Subject: Re: Cheap Bastards
To: Nathan Mahon <nate@aftershock.blackhat.net>
From: David Brownlee <abs@netbsd.org>
List: port-dreamcast
Date: 08/06/2001 09:50:37
On Sat, 4 Aug 2001, Nathan Mahon wrote:
> Perhaps I'm just being an asshole, but I don't think the topic of this
> list is how to save a little money by not buying the right equipment.
>
I maybe would not have phrased it quite like that.
Its not _the_ topic, but I do not see why it cannot be _a_ topic.
> Perhaps people think that we're trying to put NetBSD on a Dreamcast
> because we're too poor to buy a real computer. And I'm sure that some
> people look at it that way. The real reason for the effort is to give the
> ability to make a NetBSD based gaming console. Not to make a cheap
> firewall or an inexpensive Distributed.net client. Granted these are
> possibilities, but you might consider that the dreamcast is a very crappy
> network device, with very little ram and minimal processing power, execept
> for the powervr2 graphics engine. It's made to be a gaming console. The
> Dreamcast Port is to put things like FreeCiv into a new home. To give
> amatuer graphics programmers a good home.
The point of NetBSD/dreamcast is to enable people to run NetBSD
on the dreamcast. That could be towards making it an mp3 player,
playing games, as a hardware project, a 'pine' terminal, or just
about anything else they want. These goals are not exclusive.
> That aside, everything involved in getting to that point requires a lot of
> software and hardware engineering. So we get hacks like BitMASTER's IDE
> controller. IMHO, the controller isn't on topic. A driver for it might
> be.
>
If the discussion is related to designing or using extra
hardware under NetBSD/dreamcast I would consider it pretty
much a perfect topic for this list.
> I don't really care who posts what to the list. But don't start getting
> indignant when your OT post gets little helpful response. If you're
> wanting to save $10 on using a homemade ps2/maple dongle, checkout the
> dcdev list. I think that's a topic for that list.
I seem to recall some mention of an option which would require
adding a standard pckbd driver for the Dreamcast - once again
that lands squarely in the 'on topic' box.
Personally I would love to see more hardware options and NetBSD
drivers for NetBSD/dreamcast, but I'm sure everyone has gathered
that by now :)
--
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