Linux on the world’s first mass-produced CPU
Doom runs on everything? Linux too!
Image by Stelo.xyz, Pttn, or Thomas Nguyen
License: cc by-sa 4.0 deed – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.de
Even on an Intel 4004, a 4-bit CPU! It is considered to be the first single-chip microprocessor to be mass-produced and sold on the open market. It was launched at the end of 1971! In our eyes, Dmitry Grinberg, developer at RedHat, has once again proven with this project what can be achieved with absolutely minimal resources. It is a proof-of-concept, art, fun and high engineering skill that once again impressively demonstrates how resource-efficient Linux is. To achieve his goal, Dmitry first had to develop an emulator for a MIPS R3000, and also connect modern components such as PS-RAM and SD cards to the CPU. Nevertheless, he tried to do as much as possible without modern components for the project. Do you also want to rebuild the project? Then take a look at Dmitry’s page:
https://dmitry.gr/?r=05.Projects&proj=35.%20Linux4004
Incidentally, this is not his first project of this kind. A few years ago, he already booted Linux on an AVR microcontroller:
https://dmitry.gr/?r=05.Projects&proj=07.%20Linux%20on%208bit
Speaking of saving resources. We recently asked ourselves how big the difference in resource requirements is between Windows and Linux and wrote a short article for you: Resource requirements of Windows and Linux