should Puppy work on Olimex DIY laptop? (or how to do it?)

[ChrisFH]

Olimex TERES 1 is a DIY laptop kit:

Quad Core Allwinner A64 64-bit Cortex-A53 processor
2GB DDR3L memory
16GB eMMC flash memory
WiFi 150Mb, BLE 4.0
2 x USB
Battery 9500mAh
https://www.olimex.com/Products/DIY-Laptop/KITS/
https://github.com/OLIMEX/DIY-LAPTOP

Olimex ships with its own Linux-based modified OS. Should any Puppy distro (especially FossaPup) work on this platform out of the box? If not, would making a Puppy to run on this Olimex be exceptionally difficult?

[backi]

@ChrisFH wrote :

should Puppy work on Olimex DIY laptop? (or how to do it?)

Should any Puppy distro (especially FossaPup) work on this platform

Possibly......
There are many Roads that lead to Rome.
Let me put it this Way .
Why not just try it? .....and/or .....What stops you from doing (trying) it?

[ChrisFH]

@ChrisFH wrote :

should Puppy work on Olimex DIY laptop? (or how to do it?)

Should any Puppy distro (especially FossaPup) work on this platform

Possibly......
There are many Roads that lead to Rome.
Let me put it this Way .
Why not just try it? .....and/or .....What stops you from doing (trying) it?

Well, I live in Japan, and the Olimex kit ships from Eastern Europe, and I don't have a lot of money, so while the kit is not expensive for most people, it is expensive for me. Moveover, from reading about the Olimex kit, it seems fragile from a software perspective. So, I don't want to just spend a lot of money and time that I don't have much of to experiment.

I brought up a similar question on a different forum, and I was informed that because of the processor and parts (all open-source), Olimex was not compatible with many OS distros. So, if Puppy is not compatible but could be with a little tweeking, I could try to do that....

[step]

Not an expert here, but Cortex-A53 is an ARM version 8 processor. I'm not aware of any Puppy OS built specifically for that ARM processor. Most Puppy variants are built for Intel-compatible processors, and the ARM is a second thought, if any. Anyway, adapting an existing Puppy for that processor qualifies as a major project, I think.

[ChrisFH]

Not an expert here, but Cortex-A53 is an ARM version 8 processor. I'm not aware of any Puppy OS built specifically for that ARM processor. Most Puppy variants are built for Intel-compatible processors, and the ARM is a second thought, if any. Anyway, adapting an existing Puppy for that processor qualifies as a major project, I think.

Okay. That's basically what I heard in other places--the ARM processor is incompatible and a large task to take on. Thanks. That's a shame. The Olimex laptop--as a truly complete FOSS computer--seems to have stalled for reasons related to the limitations of its processor (and RAM?). It seems like Puppy could be a way to revive it.

[BarryK]

This is an ARM laptop that has Linux on it:

https://www.pine64.org/pinebook-pro/

Cost is US$220, probably plus shipping and local taxes.

Have no idea how well Linux runs on it, nor what it would take to run Puppy, just mentioning it so that you know there is an alternative, an active project.

The problem is, I can buy a local x86 64-bit laptop for about that price, and it is far more likely to be able to run Puppy, and likely much faster.

[Grey]

Well, I live in Japan, and the Olimex kit ships

I have been following the work of the guys in Bulgaria for a long time. Yes, they are great, they make interesting devices with an eye to competing with Raspberry in their region. But... Three years ago I thought - software support will not be able to compare with more common microcomputers.

Why do you need difficulties? Pay attention to something closer and more accessible.
Look, for example, what Hardkernel has. Maybe something from the Odroid series will suit you.

The problem is, I can buy a local x86 64-bit laptop for about that price, and it is far more likely to be able to run Puppy, and likely much faster.

I absolutely agree. Sometimes everyone wants something interesting... but here it is Reality.

[Grey]

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE HACKER'S FRIENDLY MODULAR LAPTOP

By the way, this laptop has a good advertisement. It lifts the mood.
Like in an old anecdote.
A lesson in hacker school. Sensei: "Today we will learn how to hack an ATM. We take a laptop and a sledgehammer, go to the ATM and hit with a sledgehammer with all our might..." Student: "Wait a minute, why do we need a laptop?" Sensei: "What?! What kind of hacker are you WITHOUT a laptop?!"

[rockedge]

We take a laptop and a sledgehammer, go to the ATM and hit with a sledgehammer with all our might...

back in the late 1980's a guy in my town had keys to a gate to a fenced in heavy equipment parking area. He'd take a one of those huge dump trucks or a payloader at night and drive around town going to the ATM's attaching a chain then ripping the ATM completely out of the wall of the banks that had one outside. Then he drove back to the yard dragging the ATM behind the truck.

No one seemed to have noticed.

The police did catch up with the guy after awhile, caught him using a plasma cutter to cut the ATM's open. He burnt the money sometimes. Turns out it was the son of the owner of the construction company that owned the truck and the payloader. Being a rich kid not much happened in the form of serious penalty. The police just followed the scrapes in the pavement of the roads made by the ATM's being dragged behind the vehicles on the chains.

[ChrisFH]

@Grey , @BarryK - Thanks. I'm not sure Hardkernel is really comparable to Olimex. The Pinebook appears to be on an initial look. I am just attracted to the Olimex for some reason. It does actually come with its own Linux OS. But as time goes on and software like browsers advance, the Olimex will be less and less useful, but it seems like Puppy could revive it, if it could run on Olimex. That's kind of the concept of Puppy, right? Anyway, I don't have the skill to take on adapting Puppy for Olimex if it is at all involved. But anyway, thanks for your responses!

[Grey]

I am just attracted to the Olimex for some reason.

Yes, it happens A person just likes something and that's it, for no apparent reason. This summer and at the beginning of autumn, I gave away a lot of electronics to friends and acquaintances for free, which I bought in recent years for no reason and which I never got my hands on. I needed to free up space in the cupboards.
So take your time, think well.