@foone @ann3nova @TechTangents @texec @fuchsiii which reminds me that I'm still looking for a 5,25" 1200kB FDD and a 3,5" 2880kB FDD to shove into my #Z600 which is the newest machine I have that supports #FDD|s with an onboard controller and I'm not in the position to like build a #dISAppointed - Adapter or a #WeeCee like @rasteri did.
I mean, I'd love to see a #PC104 version of the #QuadFlop for like a #archival & #datarecovery machine...
Started tinkering with the #WeeCee and just learned about https://easy2boot.xyz/
Wow, what a weird-looking yet incredibly powerful utility!
That being said @w84death 's #Floppinux v0.2.1 just booted through fine, so yeah, perfectly feasible as "low end testbed" unless I get like a #VIA #C3 / #C5 / #C7 or one of those expensive #Vortex86-made #486SX clones that @rasteri used for the #WeeCee, tho I'm shure noone would go below a #RaspberryPi #Pi0 / #Pi0W v1.3 or the original #PiModelB v1.2 in terms of #FrugalComputing.
@SweetAIBelle Needless to say I'm convinced I can just boot @OS1337 from either a #USB-#Floppy(-#Emulator via USB Adaptor) or regular #flashdrive using #Ventoy, as #ISOLINUX distro...
I'll test it out today...
Luckily I have some "bare metal" to test against:
Sadly I don't have much more "lower end" or "legacy" systems as a significant collection of mine got stolen from storage years ago and I don't have the money flying around to build @rasteri 's #Wee86 / #WeeCee... I was thinking about getting one of those Dell Wyse 3040 which AFAIK come with a #cursed #32bit #UEFI...
Sadly "Potato-level" #Netbooks running #VIA #C7 chips are nowadays rare and absurdly expensive and targeting those would be good as they already get too slow for mainstream 32bit distros like #BunsenLabsLinux so repurposing those as #OS1337 testing machines and target hardware may be a good option...
Tho just clocking down a #ThinClient with VIA Edenwould be sufficient to test out.
One of the machines that stolen from me was a Futro S300 with a #Transmeta CPU that I originally intended to use as #Windows95 box...
@sabi Well, there are #FlexRisers and besides the #PicoGUS by @polpo there are also #CS4237B-based #ISA Soundcards...
That could not only fit into 1U @ 19" but also #NUC / #UCFF form factors and be entirely #fanless on it's own...
@felsqualle thx m8!
That'll really make it easier for folks that want to #DIY their #Wee86 or #WeeCee like the one @rasteri built.
I hope @polpo can make the #PicoGUS as flexible as the #CS4237B over time so that there's a means to build a #MSDOS-based "#DOSmini" system with accurate hardware and only new stock parts...
@felsqualle
I started @OS1337 before #Microsoft released #MSDOS under a permissive #FLOSS license and I doubt it's possible to fiddle-in #toybox and other #unix-esque tools under #DOS...
That being said I do think that MS-DOS 4.0 being released and people working on it is a net positive for the #RetroGaming community and will allow people to basically build new #WeeCee / #Wee86 - Style #MiniPC|s without relying on Microsoft not caring about piracy of EoL'd Windows Versions at all...
@fuchsiii @foone @Raspberry_Pi @ActionRetro
OR you could install network support and setup a #RaspberryPi as SMB 1.0 Network Share and connect to that as @rasteri did with his #WeeCee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P1E2vjpcRo&t=5m50s
Heyheyhey! One of the #weeCee's that I made is now back up for sale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/404758970702 -- It's one of the earlier models, but tell your friends!
Either way, I hope to longterm develop OS/1337 as a practical distro for lowest-end machines whilst still retaining features and keeping it smol.
Think of it like
@rasteri 's #WeeCee and #8bitGuy's #CommanderX16 having a one-night-stand and out comes a #distro that runs on decades old #IGEL #ThinClients just as nice as on recently discontinued #Wyse3040 or some classic #Netbooks like the famous #EeePC and #P11Z...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJEp4ZUG7BI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPuP1L7vnr0
https://www.ebay.de/itm/196058676290
@polpo the only feature one may miss is #SoundBlaster 16 / #GameBlaster compatibility and maybe a #PC104 version and a header for a #Gameport...
Then it would be a perfect replacement for the discontinued #CS4237B that @rasteri used on the #Wee86 & #WeeCee...
@ActionRetro C3's are hard to come by...
You may be able to find some #C7-based #industrial and #embedded boards, similar to the SBCs that @rasteri used for the #Wee86 (A #PC104-based Retro Mini PC) and #WeeCee (same concept but smaller and eith a more modern CPU) but those will be frightingly expensive.
Not shure how well #VIA made cross-generation compatibility but consider getting a #ViaNano and see if you can choke it down in the UEFI/BIOS to match C3 performance...
@flyingsaceur @polpo *nodds in agreement*
Maybe @rasteri and @foone would be interested in taking a closer look at it.
Considering they did somewhat work on the #wee86 / #WeeCee's sound solution based off #PC104 / #ISA that could be in the realm of possibilities, tho both Wee86 & WeeCee do have an RTC and only need a battery hooked up to the correct pins to just work out of the box...
@suprjami thanks to @polpo for developing the #PicoGUS because that solves a big issue I see with the #Wee86 & #WeeCee that @rasteri made:
Finding a still-in-production #ISA #Soundcard, because the #CS4237B is out of production amd whilst it's not looking as if the stocks are going to dry up soon, I think avoiding out-op-production parts as much as possible is the most sustainable way to keep it available.
OFC one could also redesign it for #PC104 too...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBsv-jRiIT8&t=238s
Less than an hour left on #weeCee SN3: https://www.ebay.com/itm/335100866875
