Let me just start off by saying that I own a gamecube chipped with Viper, running Cobra-1.2 and GCoS-Ripper as bootstrapper (mostly to boot Gentoo/PPC ), and also a viper casemod.
So I know what I'm talking about. :-D
Things that pull it down compared to a general purpose computer like the Sam440:
* The so called "broadband" adapter, which is a 10Mbit dongle stuck into a serial port, and it's nowhere near 10Mbit, it's barely around for half the speed of that.
* Too little system RAM (22MB) for "real life" use, and no way to upgrade the ammount of system RAM. You can then add 16MB of ARAM by swapping.
* It doesnt read CDs, only DVDs, so your AROS LiveCD would have to be a DVD.
* In principle it only reads 8cm DVDs, allthough with a casemod (like mine) you can use regular size DVDs, however you an only use the mid 8cm of them, and it can be pretty picky about them.
* Lack of local disk-controller. Yes, you can use SD cards via adapter, but it isnt exactly fast or anything.
