• OS-9 on Small ARM board

    From Nuclear Squid!!@21:1/5 to Bill Gunshannon on Wed Feb 24 15:24:49 2021
    Hello, veeeery old thread I know, but if anyone sees this -- did these discussed ports of OS-9 for Beaglebone, Pi, CubieBoard or TI Sitara chips ever complete?
    If so, is anything still available to try?
    I was an old time OS-9/68k user/developer and still do some embedded work. I would love to acquire (price allowing!) a way to do OS-9 on one of these ARM platforms. I have a Cubieboard v1 and a PI 3B.
    Would even love to attempt a port if I had the chance. (I had experience porting OS-9/68k to custom boards, years ago.)

    Thanks,
    -Russ


    On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 9:35:39 a.m. UTC-8, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
    In article <kp9ww.1232435$Rp.12...@fx23.iad>,
    "Allan R. Batteiger" <a...@rtsi.com> writes:
    bi...@server3.cs.scranton.edu (Bill Gunshannon) wrote in news:cicje1...@mid.individual.net:

    In article <G3EQv.82916$Ub6....@fx20.iad>,
    "Allan R. Batteiger" <a...@rtsi.com> writes:
    Good morning
    We have been busy updating OS-9 over the last year. New release
    announcements will be coming soon. One Question for the die-hard
    OS-9 users still out there. Would there be any interest in OS-9 on
    a Raspberry PI or BeagleBone Black ? We are tossing around the idea
    of an OS-9 for Eval that would be full featured but limited. The
    basic concept is Purchase a flash card that boots OS-9. It has
    enough to be barley useful. No definition of what the means yet. A
    SDK would be availble for approx. the same price you would would pay
    for Visual Studio or similar package. I am thinking the Flash card
    would sell for approx $100. Would this be of any interest ? What
    about the price ? Any suggestion on what should be included in the
    flash ?


    Allan,
    How about another suggestion? The latest version of the Mindstorms
    from Lego is an ARM9. It runs a Linux kernel. Ever given any thought
    to putting OS9 on something like this? We use them here for teaching
    undergraduate and graduate level Realtime Systems courses. There has
    been a desire for better kernels since the very first Mindstorms when
    someone developed something called BrickOS. This could be a chance to
    get OS9 back in the public eye as these systems are being used from
    elementary schools thru Universities and by many people who just like
    playing with robots and other realtime applications. Heck, I just
    watched a video where they were using sensors connected to a EV3 brick
    to monitor labratory experiments. Having a decent realtime OS inside
    the box could open that niche up even more, too.

    Might even want to think about partnering with a University with this.
    (wink wink). Maybe even starting an educational alliance program like
    many computer business (like IBM!) have.

    Just saying.....

    bill


    Bill
    We have OS-9 running an about a dozen small ARM boards. I have not
    looked at the MindStorms board. ARM9 is older technology I think. I
    Yeah, that fooled me, too. I thought ARMv8 -> ARM9. But appaently they
    have two numbering systems and ARM9 is actually and ARMv4 cpu. But still valuable in the long run, I think.
    would have to double check it. We have OS-9 basically running on the Raspberry PI and Beagle Bone Black. Also the Several Boards AllWinner
    A10, A20 A30 chips. Most of these boards are under $100. I will take
    a look at the Mindstorms, but we are focued on updating OS-9 to support current ARM chips.
    I was looking at more than running OS9 on an EV3. I was looking at all
    the places EV3's are showing up in education and the potential for OS9
    to find its way into that environment. I still use OS9 on the 6809 and
    have long wondered about porting it to other small systems, in particular
    the PDP-11 and even the VAX (although that doesn't really qualify as a
    small system architecturally). And then I have these QBUS 68K boards
    that I thought would be nice homes for OS-9/68K. So many dreams, so
    little opportunity. :-)

    But I digress. I think finding a way into the education niche would be
    a good thing. As people become more and more concerned about SCADA and security I expect there will be increased demand for realtime engineers
    and why shouldn't they be working with what I always thought was the best
    in realtime. :-)

    All the best.
    bill


    --
    Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves bill...@cs.scranton.edu | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
    University of Scranton |
    Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include <std.disclaimer.h>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Keefsk@21:1/5 to All on Thu Feb 25 06:00:51 2021
    On Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 6:24:50 AM UTC+7, Nuclear Squid!! wrote:
    Hello, veeeery old thread I know, but if anyone sees this -- did these discussed ports of OS-9 for Beaglebone, Pi, CubieBoard or TI Sitara chips ever complete?
    If so, is anything still available to try?
    I was an old time OS-9/68k user/developer and still do some embedded work. I would love to acquire (price allowing!) a way to do OS-9 on one of these ARM platforms. I have a Cubieboard v1 and a PI 3B.
    Would even love to attempt a port if I had the chance. (I had experience porting OS-9/68k to custom boards, years ago.)

    Thanks,
    -Russ
    On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 9:35:39 a.m. UTC-8, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
    In article <kp9ww.1232435$Rp.12...@fx23.iad>,
    "Allan R. Batteiger" <a...@rtsi.com> writes:
    bi...@server3.cs.scranton.edu (Bill Gunshannon) wrote in news:cicje1...@mid.individual.net:

    In article <G3EQv.82916$Ub6....@fx20.iad>,
    "Allan R. Batteiger" <a...@rtsi.com> writes:
    Good morning
    We have been busy updating OS-9 over the last year. New release
    announcements will be coming soon. One Question for the die-hard
    OS-9 users still out there. Would there be any interest in OS-9 on
    a Raspberry PI or BeagleBone Black ? We are tossing around the idea
    of an OS-9 for Eval that would be full featured but limited. The
    basic concept is Purchase a flash card that boots OS-9. It has
    enough to be barley useful. No definition of what the means yet. A
    SDK would be availble for approx. the same price you would would pay >>> for Visual Studio or similar package. I am thinking the Flash card
    would sell for approx $100. Would this be of any interest ? What
    about the price ? Any suggestion on what should be included in the
    flash ?


    Allan,
    How about another suggestion? The latest version of the Mindstorms
    from Lego is an ARM9. It runs a Linux kernel. Ever given any thought
    to putting OS9 on something like this? We use them here for teaching
    undergraduate and graduate level Realtime Systems courses. There has
    been a desire for better kernels since the very first Mindstorms when
    someone developed something called BrickOS. This could be a chance to
    get OS9 back in the public eye as these systems are being used from
    elementary schools thru Universities and by many people who just like
    playing with robots and other realtime applications. Heck, I just
    watched a video where they were using sensors connected to a EV3 brick >> to monitor labratory experiments. Having a decent realtime OS inside
    the box could open that niche up even more, too.

    Might even want to think about partnering with a University with this. >> (wink wink). Maybe even starting an educational alliance program like
    many computer business (like IBM!) have.

    Just saying.....

    bill


    Bill
    We have OS-9 running an about a dozen small ARM boards. I have not
    looked at the MindStorms board. ARM9 is older technology I think. I
    Yeah, that fooled me, too. I thought ARMv8 -> ARM9. But appaently they
    have two numbering systems and ARM9 is actually and ARMv4 cpu. But still valuable in the long run, I think.
    would have to double check it. We have OS-9 basically running on the Raspberry PI and Beagle Bone Black. Also the Several Boards AllWinner A10, A20 A30 chips. Most of these boards are under $100. I will take
    a look at the Mindstorms, but we are focued on updating OS-9 to support current ARM chips.
    I was looking at more than running OS9 on an EV3. I was looking at all
    the places EV3's are showing up in education and the potential for OS9
    to find its way into that environment. I still use OS9 on the 6809 and
    have long wondered about porting it to other small systems, in particular the PDP-11 and even the VAX (although that doesn't really qualify as a small system architecturally). And then I have these QBUS 68K boards
    that I thought would be nice homes for OS-9/68K. So many dreams, so
    little opportunity. :-)

    But I digress. I think finding a way into the education niche would be
    a good thing. As people become more and more concerned about SCADA and security I expect there will be increased demand for realtime engineers
    and why shouldn't they be working with what I always thought was the best in realtime. :-)

    All the best.
    bill


    --
    Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves bill...@cs.scranton.edu | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. University of Scranton |
    Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include <std.disclaimer.h>
    Hi All

    I have not been in touch with Allan for a long time but the last time we made contact he informed me the "target" hobbyist
    board was then the Raspberry P Zero and that the release was nearly ready. That was a long time ago and for me the Zero is not so
    interesting. There are problems with the earlier Pi's due to the fact that USB and Ethernet are not native.

    I am still very interested in OS-9 on the Pi (preferably the 4) since I have a complete SCADA system that needs porting and if there
    is a Hobbyist release I am quite happy to work with others in the community to bring it back to life

    All the best

    keith@linklaser.com

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Keefsk@21:1/5 to Keefsk on Thu Feb 25 06:02:49 2021
    On Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 9:00:52 PM UTC+7, Keefsk wrote:
    On Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 6:24:50 AM UTC+7, Nuclear Squid!! wrote:
    Hello, veeeery old thread I know, but if anyone sees this -- did these discussed ports of OS-9 for Beaglebone, Pi, CubieBoard or TI Sitara chips ever complete?
    If so, is anything still available to try?
    I was an old time OS-9/68k user/developer and still do some embedded work. I would love to acquire (price allowing!) a way to do OS-9 on one of these ARM platforms. I have a Cubieboard v1 and a PI 3B.
    Would even love to attempt a port if I had the chance. (I had experience porting OS-9/68k to custom boards, years ago.)

    Thanks,
    -Russ
    On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 9:35:39 a.m. UTC-8, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
    In article <kp9ww.1232435$Rp.12...@fx23.iad>,
    "Allan R. Batteiger" <a...@rtsi.com> writes:
    bi...@server3.cs.scranton.edu (Bill Gunshannon) wrote in news:cicje1...@mid.individual.net:

    In article <G3EQv.82916$Ub6....@fx20.iad>,
    "Allan R. Batteiger" <a...@rtsi.com> writes:
    Good morning
    We have been busy updating OS-9 over the last year. New release
    announcements will be coming soon. One Question for the die-hard
    OS-9 users still out there. Would there be any interest in OS-9 on >>> a Raspberry PI or BeagleBone Black ? We are tossing around the idea >>> of an OS-9 for Eval that would be full featured but limited. The
    basic concept is Purchase a flash card that boots OS-9. It has
    enough to be barley useful. No definition of what the means yet. A >>> SDK would be availble for approx. the same price you would would pay >>> for Visual Studio or similar package. I am thinking the Flash card >>> would sell for approx $100. Would this be of any interest ? What
    about the price ? Any suggestion on what should be included in the >>> flash ?


    Allan,
    How about another suggestion? The latest version of the Mindstorms
    from Lego is an ARM9. It runs a Linux kernel. Ever given any thought >> to putting OS9 on something like this? We use them here for teaching >> undergraduate and graduate level Realtime Systems courses. There has >> been a desire for better kernels since the very first Mindstorms when >> someone developed something called BrickOS. This could be a chance to >> get OS9 back in the public eye as these systems are being used from
    elementary schools thru Universities and by many people who just like >> playing with robots and other realtime applications. Heck, I just
    watched a video where they were using sensors connected to a EV3 brick >> to monitor labratory experiments. Having a decent realtime OS inside >> the box could open that niche up even more, too.

    Might even want to think about partnering with a University with this. >> (wink wink). Maybe even starting an educational alliance program like >> many computer business (like IBM!) have.

    Just saying.....

    bill


    Bill
    We have OS-9 running an about a dozen small ARM boards. I have not looked at the MindStorms board. ARM9 is older technology I think. I
    Yeah, that fooled me, too. I thought ARMv8 -> ARM9. But appaently they have two numbering systems and ARM9 is actually and ARMv4 cpu. But still valuable in the long run, I think.
    would have to double check it. We have OS-9 basically running on the Raspberry PI and Beagle Bone Black. Also the Several Boards AllWinner A10, A20 A30 chips. Most of these boards are under $100. I will take
    a look at the Mindstorms, but we are focued on updating OS-9 to support current ARM chips.
    I was looking at more than running OS9 on an EV3. I was looking at all the places EV3's are showing up in education and the potential for OS9
    to find its way into that environment. I still use OS9 on the 6809 and have long wondered about porting it to other small systems, in particular the PDP-11 and even the VAX (although that doesn't really qualify as a small system architecturally). And then I have these QBUS 68K boards
    that I thought would be nice homes for OS-9/68K. So many dreams, so little opportunity. :-)

    But I digress. I think finding a way into the education niche would be
    a good thing. As people become more and more concerned about SCADA and security I expect there will be increased demand for realtime engineers and why shouldn't they be working with what I always thought was the best in realtime. :-)

    All the best.
    bill


    --
    Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves bill...@cs.scranton.edu | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. University of Scranton |
    Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include <std.disclaimer.h>
    Hi All

    I have not been in touch with Allan for a long time but the last time we made contact he informed me the "target" hobbyist
    board was then the Raspberry P Zero and that the release was nearly ready. That was a long time ago and for me the Zero is not so
    interesting. There are problems with the earlier Pi's due to the fact that USB and Ethernet are not native.

    I am still very interested in OS-9 on the Pi (preferably the 4) since I have a complete SCADA system that needs porting and if there
    is a Hobbyist release I am quite happy to work with others in the community to bring it back to life

    All the best

    ke...@linklaser.com
    By the way there is an OS-9 group on LinkedIn that is more up to date

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)