ATA API as per the 2021 article and the timer API as per the 2018 article comments).
Bottom line: You are wrong ideed :-)

Quote:

OK. I will use argument m68k Linux is less developed then AROS
but hey, its not bad it lives!

However, jokes aside, seems Linux kernel will be "cleansed of all old heaten" if not now, then in near future.


[ Edited by vox 04.12.2024 - 19:25 ]

> m68k Linux is less developed then AROS

Strictly speaking, Linux is just the kernel. I'm not sure how to compare that to an OS like AROS. But if we take a Linux-based OS (i.e. distribution) like Debian, it seems rather recent and complete:

http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/ports/current/
http://ftp.ports.debian.org/debian-ports/pool-m68k/main/

I'd hazard the guess that for most use cases and as long as the hardware is fast enough (e.g. emulated m68k), Debian/m68k still has more to offer than AROS on any ISA (except for the web browser situation compared to AROS/x64).

> seems Linux kernel will be "cleansed of all old heaten" if not now,
> then in near future.

That's not quite how it works. Linux kernel support simply depends on whether or not there are active maintainers who keep the kernel development in sync for a given ISA. There are many cases of newer ISAs not supported anymore while older ISAs still are. m68k has been a tremendously popular ISA even to this day. As soon as the current m68k maintainers step down and there'll be no replacement for them found, the m68k Linux kernel development will be dead, but not before.

Another update to this train wreck of a project:

> https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2024/11/major-improvements-for-powerboard-tyche-despite-adversity-but-there-is-still-work-to-be-done/

"we just couldn’t get the board to reach the crucial boot stage. This led us on a search for a new designer, someone with specific skills and experience with PowerPC architecture. We were really pleased to find a talented new designer who was available from the beginning of 2025, who can even rely on an additional person who is an expert in firmware programming. [...] we had high hopes that this new collaboration would quickly move us past the booting issues. [...] Our work with the new designer has been focused on rigorous testing. [...] Despite taking these significant steps, the board still did not boot. [...] after two years with the prototype motherboards in our hands, we still are not able to boot it. [...] By the end of 2025, we are determined to [...] have at least a stripped-down functional desktop version [...] up and running. [...] Focusing on a desktop board first allows us to concentrate on getting the core computing platform stable and functional, tackling the complexities of a laptop form factor [...] in a later stage if needed. [...] Once we reached the point of a fully working desktop version, we will still have to design the heat pipes, work on the chassis and most probably adjusting the board mechanical design, and finally, test the MXM video card, but for this we hope that the desktop version will provide a suitable testing bed."
https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/05/strategic-change-by-2025-lets-do-whatever-it-takes-to-achieve-at-least-a-desktop-version/

Meanwhile, the financial state of all campaigns/phases is as follows:

I_0. 12600 EUR: Electrical schematics [accomplished]
I_1A. 19000 EUR: PCB [accomplished]
I_1B. 5000 EUR: Fast SI bus simulations [accomplished]
I_2. 13500 EUR: Prototypes [accomplished]
I_3. 14000 EUR: Testing [accomplished]
I_4. 12500 EUR: Certification [accomplished]
I_5. 5375 EUR: Prototypes and MXM graphics cards [accomplished]
II_1. 1000 EUR: JTAG debugger [accomplished]
II_2. 5000 EUR: U-Boot [accomplished]
II_3. 10000 EUR: Fix everything that's broken [47% done]

Maybe it's too early for that but I'd wish to express some mild doubts concerning completion of this project.

It's crazy that this project was initiated before Tabor was announced and still not done.

Update:

> https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/05/strategic-change-by-2025-lets-do-whatever-it-takes-to-achieve-at-least-a-desktop-version/

"the Schematics Design of our new Powerboard Tyche Desktop is running fast thanks to the new Designer and to the NXP Devkit source design plus our […] Notebook design. Designer took from the NXP Devkit design (2023 version) everything is related to the boot process and many parts from our Notebook design […]. […] At the end of July, we will provide the schematic design and the BOM to the factory, which will then begin the PCB design based on the schematics. Therefore, by the beginning of August […], we will know the cost for the PCB design and prototype production. New donation campaigns will then start for PCB design and prototype production. Today, July 14th, 2025, we’ve officially launched the donation campaign for the schematics. Before the end of July, we’ll make the down payment for the schematics design. We already have funds collected from the previous donation campaign for the CE certification (of the […] Notebook), so we can advance money from that fund. However, it’s crucial to boost this new campaign and encourage everyone to donate so we can use fresh funds specifically for the schematics design. […] it’s possible to reach the goal to have a working Powerboard Tyche Desktop before the end of 2025, but is needed an extraordinary effort from donors because we depend on donations to cover all the steps that are coming: Schematics Design, PCB Design, Prototype Production and Tests. […] We remain absolutely committed to making an Open-Hardware Notebook-based PowerPC machine a reality. […] we have changed the tactic, focusing on a desktop board first allows us to concentrate on getting the core computing platform stable and functional, tackling the complexities of a laptop form factor […] in a later stage if needed. This is a pragmatic step to ensure we achieve a tangible outcome by our 2025 target. What’s more the Powerboard Tyche Desktop version will be more cheaper than the Notebook version!"
https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/07/desktop-electrical-schematics-ready-in-august-25/

With this, the financial state of all campaigns/phases is as follows:

I_0. 12600 EUR: Electrical schematics [accomplished]
I_1A. 19000 EUR: PCB [accomplished]
I_1B. 5000 EUR: Fast SI bus simulations [accomplished]
I_2. 13500 EUR: Prototypes [accomplished]
I_3. 14000 EUR: Testing [accomplished]
I_4. 12500 EUR: Certification [accomplished]
I_5. 5357 EUR: Prototypes and MXM graphics cards [accomplished]
II_1. 1000 EUR: JTAG debugger [accomplished]
II_2. 5000 EUR: U-Boot [accomplished]
II_3. 8000 EUR: Fix everything that's broken [76% done]
III_1. 5400 EUR: Electrical schematics (desktop) [6% done]

So they want even more money so they might by the end of this year (aka 11 years over all) have something similar to what the Mirari did as a pure hobby project?

/insert facepalm emoji here

Update:

> https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/07/desktop-electrical-schematics-ready-in-august-25/

"To complete the schematics design, the designer will need around another two weeks. [...] the PCB design will start after the middle of September. We are proceeding faster than ever. [...] after 1 month we already had a good part of the schematic done! Comparing that time with around 12 months that took the Notebook schematics design, now we are proceeding more than 4 times faster!!! [...] That design is possible thanks to the 5400 euro of the dedicated Donation Campaign. The old donation campaign to design the Schematics of Powerboard Tyche Notebook was 12600 euro, so now we are spending less than half. [...] We remain absolutely committed to making an Open-Hardware Notebook-based PowerPC machine a reality. The desktop version will be the right step to allow more people, spending less money, to soon own, enjoy, and test software on this Desktop version. With a few changes and reintegrating the battery part of our previous Notebook, it will give rise to the Notebook version! [...] In the middle of September we should have in our hands the schematics design and the BOM that we will forward to the company that will make for us the PCB design and prototype production. [...] Then they will start the PCB design (phase 2) and order the electronic components needed for the prototype production (phase 3). After the prototype production, hardware and firmware testing will start (phase 4). With the CPLD itself, starting from the original CPLD source code of T2080 RDB, our Powerboard Tyche Desktop CPLD will be programmed. [...] If more work is needed to improve the CPLD code, it will be done thanks to the same firmware engineer that helped us fix the CPLD firmware of our Notebook prototype, and in that case we will evaluate the cost (phase 4 bis). Yes, it’s possible to reach the goal to have a working Powerboard Tyche Desktop before the end of 2025, but is needed an extraordinary effort from donors because we depend on donations to cover all the steps that are coming: Schematics Design, PCB Design, Prototype Production and Tests."
https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/08/new-powerboard-tyche-desktop-design-faster-then-ever/

Quote:

Now thats a statement I might just believe.

This thing has been in development Hell for almost as long as Duke Nukem Forever...

Update:

> https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/08/new-powerboard-tyche-desktop-design-faster-then-ever/

"We now have the complete electronic source design for our new desktop design in our hands! This week, ACube Systems and some volunteers from our association will review the design. We expect the manufacturer to start setting up the PCB layout for the new Powerboard Tyche Desktop on October 20th. This is part of our strategy to focus on creating a stable, functional desktop version of the core computing platform by the end of 2025. [...] We have verified that the availability of SATA2/3 controllers is poor, and the chip Lattice Silicon Image SiI3132 chip that we selected is no exception. We decided to include it in our desktop board to ensure backward compatibility with SATA devices, such as DVD and HDD. We do not use the on-chip T2080 SATA2 controller because we prefer to use the T2080’s three x4 PCIe Gen3 configuration to optimize the speed of video cards and storage controllers. This configuration cannot coexist with the on-chip SATA2. In any case, the best performance is possible thanks to our M2 motherboard interfaces. [...] Designers have changed other components from the original T2080 RDB design and our notebook design due to the availability of new compatible models [...]. Due to the changes in components, we will need to modify the VHDL code of the CPLD chip when we have the prototypes in our hands. Therefore, we must take into account the additional cost of this task. [...] We anticipate a robust boot-up because the components and firmware are similar to those of the stable T2080 RDB. The specific CPLD is programmed using the original CPLD source code of the T2080 RDB."
https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/10/schematics-of-the-powerboard-tyche-desktop-version-completed-soon-starting-the-pcb-design/

Update:

> https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/10/schematics-of-the-powerboard-tyche-desktop-version-completed-soon-starting-the-pcb-design/

"reviewing the schematics of our Powerboard Tyche Desktop [...] involved ACube Systems and one hardware engineer from our team from mid-October to mid-November. So on 10th November we sent our schematics to the PCB design company for quote, that resulted to be around 12500 euros (VAT included). In the next ten days ACube Systems, our actual designer and the PCB design Company will meet to refine every detail like the ATX board dimensions, PCB layers, that should be ten layers. [...] We expect that the PCB design will be completed beginning of February 2026, thus we strongly need donations to pay for the PCB design. After that, prototypes production could be set up, so signing the manufacturing agreement depends on your donations and on your activity to spread the word about our project and donation campaigns to the world. If donations keep steady, we then expect to have prototypes in a couple of months (April 2026) so that we can afterward perform hardware tests. If everything goes according to the plan, in June 2026 the hardware test will be successfully completed and we will see booting with Debian PowerPC64 and other GNU/Linux distribution [...]. [...] we expect ACube System to start boards pre-orders in July 2026 and, in the mean time, we will go back to work on the next milestone for the notebook version [...]! [...] Our notebook motherboard design fits in an already produced notebook shell and uses a PowerPC processor that can keep up with modern mid-end boards, even though its production started in 2012: a true testament of a good design. In 2006 [...] market of notebook and desktop switched completely to x86 (Apple had used PowerPC CPUs until then), but not because of a technical reason. [...] In 2025 we haven’t got yet a production-ready Open Hardware PowerPC notebook, but we have completed the second schematics design and thanks to YOU TRULY we will make production-ready prototypes real."
https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/12/pcb-design-costs-and-timing/

Slides from November presentation:
https://www.sfscon.it/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/1762214372748sfscon_2025_Open_Hardware_PowerPC_Desktop.pdf

Associated video:
https://vimeo.com/1137382601

Funny how he says at 13:27 that the Cell CPU's HDL source has been published, when in reality this has never happened and probably never will.

Groundhog day!

Update:

> https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/12/pcb-design-costs-and-timing/

"Today we publish […] an export from PCB design of our PowerPC Desktop motherboard […] , you can see the motherboard top view with components and connectors, it reflect the progress on pcb design, that is going fast. Before the end of January will be completed !! In January should be defined the costs and timing for the production of the prototypes. […] There is even a digital audio output. There are 3 PCIE connectors: 16x, 4x Open ( with space for 8x and 16x), 1x
In the mean time that is in progress the donation campaign for the schematics design we open now the donation campaign for the PCB design. […] Designer have take from NXP Devkit design ( 2023 version) everything is related to boot process and many parts from our Notebook design, except what is not needed for Dekstop version, like the Battery part. […] We are going faster as promised, to realize a working Open Hardware PowerPC motherboard in few months , that increase rhythms of design and production, costs and ask us to increase even the rhythm of donations…"
https://www.powerpc-notebook.org/2025/12/first-pcb-desktop-layout/

With this, the financial state of all campaigns/phases is as follows:

I_0. 12600 EUR: Electrical schematics [accomplished]
I_1A. 19000 EUR: PCB [accomplished]
I_1B. 5000 EUR: Fast SI bus simulations [accomplished]
I_2. 13500 EUR: Prototypes [accomplished]
I_3. 14000 EUR: Testing [accomplished]
I_4. 12500 EUR: Certification [accomplished]
I_5. 5357 EUR: Prototypes and MXM graphics cards [accomplished]
II_1. 1000 EUR: JTAG debugger [accomplished]
II_2. 5000 EUR: U-Boot [accomplished]
II_3. 8000 EUR: Fix everything that's broken [93% done]
III_1. 6250 EUR: Electrical schematics (desktop) [53% done]
III_2. 12500 EUR: PCB (desktop) [0% done]
III_3. ??? EUR: Prototypes (desktop)
III_4. ??? EUR: Testing (desktop)

Carrot dangling! When endlessly collecting new donations is your primary business model...

Incredible that they have managed to have this scheme going on for this many years!

Is the Laptop dead? :(

> Is the Laptop dead?

It has been postponed until after the desktop board.