For Bloodline: Sock-computer now with Ethernet

[Dan]

http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9351416325.html
The gumstix can now use a ethernet or Compactflashmodule insteead off MMC-cards.

[bloodline]

These little beasties just get better and better!!! :-D

[chiark]

Hot damn!  It looks like I might be upgrading/replacing the hardware that makes up LIMP

Too cool, far too cool.  I need one.

[chiark]

Just a shame there's no way to add mass storage right now - the USB is device only, and doesn't support USB2GO, and there's no IDE or other storage.  Only CF or MMC.

[Dan]

It is too small. There isn´t even room for the cf-card and the bluetooth-antennae at the same time....

[bloodline]

chiark wrote:
Just a shame there's no way to add mass storage right now - the USB is device only, and doesn't support USB2GO, and there's no IDE or other storage.  Only CF or MMC.

A bit of hacking the CF port will allow a connection to an IDE drive, no electronics will be required as the two ports are electrically the same. :-D

[bloodline]

bloodline wrote:

chiark wrote:
Just a shame there's no way to add mass storage right now - the USB is device only, and doesn't support USB2GO, and there's no IDE or other storage.  Only CF or MMC.

A bit of hacking the CF port will allow a connection to an IDE drive, no electronics will be required as the two ports are electrically the same. :-D

Thinking about it... It wouldn't take much to hack an IDE drive onto the CF port and then plug this thing into a hub/switch... and use it as a file server on a home network...

[chiark]

Folks, I'd dearly love to see that :-D .  My in-car MP3 player would be soooooo much better running one of these :-)

There's been a lot of activity on the gumstix boards asking about hard drive interfacing, and there seems to be no comment from the developers - they're working on something, but have no timescales or further information.

There are three types of CF interface - one that is basically IDE in drag, and another PC-CARD-ATA, and a memory mapped mode...  A little knowledge is a dangerous thing (especially in my hands), but I wonder if the full CF interface has been implemented? If it has, the IDE interface could be fairly straightforward - but if it is straightforward, wouldn't there be CF to IDE adaptors available commercially?

http://www.wau.nl/hemeltje/temporary/personal/miscelaneous/cfadapter.html

I'm trying to find if a CF for IDE adaptor works in reverse :-) - anyone know?

It seems impossible from googling on usenet -
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.arch.embedded/browse_frm/thread/6a6dc4b5400d8877/79f3b91223311595?q=compact+flash&_done=%2Fgroups%3Fq%3Dcompact+flash%26qt_s%3DSearch+Groups%26&_doneTitle=Back+to+Search&&d#79f3b91223311595

but seeming impossible doesn't mean that it is impossible :-D