“I perused the usual Linux sites the other day and one thing
struck me as rather interesting. Have you ever noticed that most of
the Linux sites are devoted to running Linux on the x86 series of
computers and its myriad of different forms? I personally have
an IBM compatible, one that I built myself more or less
organically. Matter of fact, I have 2 such computers. I would guess
that at least 60% of computers running Linux are x86 types. I don’t
have statistics to back me up, it’s just a guess based on
observation of all the information dedicated to one type of system
over the others.”
“Since I’m getting ready to consider a new system, I would like
you to accompany me on the shopping trip. I’m looking for that most
rare beast: a RISC system that’s inexpensive and yet powerful
enough to meet my requirements. I’m decided to put this shopping
adventure into a series of articles. I’ll look at 3 different types
of systems that would likely actually be inside my price range and
support the tasks (hardware) I wish to attach.”
“My requirements? First, I am creating a gaming world and I
prefer a system with good rendering capabilities both on the CPU
level *and* the GPU level, (not just placing the load all on the
GPU). More important, it must be able to quickly handle large
amounts of imaging and astronomical data as well as control a
telescope’s stepping motors.”