What is actually the lowest end device that can run Linux
The Pi Zero and LePotato come to mind. Both are pocket sized and surprisingly capable.
But both are modern computers, and Linux has been around for a long time. So I wonder if the correct answer is something much older, larger and less capable. So this is probably a question for historians? (I don’t see an obvious answer on Wikipedia.)
For lowest power, the LePotato is (humorously) named for it’s low power requirements, and I understand the Pi Zero can actually run for hours on small rechargeable battery packs.
The first Linux kernels were written for the 386 and 486 and single or double digit megabytes of RAM. Early 1990s technology. Before Windows 95 and Pentiums even.
Now, if you want a GUI that runs nicely, at least for some hardware, you probably going to need to hit mid-to-late '90s hardware, and it’ll still be pretty basic.
Something like the allwinner A13 is down at the low end of practical. It’s about $1 per chip, wholesale. People have gotten it running on an ATMEGA before. It required a bunch of helper components however, and took 2 hours to boot up.
What is actually the lowest end device that can run Linux
The Pi Zero and LePotato come to mind. Both are pocket sized and surprisingly capable.
But both are modern computers, and Linux has been around for a long time. So I wonder if the correct answer is something much older, larger and less capable. So this is probably a question for historians? (I don’t see an obvious answer on Wikipedia.)
I think maybe my real question is, what’s the lowest power device that can run Linux. Kinda like how two potatoes can run a clock
For lowest power, the LePotato is (humorously) named for it’s low power requirements, and I understand the Pi Zero can actually run for hours on small rechargeable battery packs.
A smaller lower power draw Pi Zero alternative that comes to mind is Arduino Teensy. But it sounds like no one is running Linux on Arduino Teensy, yet ?
But the folks in that forum sound like the types who might make it happen at some point.
The first Linux kernels were written for the 386 and 486 and single or double digit megabytes of RAM. Early 1990s technology. Before Windows 95 and Pentiums even.
Now, if you want a GUI that runs nicely, at least for some hardware, you probably going to need to hit mid-to-late '90s hardware, and it’ll still be pretty basic.
Something like the allwinner A13 is down at the low end of practical. It’s about $1 per chip, wholesale. People have gotten it running on an ATMEGA before. It required a bunch of helper components however, and took 2 hours to boot up.
I think someone once ran it on a dead raccoon.
Using it as a case? Or a power source