Atari 2600 Linux project nears success
Posted by Michael on Sunday October 13, 2002 @04:15AM
from the Rube-Goldberg-would-be-proud dept.
Squid writes: Inspired by the Xbox Linux Project, who successfully turned a 200-dollar game console into a 200-dollar Linux computer, a group of intrepid Belgian hackers have most of the Linux kernel running on an Atari 2600. “Not all potential Linux users can afford an Xbox,” said project leader Jean-Paul Lejeune. “Now, using only an Atari 2600, mouse, keyboard, hard drive, RAM, circuit board, EPROM burner, PIC programmer, and some duct tape, you can get Linux up and running in just a few days.”
The team still has much work ahead. So far, 2600 Linux can boot LILO, load most of the kernel, and core dump. The video display works, but currently shows Space Invaders graphics instead of text. The next build is slated to include the keyboard interface and the first eight letters of the character set.