From: Dick Davies <rasputnik@...>
Date: 2006-11-27T05:23:23+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby/Rails on Gumstix

On 26/11/06, Giles Bowkett <gilesb@gmail.com> wrote:

> However, to be a little more realistic, and to speak about Ruby rather
> than Java, there was a recent project using those things which added
> them to tiny remote-control helicopters and set up a WiFi network to
> explore flocking in flying robots, and they had a simple Web
> application for their user interface. That would be a perfect use of
> Rails in this context, and of course you could write the flocking code
> in Ruby as well.
>
> http://perso.orange.fr/pascal.brisset/chromicro/doc/chromicro.html

I thought that was just a bluetooth controlled flyer.
Are you confusing it with the UltraSwarm/GridSmarm stuff
http://cswww.essex.ac.uk/staff/owen/research.htm#The%20Flying%20Gridswarm,%20and%20the%20UltraSwarm

(which at the time it got all the publicity, wasn't a grid - it was 1 machine
with a flight time of about 45 seconds).

Gumstix are fantastic, but IMO they're more appropriate for custom apps
- robotics, wearables, drones, things like the 'Pegasus' project :
( http://www.pegasushabproject.org.uk/ )
than for general purpose computing.

For your Simon thing, I'd go for a p100 and some serial cables (killjoy I know,
but you'll be less annoyed when it's stolen or puked on). Maybe some IRDA
recievers in each skull and a TV remote for the 'wand'?

A dozen 'stix in a cluster has about the same computing power
of a so-so pentium3, and costs probably 3 times the price a Sun
T2000 (once you sort the networking out).

That said, they're perfectly able to compile stuff themselves -  storage
more than memory is your limiting factor, so just use an NFS share.

Alternatively, I had a lot of success cross-compiling ARM packages with
the stuff from http://scratchbox.org

-- 
Rasputin :: Jack of All Trades - Master of Nuns
http://number9.hellooperator.net/