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PowerPC 601 Support Being Retired In Linux 5.10 - The First 32-bit PowerPC CPU

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  • PowerPC 601 Support Being Retired In Linux 5.10 - The First 32-bit PowerPC CPU

    Phoronix: PowerPC 601 Support Being Retired In Linux 5.10 - The First 32-bit PowerPC CPU

    The PowerPC 601 as the first-generation processor supporting the 32-bit PowerPC RISC instruction set in the early 90's is being retired with the upcoming Linux 5.10 kernel...

    Phoronix, Linux Hardware Reviews, Linux hardware benchmarks, Linux server benchmarks, Linux benchmarking, Desktop Linux, Linux performance, Open Source graphics, Linux How To, Ubuntu benchmarks, Ubuntu hardware, Phoronix Test Suite

  • #2
    I've got a few of those old dbox 2 mpeg2 satellite/cable dvb decoders running on out of tree kernel patches.
    Good old enigma times watching pirate TV channels.

    But now that I look at it, they feature the powerpc 8xx series.

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    • #3
      I went to Comdex in either '94 or '95, can't remember which. IBM/Apple/Motorola were really trying to push the PowerPC into mainstream computing. I was drinking the kool-aid and though it was going to happen. But after a bunch of money was spent, it never happened. Good to see Power machines still around though.

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      • #4
        I'm pretty sure I have one of these (just the raw chip, no carrier, a dud one presumably) embedded in perspex on a Motorola promotional key ring around here somewhere!
        Last edited by Viki Ai; 09 October 2020, 03:57 AM.

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        • #5
          How many Lines Of Code will reduce the kernel to?

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          • #6
            Originally posted by cbxbiker61 View Post
            I went to Comdex in either '94 or '95, can't remember which. IBM/Apple/Motorola were really trying to push the PowerPC into mainstream computing. I was drinking the kool-aid and though it was going to happen. But after a bunch of money was spent, it never happened. Good to see Power machines still around though.
            I remember that time well. The PowerPC was largely a victim of its marketing. Initially, they (especially Apple) ran hard with the notion that the "PCs" of the time were obsolete dinosaurs. Which they were, but the first version of the PowerPC platform, "PREP", was in fact identical. It even had an ISA bus for crying out loud. What was worse, the only OS you could really use on it was Apple's MacOS for the M68000, running (extremely slowly) under CPU emulation. No-one was fooled.

            The second iteration (the "CHRP") was closely related to the Macintosh clones that existed back then, but they were expensive and quickly losing ground. Even though more parts (but not all) of the MacOS were ppc native at that stage, by then the Pentium Pro and PII machines were outperforming them hands down and for a much lower cost.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by timofonic View Post
              How many Lines Of Code will reduce the kernel to?
              hard to tell.

              the single commit however, is just -52 lines (and +9)

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              • #8
                I remember sitting on a bench, many years ago, waiting for my car to be detailed. A lady sat down beside me and we struck up a conversation, and I was happily surprised to discover that she was an Apple marketing executive.

                Our talk quickly turned to PowerPC, which was generating much excitement at the time, and I gingerly approached the subject of price and Apple's closed ecosystem that prevented engineers such as myself from using Apple products as workstations.

                To my surprise she was quite receptive to my concerns and said Apple was addressing them, and she seemed sincere in her agreement.

                But unfortunately Apple never did change course with the PowerMac, and continued to charge astronomical prices for a workstation with minimal third party support, which was critical for engineering at the time because many of the things we needed were in the form of add-on cards.

                And since it was such a new and dynamic time for IC development, with many small startups that couldn't afford the high Apple licensing fees, they were wiped out by the then standardized, and free, IBM derived PCs with a plethora of add-on products.
                Last edited by muncrief; 09 October 2020, 07:36 AM.

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                • #9
                  > To my surprise she was quite receptive to my concerns and said Apple was addressing them, and she seemed sincere in her agreement.

                  Lol, now you can't even develop for there phones or test your site with there browser without owning one of there machines. I guess somethings never change

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by MastaG View Post
                    I've got a few of those old dbox 2 mpeg2 satellite/cable dvb decoders.
                    I still own this precious little tool for short-circuiting a certain pin in order to unlock the flash memory...



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