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I've just had a look at the DragonBox Pyra. It looks like it's going to use a PowerVR GPU (i.e. no FOSS drivers). Can you clarify how a mainline kernel can be
by maheart 11y ago
I've just had a look at the DragonBox Pyra. It looks like it's going to use a PowerVR GPU (i.e. no FOSS drivers).
Can you clarify how a mainline kernel can be run on such a device? I assume PowerVR are written only for specific kernel versions (e.g. in the same way GPU drivers are written specifically for Android's Linux kernel 3.4)
- nextos 11y agoThat's true. My plan was to run the Pyra without 3D acceleration, as I will use it just as a minilaptop for maps, chat and ssh. AFAIK, the Vivante chip included in Pyra has a usable free driver, which is what matters most for my usecase. PowerVR is also said to be working on a free driver [1]. This might do the trick. Generally, GPUs are the showstopper in ARM architectures. Otherwise, it is possible to run not only a mainline linux kernel, but a deblobbed one (linux-libre). I do this on a Chromebook C201 [2]. Note you don't even need CPU firmware, as it is the case with Intel. [1] http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Power-VR-Open-Chatter http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Power-VR-... [2] http://www.libreboot.org/docs/hcl/c201.html http://www.libreboot.org/docs/hcl/c201.html