Confession...

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monkeykoder
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Confession...

Post by monkeykoder »

I had to google the answer to the bot question... I'm a geek that likes to tinker with things but I get frustrated not knowing HOW what I'm doing works. I've done by far less coding than I probably should have to tackle an OS but what I lack in straight programming skill I hope I can make up for in boredness and my freakish love for reading manuals... The project I'm working on designing right now is one of two either take an old computer and turn it into a gaming console (for no reason other than I have lots of old computers lying around and figure I might as well use them for a project...) or building my own console using Atmel microcontrollers. Project #1 looks interesting because I already have the hardware sitting there ready to be used Project #2 looks interesting because I have a better knowledge of the Assembly language for the Atmel chips (microcontroller programming class based on Atmel chips)

I decided to go from the ground up for one specific reason. Programming is just more fun when I'm in 100% control over what's being executed. The only two programming languages I'm familiar with are C and Assembly (though not so much for the x86 architecture).

Hopefully if I have any stupid questions (it happens sometimes the brain shuts off and you can't seem to get the right search phrase to get you the results you need) you'll direct me to the right resources (I'd be happy with a link to TFM).
RadikalRane
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Re: Confession...

Post by RadikalRane »

I'm a geek that likes to tinker with things but I get frustrated not knowing HOW what I'm doing works.
I think you have to be such a geek to be an OS developer, other "normal" people wouldn't even consider doing something like building an OS ^^


As for the gaming console project, it sounds interesting and it would be great if you could pull it off, but you do have to remember that a gaming console needs a decent graphics card, and there aren't a lot of (if any) manuals or documents about graphics driver programming, so you'll have to do some serious reverse engineering of available open source drivers for your specific graphics card

I'm not even sure if anyone on this forum has pulled off decent graphics hardware acceleration
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Combuster
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Re: Confession...

Post by Combuster »

RadikalRane wrote:I'm not even sure if anyone on this forum has pulled off decent graphics hardware acceleration
What device do you want? Trio64V? Mach64? Voodoo? Verite? (Or tried JamesM's nvidia driver) :wink:
"Certainly avoid yourself. He is a newbie and might not realize it. You'll hate his code deeply a few years down the road." - Sortie
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RadikalRane
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Re: Confession...

Post by RadikalRane »

Combuster wrote:
RadikalRane wrote:I'm not even sure if anyone on this forum has pulled off decent graphics hardware acceleration
What device do you want? Trio64V? Mach64? Voodoo? Verite? (Or tried JamesM's nvidia driver) :wink:
It's obvious that I need to search through these forums some more (and it's obvious that I haven't done anything graphics-related yet in my kernel ^^)

just out of interest, do these drivers support complete 3D acceleration?
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Owen
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Re: Confession...

Post by Owen »

RadikalRane wrote:
I'm a geek that likes to tinker with things but I get frustrated not knowing HOW what I'm doing works.
I think you have to be such a geek to be an OS developer, other "normal" people wouldn't even consider doing something like building an OS ^^


As for the gaming console project, it sounds interesting and it would be great if you could pull it off, but you do have to remember that a gaming console needs a decent graphics card, and there aren't a lot of (if any) manuals or documents about graphics driver programming, so you'll have to do some serious reverse engineering of available open source drivers for your specific graphics card

I'm not even sure if anyone on this forum has pulled off decent graphics hardware acceleration
He said Atmel microcontrollers. Even the most powerful microcontrollers they make (The AVR32s) won't be interfacing with a graphics card!

And I'm betting hes actually using the 8-bit AVRs... definitely no interfacing going on there.
monkeykoder
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Re: Confession...

Post by monkeykoder »

Owen wrote:
RadikalRane wrote:
I'm a geek that likes to tinker with things but I get frustrated not knowing HOW what I'm doing works.
I think you have to be such a geek to be an OS developer, other "normal" people wouldn't even consider doing something like building an OS ^^


As for the gaming console project, it sounds interesting and it would be great if you could pull it off, but you do have to remember that a gaming console needs a decent graphics card, and there aren't a lot of (if any) manuals or documents about graphics driver programming, so you'll have to do some serious reverse engineering of available open source drivers for your specific graphics card

I'm not even sure if anyone on this forum has pulled off decent graphics hardware acceleration
He said Atmel microcontrollers. Even the most powerful microcontrollers they make (The AVR32s) won't be interfacing with a graphics card!

And I'm betting hes actually using the 8-bit AVRs... definitely no interfacing going on there.
I'm still working out which architecture I want to work in. I know I'm not going to be looking to do any 3D work yet but possibly in the future if I go the PC route. Going the Atmel route yes most likely I'll be making a Nintendo level gaming console (at best) but you have to start somewhere and limiting what you have to deal with for hardware interfaces is a way to make things easier. Hopefully someday I'll attack a modern gaming console. Mhz wise at least the 32 bit Atmel chips are faster than my old 486...
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Re: Confession...

Post by AndrewAPrice »

Virtually every consoles has it's community of home brewers who have spent countless months/years of their life reverse engineering the specifications.
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Re: Confession...

Post by monkeykoder »

Why would I want to re-do theirs it's an exercise in creating not in re-creating..

So the question is read a tutorial on Assembler for the P4 or read the manuals from Intel (there's a light read for you...)?
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Re: Confession...

Post by jal »

MessiahAndrw wrote:Virtually every consoles has it's community of home brewers who have spent countless months/years of their life reverse engineering the specifications.
Unfortunately, not the vtech v.smile of my daughter :(. Grmbl. Sorry for the off-topicness.


JAL
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Re: Confession...

Post by earlz »

jal wrote:
MessiahAndrw wrote:Virtually every consoles has it's community of home brewers who have spent countless months/years of their life reverse engineering the specifications.
Unfortunately, not the vtech v.smile of my daughter :(. Grmbl. Sorry for the off-topicness.


JAL
I guess that just means your suppose to reverse engineer it. "If you reverse engineer it, they will come... and develop." lol
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Re: Confession...

Post by jal »

earlz wrote:I guess that just means your suppose to reverse engineer it. "If you reverse engineer it, they will come... and develop." lol
Unfortunately, I don't think my daughter will find it a good idea if I take apart her computer :). Besides, I know little about hardware, so I can't reverse engineer it.


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Re: Confession...

Post by Brynet-Inc »

jal wrote:Unfortunately, I don't think my daughter will find it a good idea if I take apart her computer :). Besides, I know little about hardware, so I can't reverse engineer it.
Tell her you're installing a super fun upgrade, with lots of magical ponies and whatnot.. then have at it, give it back in pieces with pepto bismol poured all over it.

Say they didn't fit.
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earlz
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Re: Confession...

Post by earlz »

yea because pepto bismal makes everything better!
jal
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Re: Confession...

Post by jal »

Brynet-Inc wrote:Tell her you're installing a super fun upgrade, with lots of magical ponies and whatnot.. then have at it, give it back in pieces with pepto bismol poured all over it.
Hehe, I don't think she'll fall for that, not to mention she'll be hartbroken and renounce computers forever :).


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