All quiet in the Fatdog forum

[fatdoguser]

No posts = no issues = solid/sound system

[Flash]

Uh, what's this about? Did you mean to post it in a thread somewhere?

[jamesbond]

I think @fatdoguser meant that nobody seems to post anything in the Fatdog forum for a while.

The quietness can be interpreted in many ways, but the positive way to look at it is that everything is working as intended, so nothing to report / ask

We do have package updates from to time but we don't announce it, as they can be checked directly on gslapt. There are some minor fixes to the base too, but nothing to be worried about as they're just performance enhancements or visual / cosmetic update.

If there are any major issues you'd definitely hear about it from us, either making a release or urging people to update to the latest package in gslapt.

[p310don]

Thanks for the advertising bump @fatdoguser (that's how I took this post)

[Duprate]

Hello! I also pass by here daily and, most of the time, I don't see any movement on the FatDog Forum. So I look at my PC and there is nothing that isn't working perfectly and I think everything is fine with FatDog! Of the arguments, the best is the natural conclusion.
Congratulations, FatDog64 maintainers!

[retiredt00]

I bought a new MacBook to replace my 10year (mechanical) failing old one, but I miss a lot of x86 goodies.
So one or twice a week I go back to fat dog on the i7 MacBook that in spite all its problems preforms perfectly under FD901 (if you overlook broken camera, semi-broken speakers and semi-dead battery...).
So FatDot it is!

On a side note, x86 emulation on ARM is painfully slow.
I remember FD having ARMv6/7 versions and now there is Asahi linux that maybe could provide a usable kernel for FatDog on Apple silicon (just for kicks)

[jamesbond]

On a side note, x86 emulation on ARM is painfully slow.

Same way as emulating ARM on x86 is slow. In other words, emulation is always slow, except the CPU is designed from the ground-up to support such emulation.

I remember FD having ARMv6/7 versions

It was fun while it last. This year would have been the eleventh year anniversary of FatdogArm.

Unfortunately life situation changes, and I no longer have time to maintain FatdogArm properly. I don't really miss it that much, as (in my opinion) ARM platform fails to deliver its promise. I can write long essays detailing the problems dogging it, but I'll just leave you with this: how easy is it to install a custom Linux OS on the most popular ARM platform on the planet: your phone? (Android doesn't count as Linux).

Even chromebooks, which started on ARM, are running x86 nowadays ...

But, if anyone is ever interested in reviving FatdogArm, or build a custom Linux OS from scratch, the process is documented here and here. Adapt as necessary ...

and now there is Asahi linux that maybe could provide a usable kernel for FatDog on Apple silicon (just for kicks)

Unfortunately, having just the kernel isn't enough. It is but one component out of 700+ others that still need to be built ...

[jamesbond]

Posting this from FatdogArm beta5, using Seamonkey 2.33.1, running inside qemu, using this instruction, just for nostalgia purposes

To make the old browser recognise HTTPS website, one needs to download this CA certificate, and then import it as Authorities in Seamonkey's Privacy/Security settings, and tick the boxes to allow it to function as website, email, software signer.

[jamesbond]

and now there is Asahi linux that maybe could provide a usable kernel for FatDog on Apple silicon (just for kicks)

I just checked what Asahi Linux is all about. It seems to be an overarching project to get Linux running on Apple Silicon Macs, with promises that changes will be upstreamed / mainlined. Work is mainly to get Mac-specific drivers, from display, touchpads, GPU, audio, peripherals (USB, PCIe), etc to work. The tough part, the first thing one has to do to bring up an OS on a new hardware platform. I'm not sure how much of it comes from reading specs, or from reverse-engineering. The GPU driver is definitely reverse engineered.

It reminds me of Yellow Dog Linux, which I never used (for the lack of suitable hardware). Either way, great effort, I applaud them and wish them success.

[jamesbond]

Posting this from FatdogArm beta5, using Seamonkey 2.33.1, running inside qemu, using this instruction, just for nostalgia purposes

Despite not very keen on ARM platform anymore, I remember FatdogArm fondly, because modern Fatdog64s (from 700 onwards) inherited so much from it. Many things seen in today's Fatdog64 were first implemented in FatdogArm back in 2013.

For example, FatdogArm was the first Fatdog that ditched PET packages in favour of TXZ packages (along with slapt-get/gslapt); the then current x86 Fatdog64 at that time (600 series) still used PET packages. FatdogArm was built based on Linux From Scratch (LFS) recipes, as opposed to then current Fatdog64 which still used T2 recipes. FatdogArm used its own homegrown build system to build all packages from source, again, as opposed to then current Fatdog64 which depended on T2 build system to build its packages.

All these, and more, were brought into Fatdog64 starting from 700 onwards. In fact, Fatdog64 700 was essentially a port of FatdogArm back to x86 architecture.

The first two lines of the build-pkg.sh, the recipe-driven script that builds a binary package from source, still contains the following to this day:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/ash
# FatdogArm/Fatdog64 package build script