You sure remember the Nintendo 64even if you don't like game consoles. And it was one of the most popular consoles of a few years ago. It was the fourth produced by Nintendo and developed to succeed the also successful Super Nintendo. The goal of this console was to compete with the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. To do this, they created a very interesting desktop console format, with support for 64MB (512 Mbit) cartridges and a NEC VR4300 64-bit 93.7Mhz CPU.
Well, regardless of the history of this console that you all know, you should know that, like so many other devices, Linux can be installed. And now there is a new updated port for this console. So if you still have a functional Nintendo 64 and want to experiment a bit with it, this article will interest you ...
Among one of the strange things that 2020 has left we have had a new Linux port for Nintendo 64. It happened at the end of December, while all that media noise due to the pandemic and other political issues that were happening left nothing more than that to be heard.
The developer of this project is Lauri kasanen, and it appears to have not been based on either of the previous two port attempts for Linux. Kasanen also commented on whether or not this port should be merged, given that it is an old platform and a very narrow niche and it would not make much sense for the merge request to be accepted. It is more something for some enthusiasts, a challenge ... but it is still an amazing project.
El reason why Kasanen has created this port for Nintendo 64 has explained it himself: «Having Linux available makes it easier to port emulators and console games. […] And most importantly, because I can do it.«.
You should also know that this port does not need a distribution special or complete, but simply allows the Linux kernel to be started on the Nintendo 64. And if you are interested in learning more, you can find the boot loader at GitHub and the file README.
This is interesting to read!