[sf-lug] Posting and Announcement

Thu Jun 15 12:19:25 PDT 2006

There has been some weirdness lately concerning Lenovo's commitment to Linux, but I don't think it really affects whether the new ThinkPads will run Linux. Traditionally, ThinkPads run Linux well without major installation problems. Some Linux distros are better at supporting newer hardware (especially newer processor/motherboard chipsets) than others. I'm not sure if Red Hat falls into the "cutting-edge" category, I tend to think it doesn't. Rick Moen may have some information concerning this. You may also try contacting someone at Red Hat.

Good luck.

jim stockford <jim at well.com> wrote: 
    thank you for the info. good stuff, consider yourself
promoted.
    I'm shopping the lenovo website for a thinkpad,
but i want to put RHEL 4 on it and have the wifi
and CD/DVD burner work. I cannot find convincing
data to that effect.
    Got suggestions or encouragement? If I buy it, do
you know of anyone who'd help me get things to
work the way I want (I'm willing to pay money)?
hopefully,
jim

On Jun 15, 2006, at 9:57 AM, Adrien Lamothe wrote:

> The "BE" stands for "Broadband Engine", it is just a name, meant to 
> indicate the blazing speed at which the processor operates. The Cell 
> Processor (or Cell Broadband Engine, whichever you prefer) promises to 
> completely revolutionize computing. It is basically an extended Power5 
> processor, but with higher memory bus bandwidth and nine execution 
> cores:ï¿½ a central "Power Processor Element" and eight "Synergistic 
> Processor Elements". Linux is being ported to it, and Sun has just 
> agreed to port Solaris to it. The CBE is the processor for Sony's new 
> PlayStation3. According to IBM, the CBE will be used across the full 
> spectrum of computing devices, from mainframes down to cell phones.
>
> My only concerns about the CBE are power consumption and heat 
> generation/dissipation and the associated thermal management 
> requirements. That is what most likely may cause problems.
>
> I too believe Linux has reached a "tipping point" (a currently trendy 
> phrase), and that the IBM CBE  will play an important role in Linux 
> adoption. O'Reilly published an article of mine asserting this, you 
> can read it at:ï¿½ 
> http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/03/23/apple_vs_everyone.html
>
> One of my predictions in the article recently came true:ï¿½ Lenovo is 
> now offering ThinkPads at unbelievably low prices (thanks to the 
> incredibly efficient cost of production in China). You can get a 
> Celeron M ThinkPad for $499, a Pentium M ThinkPad for $679 and a Core 
> Duo Thinkpad for $999 (the latter two with Windows XP Professional). 
> So now Lenovo can compete with Dell on a price basis. That was the 
> plan.
>
> Developing software that takes advantage of multi-core processors is a 
> bit more challenging, you have to write multi-threaded software. I 
> recently posted an article speaking about this, you can read it at 
> http://www.adriensweb.com/text/pthreads_comeback.html
>
> I would like to write about some details of the CBE, but the licensing 
> terms of the CBE software development kit and CBE simulator (which 
> runs on Fedora Core 4)ï¿½ prevent anyone from writing about them. In 
> fact, after reading the licensing terms I decided not to download 
> those two packages (IBM asks you to agree with the licensing terms 
> before you download the packages.)
>
> If all of this seems like shameless self-promotion, it is.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Adrien
>
>
> jim stockford  wrote:
>
>  Momtaheni's Posting and Announcement seems to
> announce activities pertaining to linux running on IBM's
> new cell CPU. I'd like to know what's this BE business
> (as in "cell BE")?
>  This strikes me as potentially important as IBM has
> a big and high quality RnD department and the cell
> CPU is touted as a worthy alternative to Intel's (and
> others') offerings.
>  If IBM is pushing the cell CPU, what machines will
> appear? "Back room" machines for sure, possibly new
> user (desktop, gaming...) machines, too, maybe new
> data and service appliances.
>  The computer user community at large seems to be
> at some kind of breaking point: open source is gaining
> popularity, linux is increasing market share with a new
> push for desktop use, there are cracks in the paradigms
> for embedded systems (calls for more CPUs rather
> than more complex software, for one example).
>  There's a new spate of product offerings that are
> services for users: google's calendar/email/im/
> spreadsheet..., zimbra's on-line office productivity
> services (word processor, spreadsheet, calendar, data
> management--basically an office anywhere--for less
> than $30 per month), Foldera's new organization/
> collaboration online service (seems no charge for now).
> And if the One Laptop One Child initiative really takes
> off, there will be a huge infusion of new linux users
> using mesh networking on the internet: what new
> ideas will emerge from them?
>  All of the above threatens Microsoft's hold on the
> market: significantly, its paradigms for use are
> challenged.
>  For sure there's a sea change coming, and news of
> Linux on the cell CPU may portend something.
>
> On Jun 13, 2006, at 12:10 PM, Ida A Momtaheni wrote:
>
> > Hello,
> >
> > I would like to post the information below about the PA Technical
>  > Briefing below to your website please.
> >
> > Cell BE programming and extensions to Linux
> >
> > Link to Website:
>  > http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/offers/techbriefings/details/
>  > 
> powerarch.html?S_TACT=106AH59W&S_CMP=LPTCHBRF&ca=dgr-lnxUG016Cell-BE-
>  > Briefing
> >
> > Join us while we explore the details of Cell Broadband Engine (Cell
>  > BE) programming. This Tech briefing provides a comprehensive 
> technical
>  > overview of the Cell BE architecture, programming models, and 
> software
>  > development environment. You will learn all about Cell BE standards
>  > like the application binary interface specifications, SPE C/C++
>  > language extensions, SPE assembly language specification, 
> system-level
>  > simulator, Cell BE simulator debugging environment, and Cell BE
>  > extensions to Linux.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Ida Momtaheni
> > developerWorks
> >
> > IBM Corporation
> > 425 Market St.
> > San Francisco, CA 94105
> > iamomtah at us.ibm.com
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