4 Nov
2007
4 Nov
'07
6:01 p.m.
On Nov 4, 2007, at 3:33 PM, Philip Pemberton wrote:
CPU: I'd use an ARM or Coldfire CPU - a Philips
LPC2000 in External
Memory mode, or a Freescale MCF5307. Give it a bit of external RAM and
Flash, and a CPLD to handle VGA signal generation and supply the glue.
Add some keyboard input logic to said CPLD and flash it with U-Boot
and Linux. Teach Linux how to control the VGA (basically write a
framebuffer driver) and shoehorn a terminal emulator onto it. Bolt on
an EEPROM or cheap RTC chip for configuration storage. Job done.
Excellent idea. I've had very similar thoughts myself.
Is it worth it? Not really, IMO.
What would I do? Get a cheap laptop. A 486SX or something. Put Linux
on the hard drive (or shove a cheap CompactFlash card and adapter in
there). Voila, instant portable terminal.
Yes, but then you'd have a PC, not a terminal.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL