3 ms·

This contraption: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAyBz8XIMsU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAyBz8XIMsU http://www.silverball.net/images_martin/tech_pc_case

This contraption: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAyBz8XIMsU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAyBz8XIMsU http://www.silverball.net/images_martin/tech_pc_case.jpg http://www.silverball.net/images_martin/tech_pc_case.jpg It was a MediaGX 5520 (233Mhz) motherboard with a custom PCI board holding an array of 8mbit ROMs + flash memory and a DSP for sound playback. Douglas Comer's XINU was used as an operating system and ran from ROM. The "too early for it's time" was less about the pinball machine and more about the MediaGX. A small Geode board + Linux could have been a really nice platform. I think a lot of ATMs are actually using this formula.

jacquesm 11y ago
Super nice work. I've worked on some coin op stuff as well but more video game oriented. The original software ran on Windows, I did a linux port to show that 'it could be done' without windows. The hardest part was to switch from one game to another (multi game console) without a video mode reset. Another application for that board is on-board computer for cars. I've got a very similar board in a nice little case that just fits under the passenger seat and wires into the car by running cables to the side of the transmission tunnel. Boot times are short (runs off a flash disk) and media are stored on a small 2.5" hard drive. I like these little systems.