[Arm-netbook] systemd and kernel: 3.4, mainline

[Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton]

On Wed, Mar 8, 2017 at 5:33 AM, Stefan Monnier <monnier at iro.umontreal.ca> wrote:
>> And now I hear that A20 card will be shipped with kernel 3.4. Sure, it's
>> not lower than 3.2 but how long will glibc support 3.4? What about other
>> packages?
>
> Actually, mainline support for A20 isn't that bad, depending on your
> specific use case.
> Check http://linux-sunxi.org/Linux_mainlining_effort.  It's fairly good
> for headless servers, less so for tablets and desktops.  And there is
> (slow) progress, so its future isn't too bleak.

 yeahhh, it's the lack of desktop support that's the main concern.
i'd like to be able to say that it will be possible to fund the
mainlining support but it isn't, right now.

 also, as i mentioned earlier, the A20's running out of time.  i'm
going to have to ship with only an older toshipba 1MB or even just a
128kb NAND flash because it's getting harder and harder to find
so-called "legacy" NAND flash ICs in TSSOP packaging that the A20's
brain-dead boot ROM recognises.

so now you may gain some understanding why the RK3288 board is so important.

 (a) it's got full mainline support
 (b) it's just as libre as the A20 Card
 (c) it has mass-volume support
 (d) it's had a chromebook and more made around it
 (e) it's been around long enough to have all the problems ironed out
 (f) the technical reference manuals are now online
 (g) it's possible to get Reference Designs for $USD 25.

that DOES NOT mean that the A20 board is not important: it is critical
at this early phase.

l.