[mythtv-users] Atom-based Fit-PC frontend?

[Jarod Wilson]

On Aug 13, 2009, at 11:41 AM, Robin Smith wrote:

> :(
>
>>> Anyone try a Fit-PC2 for a Myth frontend yet?
>> Intel (but not really) GMA500 graphics. Aka, poulsbo BS with the  
>> PowerVR
>> core that requires a crack-riddled binary-only driver that only  
>> halfway
>> exists to do anything useful. Supposed to be able to do hardware  
>> decode of
>> most common video codecs, but I'm not aware of anything (certainly  
>> not myth)
>> that can take advantage of it yet.
>>
>> But otherwise, an amusing little box.
>>
>
> Yeah, I just read this:
> "The Poulsbo chipset includes an Intel GMA500 graphics processor, and
> it is what I was most curious about when testing this machine. The
> model number might suggest it to be a slower version of the GMA900,
> but in fact it’s an entirely different graphics core, PowerVR SGX,
> licensed from a company called Imagination Technologies. I wanted to
> see if it could keep up with the GMA900 in my Asus 901 netbook.
> Perhaps it’d even do better.
>
> Intel has been known to support the Linux community by providing the
> details necessary to write display drivers. As a result, Intel’s
> integrated GPUs are a great option for Linux users with modest
> graphics needs. Unfortunately, because it’s not a true Intel product,
> this doesn’t apply to the GMA500. The current state of Linux drivers
> for the Poulsbo chipset has rightfully been described as ‘a mess‘.
> There is a driver available for some Linux distributions, but it does
> not work with the latest kernels. For Ubuntu, this means you’re stuck
> using 8.04. And I have to admit that after using 9.04 for a while now
> that feels like a major step backwards."
>
> From here: http://www.roytanck.com/2009/07/29/fit-pc2-review-the-worlds-smallest-desktop-pc/
>
> Well that sucks. What a crappy choice to have made. Interestingly, you
> can buy a Fit-PC2 with Ubuntu on it, so have they clobbered together
> some drivers to make the video work reliably?

Haven't actually used any gma500 systems myself, but apparently,  
there's a reasonably functional driver in the latest ubuntu netbook  
remix repo, which has now also been built into packages for Fedora 11  
by one of our guys here, who says its actually working quite well now...

-- 
Jarod Wilson
jarod at wilsonet.com