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List:       freebsd-hackers
Subject:    Re: Intel Merced FreeBSD??? Intel? - NOT
From:       Darryl Okahata <darrylo () sr ! hp ! com>
Date:       1999-08-29 23:42:19
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"Jay West" <jlwest@tseinc.com> wrote:

> The merced executes PA-RISC instructions natively. It also executes x86
> instructions natively. If the chip you get doesn't do one or the other, it's
> because that section has been lobotomized for marketing/contract reasons due
> to where you get the chip from. The section is still on the silicon
> though...

     As a side comment, note that there is more than one "Merced Linux
port" (it'll be interesting to see how they merge the efforts, if at
all).  There's the VA/Intel port, and there's a lesser-known one from HP
Labs (it's been demo'd at the HP booth at recent Linux trade shows).
>From the secondhand info I've heard, it may be further ahead than the
VA/Intel one.  Back in February, I did see a very early version boot on
some laptop running a Merced simulator.  At the time, it wasn't very
functional, being able to do ps, ls, and not much else, but I was
surprised at how fast the simulator ran on the laptop (I think the boot
sequence took a couple of minutes, but I didn't do any actual timings).
However, that was six months ago, and quite a bit has supposedly been
done since then.  I've heard that it's "almost usable" (whatever this
means).

--
	Darryl Okahata
	darrylo@sr.hp.com

DISCLAIMER: this message is the author's personal opinion and does not
constitute the support, opinion, or policy of Hewlett-Packard, or of the
little green men that have been following him all day.




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