ASUS Motherboard Ships With Embedded Linux, Web Browser

[Kano]

It is allowed to use binary software, at max it is a gray area with precompiled binary kernel modules. Therefore Ubuntu does not link em in the package (no .ko files) but does the last step with the linux restricted modules manager - .ko files are in a ramdisk. For me that's hairsplitting.

[dotancohen]

Of course the software is not expensive, but I assume that the development is.

I don't see how they include Skype with the GPLed Linux kernel. Sounds like a GPL violation to me.

[remm]

This needs additional development, obviously, but this is a very interesting capability. Probably not expensive to add, so it might well become a standard feature in motherboards.

[Michael]

I wonder why they wrote an update client for Windows only. Obviously this is being marketed to, or would be especially interesting to, the Linux community. I hope that a Linux update utility is in the works (along with the aforwished AMD version).

This is an ASUS gaming motherboard and most of them are running Windows. So ASUS has all of their utilities written for Windows. Hopefully they will write a Linux one or that they develop an OS-independent one similar to flashing the BIOS from a CD.

[dotancohen]

I wonder why they wrote an update client for Windows only. Obviously this is being marketed to, or would be especially interesting to, the Linux community. I hope that a Linux update utility is in the works (along with the aforwished AMD version).

[Thetargos]

Some thoughts about free code...

• They are using Linux (the kernel) which is GPLv2 code. However they may be using closed source drivers for their WiFi chips. Users at their option are able to use binary blobs, and even though that taints the kernel it is for the most part "OK". However distributing this "tainted" kernel with proprietary drivers (all conjecture here, I really hope our friends over at Real Tech will open this WiFi) is (last I checked) breaching the GPL.
• For other stuff like their GTK configuration tools and what not, well, GTK is LGPL and that means they are somewhat covered about code disclosure.
• About LinuxBIOS, I would totally LOVE to see an option to implement it, maybe as an "optional" setup feature, obviously not geared toward Windows customers so maybe on server-grade boards?

Overall, I'd love to see this board myself, and as previously noted, it has much room for improvement... Will ASUS take the chance to improve it? Most likely, though not as we might expect them to... I hope they have an AMD variant of this board in the pipe too, I love healthy competition

[mlau]

Put in all the usual filesystem checkers, ability to mount all attached harddisks/USB sticks and my linux rescue cd would become
obsolete. This could be a sysadmins dream feature: build-in rescue system!

[mlau]

Reading just the title, I was hoping beyond hope that maybe ASUS has decided to officially support and use LinuxBIOS like the OLPC project. Alas, after hurriedly reading through, I see it is yet again American Megatrends. Nevertheless, I wonder if the AMIBIOS could be modified to boot into my linux in less than 5 seconds now. Not to put down the Express Gate thing, but like most of us, I've customized my linux to my liking.

And definitely if AMIBIOS or SplashTop are using GPL code, I definitely hope they disclose it.

Windows depends on a few legacy BIOS functions
which are not yet properly implemented in LinuxBIOS.

A coworker who does BIOS programming told me
that they're contractually forbidden by Phoenix to put any other BIOS on their hardware (I asked him why their linux systems
still come with a legacy BIOS although they have all the docs to implement linuxbios).
I wonder if this is also the case with AMI (If linuxbios were easy to develop and deploy AND bootet windows reliably, AMI's and Phoenix' BIOS implementations would become obselete...)

[narf]

Oh well

I was very excited until I read this sentence:

To update Express Gate though you will need to be running Windows on the hard drive in order to run the ASUS utility.


Now I couldn't be less interested.

[Kano]

Get a BIOS editor and extract it. The "only" problem I see that you would need a bigger EEPROM chip, so you could not add it directly to another board. But maybe you could try to start it differently.