Re: Guix on the MNT Reform

[Andreas Enge <andreas@enge.fr>]

Hello Chris,

On Fri, May 08, 2020 at 11:06:04AM -0400, Christopher Lemmer Webber wrote:
> I'm very excited to see the MNT Reform launch:

thanks for bringing it to my attention! It looks quite exciting indeed.

> However my impression is that running Guix on ARM is not necessarily
> straightforward.  I haven't tried it yet.

I have been using it on a Novena (which has the "predecessor" board i.MX6,
a 32 bit architecture, and does feel very slow; I am assuming the new board
will be much faster), and on the Overdrive, which we use as a build server. 
Guix as a package manager is easy, but I am not very knowledgeable on how to
install the complete system.

From what I understand, they use a stock Linux 5.7.0 kernel and publish
a kernel config file; we should be able to produce this for Guix with
linux-libre.

>     CPU: NXP/Freescale i.MX8MQ with 4x ARM Cortex-A53 cores (1.5 GHz),
>       1x Cortex-M4F core. CPU and RAM are on exchangeable SO-DIMM sized
>       module.
>     RAM: 4GB LPDDR4 memory
>     GPU: Vivante GC7000Lite GPU with mainline Linux drivers and OpenGL
>       2.1, ES 2.0
> (My other main worry is: that's pretty light on RAM these days...!
> But hey, maybe incentive for me to cut the fat in the programs I use a
> bit more...)

There is a project to develop an LS1028A module with two A72 cores and
up to 16 GB RAM:
   https://nlnet.nl/project/MNT-Reform/
It is expected to be more expensive and to not be available before next year.
So maybe it will be possible to upgrade, depending on how long the adventure
will last - I was a bit disappointed that the Novena has been a one-shot
experience. And there is the EOMA68, which has not materialised.

Oh, and one big drawback: The HDMI output requires a proprietary firmware
blob. Given that I am using my laptop mainly for working attached to a
large screen, that is a big problem.

Since you posted your message, there has been a librelounge podcast, which
I have not yet listened to:
   https://librelounge.org/episodes/39-mnt-reform-with-lukas-hartmann.html

Andreas