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Although it was started by Linus Torvalds as “a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like gnu) for 386 (486) AT clones“, The Linux kernel and surrounding operating system ecosystems have been ported to many architectures beyond their x86 roots. So it’s not uncommon to hear about new ports for unsupported platforms, but it’s extremely unexpected to hear about them when the platform is a mid-1990s gaming console. But what is it [Lauri Kasanen] did, announcing a new Linux port for the Nintendo 64.
It’s not a 1996 Linux either. The port relies on an updated kernel version 5.10 with its N64 branch and a tempting possibility that it could be incorporated into the main Linux source for the processor architecture. MIPS-64. That’s right, the Nintendo 64 could be an officially supported Linux platform.
It would be a long way to go to call this any kind of distribution, because what it produced was a bootloader that loads the kernel and creates a terminal with busybox loaded. With this on your flashcart, you won’t be replacing that Raspberry Pi anytime soon, so why other than [Lauri]’s “Because I canWould that interest you? It provides the answer and that is in the emulation scene, because having a Linux for the platform makes porting other software so much easier. If that tickles you, you can see the source in its GitHub repository, and we certainly look forward to what the community will do with it.
We’re more used to seeing the N64 as a case modding subject, whether as a handheld or an all-in-one console.
Via Phoronix, and thank you [David Beckershoff] for the tip.
Header image: Evan-Amos, public domain.
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