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This is LinuxBIOS with X Server (Kdrive, formely TinyX) inside a 2MB BIOS flash memory.
The setup: LinuxBIOS + a Linux kernel + BusyBox + a tiny X11 server (Kdrive) + the Matchbox window manager + rxvt.
All of this in a normal BIOS chip (2 MB), without any hard drive connected (who needs hard drives when you can fit everything in the BIOS just fine)...
The thing boots into BusyBox in less than 6 seconds, then in ca. 2 seconds into X11 + rxvt. There's probably even room for improvement there...
The setup: LinuxBIOS + a Linux kernel + BusyBox + a tiny X11 server (Kdrive) + the Matchbox window manager + rxvt.
All of this in a normal BIOS chip (2 MB), without any hard drive connected (who needs hard drives when you can fit everything in the BIOS just fine)...
The thing boots into BusyBox in less than 6 seconds, then in ca. 2 seconds into X11 + rxvt. There's probably even room for improvement there...
*nochannel
Um...and then what? It boots in 6 seconds but let's face it, it's still Linux. Don't need a hard drive? Cool! So it runs what then on that little 2MB BIOS? OpenOffice? Gaim? Gimp? or are we just looking to run something to manage a network or something...if so, then why even run X11 at all? You CAN run multiple terminal sessions.
Or is the whole point and the whole exercise only to see "if it can be done". Yep, it can be done!
moving on...
That point is, yes, this thing can boot into X11 in 6 seconds and in only 2mb...but so what? How practical is this? How much is missing or thrown out of the OS just so you can fit it all in 2mb WITH X11? I say throw out X11 from there, have it boot into just a shell and you have much more functionality.
Ok, sure...it's cool. Look, it boots in 6 seconds and boots up a very limited X11 server. But the neatness factor fades away about as fast as this thing boots.
Get back to me when you can fit an entire distro with applications on a 2mb BIOS.
That point is, yes, this thing can boot into X11 in 6 seconds and in only 2mb...but so what? How practical is this? How much is missing or thrown out of the OS just so you can fit it all in 2mb WITH X11? I say throw out X11 from there, have it boot into just a shell and you have much more functionality.
We are talking about X here, an Xserver specifically. Running the Xclient apps on a headless box in the corner makes this entirely functional. Patch the kernel on the BIOS with openMOSIX and you can have a fast booting load sharing cluster of X workstations. What about this was useless again?