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Hardware Software Linux

Mobile Linux Project In Ammo Canister 219

Posted by simoniker from the boot-boot-boom dept.
Chaosrider writes "Army Linux is a mobile development platform constructed from a 50-caliber ammunition canister. This site documents the development of an embedded Linux project, which features a backlit LCD screen, a VIA technologies Mini-ITX form factor motherboard and a 1U power supply. The site covers construction techniques, costs and hardware installation." The site also points to a similar PC-in-ammo-box project at Epiacenter.com.
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Mobile Linux Project In Ammo Canister More

Mobile Linux Project In Ammo Canister

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  • US Government Rules Linux a WMD (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:04PM (#6902711)
    After intense lobbying by Microsoft, the United States today recognized Linux as a weapon of mass destruction. The breaking point was apparently news that Linux now runs in an ammo canister. "We plan to wipe out Linux where ever it may be... and hopefully there's lots of it in Iraq!" said President George W. Bush.

  • Lovely! (Score:4, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:05PM (#6902719) Homepage Journal

    Just the perfect thing to use on a certain company in Utah..
  • Check out this case mod that was at Quakecon. It doesn't run Linux but it still looks damn cool!

    The guy that built it actually changed all of his cable ends to fit into the custom plugs on the front of the case. He did a REALLY great job!

    here's the picture [shrocks.com]

  • more links (Score:5, Informative)

    by klocwerk ( 48514 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:05PM (#6902725) Homepage
    also at mini-itx.com,
    ammobox pc [mini-itx.com]
    another one [mini-itx.com]
    aaaand yet another [mini-itx.com]

    -your friendly mini-itx loving geek

  • ammo box (Score:5, Funny)

    by korgull ( 267700 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:06PM (#6902731) Homepage
    Seems not very portable to me if you need to catch a flight.
    I would love to see thos efaces at the check-in counter.
    • Why would they care? It is perfectly legal and normal to check your ammunition (and firearms) at the airline counter.

  • Embedded. (Score:5, Informative)

    by mindstrm ( 20013 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:06PM (#6902732)
    The idea of an embedded system is one that seems to be badly distorted nowadays..
    .
    A small, but otherwise fully functional PC in a strange case is not an embedded system.

    The computer that handles your car's internals is an embedded.

    Your tivo is kind of an embedded system... not sure on that one.

    But a full on PC inside something weird certainly isn't.

    As it was once described to me.. an embedded system is a computer inside something that isn't a computer. A case doesn't count.

    Those little boards the size of a dimm slice with a processor, ram, i/o, and other stuff on them are good for embedded work.

    It's not about what version of linux runs, or what OS, or even what it does.. but a PC in a disguise is still a PC, not embedded.

    • Re:Embedded. (Score:5, Informative)

      by Miniluv ( 165290 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:10PM (#6902773) Homepage
      DirecTivo is technically more of an embedded system than a standalone Tivo, in that the DirecTivo is technically a satellite receiver, that happens to also have some linux stuff bolted on to do PVR functionality. The Tivo is just a nifty case around a PPC processor and a harddrive which has a TV-IN card.

      A real embedded system is the controllers for, say, an automated automobile assembly station. The device builds cars, it just happens to have a brain composed partly of linux/qnx/tron/winCE/PalmOS to do the car building.

    • Re:Embedded. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by gl4ss ( 559668 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:28PM (#6902960) Homepage Journal
      there's one definition i like (don't know how accurate it is): if it is obvious that there is a computer inside it isn't embedded(that is, when you use the thing you know and think that you're working with a computer).

    • Re:Embedded. (Score:2, Funny)

      by tuffy ( 10202 )
      It's not about what version of linux runs, or what OS, or even what it does.. but a PC in a disguise is still a PC, not embedded.

      Linux in an ammo case is clearly "embedded", much like american journalists.

      • Linux in an ammo case is clearly "embedded", much like american journalists.

        Right. Just like the original poster said. An embedded system is a computer inside something that is not a computer -- just like an embedded journalist is a journalist inside something that is clearly not journalism.
    • In this case, the computer could be embedded.

      Like, if it was fired from a 50mm gun and "embedded" into the side of a building.
    • Then what's an "embedded" reporter? :)
      • Then what's an "embedded" reporter? :)

        Someone who is so supportive of the current US Government,
        that they can be said to be "In Bed" with them.

  • How many people (Score:4, Funny)

    by TerryAtWork ( 598364 ) <research@aceretail.com> on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:06PM (#6902735)
    Are going to pull their code from Linux now that they know it will be used to kill people?

    Can you even pull your code from Linux?

    • Re:How many people (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Voivod ( 27332 ) <crypticNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:16PM (#6902840)
      A) None, B) no.

      And sorry to break it to you, but people have been putting Linux in missiles, tanks, and all sorts of other deadly devices for years. I work for an embedded systems company and I do Linux developer support all the time for people in the defense industry. Once they figure out how to get some pseudo real-time behavior out of Linux, they are very comfortable with it.
    • I'm not making a statement about the state of the world or the war on Iraq. If anything this project should be seen as positive. An canister used to hold ammunition that brought down firery destruction and death is now used creatively to create through programming and developing ideas for new embedded projects. There are some pretty cool projects out there using these Mini-ITX boards. Check out VIA technologies [via.com.tw] site for some examples.
    • I don't think you can pull your code from linux, you can stop working on it.

      But lets be honest this is not a military use of linux, its putting a board into an empty ammo box. Its no different than putting a PC motherboard into any other kind of strange box.

      Personally I would like to see a very small and cheap linux server something about the size ofa large book, that I can drop onto my lan and use as a development database platform.

  • Holy Case Mods Batman (Score:4, Funny)

    by pope1 ( 40057 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:07PM (#6902741) Homepage
    Thats a pretty interesting design, i love how computers are working thier way into stranger and smaller containers all the time.

    I really think there will be a market for Computers As Art someday. Like a woodcarving with a server in it, for some establishment that wants an ultra-fancy kiosk.

    Or maybe we'll see a return of the "Electronics in Victorian Style Furniture" that was popular in the 30's, 40's.
    • William Gibson actually talked about this in some of his books. In "Idoru", there was a portable computer built in a driftwood case, which used VR goggles and hand trackers for its interface.
    • There already is a market for such stuff. Look at how much heavily modded cases can sell for on eBay. There's some company that sells wood-veneered antec cases (well you know, the same style as the venerable antec/chieftec towers). They come in all sorts of exotic woods, teak and cherry and whatnot, and sell for 500 bucks apiece. Definately something for the exec to match is $5000 desk.

    • I really think there will be a market for Computers As Art someday. Like a woodcarving with a server in it, for some establishment that wants an ultra-fancy kiosk.

      This was modded Funny(?) but I think you're onto something. I have been thinking of this for a while. I make small art boxes/miniature books and silly sculptures from bits of wood, stone and metal and I have been thinking of incorporating technology into some of them for a CPU controlled kinetic sculpture. That, and it's interesting to find oth

      • There is a thriving market about for things like this, think intelligent kinetic sculptures.

        I've a friend that's into that sort of thing... very cool way to spend time, money and CPU cycles

  • I am sure the nice people at airport security will let you through with an ammo box full of electronics.

  • Use Army Mobile Linux! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Tumbleweed ( 3706 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:07PM (#6902746)
    Travel to far away web sites.
    Chat online with exciting, unusual people.
    Then DDOS them!
  • It was only a matter of time before some cheap geek figured out they could stick a micro board in one of those $8 ammo cannisters you find at surplus stores and regged a nifty domain name for it. I know people and companies that have been sticking embedded stuff in the 50cal and 7.68 carbine containers for ten years..

    Really, this article should be (-1, Obvious), if not (-1, Been-there-done-that)..
    • It's not embedded, it's just a PC stuck in something other than a PC case.

      Embedded systems is like the software that runs my microwave. Replace my microwaves software with linux, have it still function as a microwave, but maybe be able to send and recieve data from my PDA, then you've got yourself something you can call an embedded project.
      • It's embedded it the ammo box contains a sbc that's monitoring a remote sensor. Ammo boxes aren't exactly NEMA quality but they work fairly well and they're cheap.
      • I dunno..

        For example, a WAP is an embedded device.. This can function as a WAP.

        An electronic turnstile counter is an embedded device. This can function as an electronic turnstile counter.

        These are examples of a PC as an embedded device.. I think you'd have no argument that the vehicle controller in your minivan is an embedded device, right? There's an in-house port of linux, etc, to the older style Chrysler vehicle controllers out there.. Turns your minivan into a PC.

        The line is quite thin between the t

  • Sad thing is... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by FileNotFound ( 85933 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:07PM (#6902749) Homepage Journal
    ..that this wouldn't be news at all if it ran say WindowsCE.

    Come on, there is nothing special about a case mod.

    This is almost as bad as that Apple Ie project..whoopdie doo..
    • ..that this wouldn't be news at all if it ran say WindowsCE.

      It would if said WinCE installation was stable, fast and legitimate. But fuck ammo-boxes, I'm waiting for someone to stuff a computer in a magazine/clip!

  • Once Again (Score:5, Interesting)

    by stratjakt ( 596332 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:10PM (#6902777) Journal
    An article about shoving an epia board into something other than a PC case. I get it already, the boards are small.

    It goes without saying, of course, that this wouldn't be news if the installed OS was anything but lunix.

    They epia boards are relatively gutless, and frankly the "easy way" to make a small form factor PC. I want to see some FlexATX boards with honest-to-god processing power in these boxes.

    Myself, I'm working on fitting a flexATX board with a P3 800 (I cant remember the model now, I got it on eBay for 20 bucks on a whim) into a hacked PSX arcade stick. With built-in tv-out and mame it'll make a really funky portable arcade. Of course, I have big heat issues and others to solve, which makes it fun.

    I've built other boxes with great success using Shuttles spacewalker mainboards (I think the FV25 is the greatest thing since sliced bread for a small, cheap, but useful PC)

    I dunno, this just isnt all that interesting. You may as well just crazy glue a Zaurus inside the ammo box. It'll be faster.

    • Re:Once Again (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      It goes without saying, of course, that this wouldn't be news if the installed OS was anything but lunix.

      You have to RTFA, he's running XP.
    • In an earlier /. article, a manufacturer is beginning production on a 1.6GHz Pentium 4M miniITX board with gigabit ethernet. I wouldn't call that gutless.

      Oh, it'll run Windows (if you must...)

      • Well, I was referring to the VIA eden boards, with their gutless CPUs that require very little effort to dissipate heat.

        I'd be impressed if someone shoved any board with a 1.6ghz P4 into a NES/Ammo box, or whatever, because then they have to solve some really sticky heat and space issues. It's not the form factor of the board since FlexATX and MiniITX are really, really close in size. (flex can technically be taller, I think 9x7.5 inches, but many boards available are the square 7x7 variety)

        I'm just say
        • The heat output for a 3+GHz p4 or Athlon are on the order of 60-80W. That's not gonna happen in a small box -- the CPU cooling requires an 80mm fan with ducting, all by itself, just to keep from melting down.

          • Re:Once Again (Score:2, Interesting)

            by stratjakt ( 596332 )
            And therein lies the challenge, the solution to which would impress me.

            The fan doesn't have to sit on the CPU as per convention, in such a small box you could set it up such that air is drawn through a front vent, channelled through the heatsink, and funnelled straight out the back. You turn the seeming disadvantage of very little space into an advantage (no stale air pockets, constant flow like a little windtunnel)

            This is the approach I'm taking with my portable arcade project, and it works exceedingly
            • It might work in something the size of an ammo box... But if we're talking NES, it's going to be much more difficult. If we assume that the power supply is external and you're using the on board video, By the time you get two drives into the case (CD-RW or DVD and Harddrive) you're getting pretty tight on space.

              Mounting the fan onto the processor is only done in commodity Intel/AMD PCs. Actually, Dell uses a 4" or 5" case mounted fan and a duct like you describe. Most high end equipment does the same

    • I want to see some FlexATX boards with honest-to-god processing power in these boxes.

      Intel Pentium M processor running at 1600+ MHz [lippert-at.com] with a mini-itx form factor, courtesy of mini-itx.com [mini-itx.com]
  • A similiar mod was just featured on Tech-TV last week. I can't get to either site at the monent for obvious reasons -- so I don't know if it was the same one. I think I've seen a lot of these of late. Must be an Iraqui War meme at work.

  • big deal (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:14PM (#6902807)
    My gIrlfriend (obviously imagInary) built a mini ATX clone in a Tampex box...

    Show us something 0rIginal.

  • text (Score:5, Funny)

    by yerdaddy_777 ( 555100 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:15PM (#6902826)
    The site looks slow so here is the text:

    error in sql-statement: mysql_query, err-no: 1040
    qry: update nuke_counter set count=count+1 where (type='total' and var='hits') or (var='MSIE' and type='browser') or (var='Windows' and type='os')
    description: Too many connections

    error in sql-statement: mysql_query, err-no: 1040
    qry: select year from nuke_stats_year where year='2003'
    description: Too many connections

    Warning: mysql_num_rows(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /srv/www/web1/html/includes/sql_layer.php on line 249

    error in sql-statement: mysql_num_rows, err-no: 1040
    description: Too many connections

    error in sql-statement: mysql_query, err-no: 1040
    qry: insert into nuke_stats_year values('2003', '0')
    description: Too many connections

  • Ammo boxes may be great for storing ammo, but fire a few /. readers at them, and the bottom falls out. Maybe they should have used a crate from a 500lb cluster bomb...

  • Disturbing (Score:2, Flamebait)

    by SCO Linux ( 705306 )

    The site appears to be slashdotted, and I haven't actually been able to see it myself, so I hope that what I'm about to say isn't overly judgemental. I just don't understand what this fascination with military hardware is about, and I find it somewhat disturbing. A computer constructed from a 50 caliber ammunition cannister? Why on earth would someone want that? Why would you want hardware that reminds you of a technology that's been used to kill hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people? Why is

    • Re:Disturbing (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Tristan Tzara ( 704894 )
      Death is inevitable; what might matter is who dies when, and why. Some disagreements are worth fighting for, and cannot be solved any other way.
    • Jon Katz, is that you?

    • Re:Disturbing (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Skater ( 41976 )
      Good thing Zefram Cochrane didn't listen to this when he built the warp ship. ;)

      (I am making a point here...sometimes it's good to use old war materials for something more peaceful...)

      --RJ

      • Re:Disturbing (Score:1, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        The best defense of military technology you could come up with was the actions of an imaginary charcter, in a fictional TV show.

  • I for one (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I, for one, welcome our new military overlords. Oh wait...

  • This is nothing. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Tristan Tzara ( 704894 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:22PM (#6902896)
    Fit a Linux machine into a .50 caliber *cartridge* and we'll be talking.
  • I have been looking for a strange case to stick my new PC in. I have found it! (Though I think I'm going to do something Navy.)

    Thank you again slashdot.

  • Dammit, I made one of these (Score:4, Interesting)

    by NetDrain ( 167337 ) <slashdot at theblight dot net> on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:29PM (#6902971) Homepage
    I have a 30mm ammo box Linux machine sitting right next to me that I built in August of 2001 from sheer boredom. Apparently the editors didn't like my submission, oh well.

    Take a look yourself here. [theblight.net] It's running Gentoo now instead of Redhat, and there have been some other subtle modifications in that time, but it's largely the same machine. And 30mm explosive rounds are a TON more manly than wimpy 50 caliber. hehehehe

    :D
    • And you didnt puss out and use an all-in-one epia board with far fewer heat and space issues to solve. Good for you.

      As soon as I read mini-itx, the mod's potential impressiveness is cut in half, because I know no matter how cool it looks, it can't function as anything more than an mp3 player or word processor.

      Case mods should be judged on both looks and how well they can play games.
      • Hahaha, thanks :D

        I run Ghost Recon at 1600x1200 without a hitch, unless it's 90+F outside (we rarely use the AC here).

        One of the additions I've made since making that page was adding a 120mm intake fan on the side aimed right at the GeForce3. I used a PSU voltage switch (the red one that lets you pick 110 or 220V) to adjust the voltage the fan receives - either 9V or a full 12V (it's a noisy, noisy bastard.)

        And to anyone who thinks it's sick or strange to use military hardware...It's made with my tax do
  • Sounds like we found the computer used to write the blaster worm...

    But seriously folks...

  • Mis-Labeled and Old-Hat (Score:4, Insightful)

    by nurb432 ( 527695 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @02:39PM (#6903076) Homepage Journal
    First of all, sticking a pc board in a box doesnt automatically make it 'embedded'.

    "Embedded" is more about using cpu power in non-PC applications. its not about making small PC's

    Secondly, so what? Those boards are behing shoved in all sorts of strange 'boxes'... This is just yet another ... hohum..
    • I tend to agree... Mini-ITX system boards have now been stuck in all sorts of odd cases, in vehicles, on bikes, on boats, etc. Its not interesting to see that someone else has simply wrapped a PC in a new skin.

      WE GET IT ALREADY, you can put mini-itx mobo's in places that you can't put other mobos.

      Also, while we're on the topic, small LCD screens are no longer "kewl" either, they're readily available, and not all that expensive, and easy to interface to.
  • I have actually been spending the last few days looking at the VIA EPIA mobo's. For less than $200 you can get everything you need except RAM, HD, and PSU. The thing keeping me from pulling the trigger is a kinda yucky trend of so-so linux support. For example, the M10000 (Which is the 1Ghz VIA system) is pretty cool (even though it needs a fan, unlike the lower end models), but the hardware MPEG is not supported under linux... And it looks like VIA is willing to take compatability where they can find i
    • Take a look around at FlexATX boards, like Shuttle's FV25 if you can find it. It has everything onboard, minus the CPU. But for about 200 bucks you can get the board and a 1ghz tualitin based celeron, which has a hell of a lot more horsepower than anything VIA puts out.

      If, at the end of the day, you're computer cant play funky games, your case mod has failed it. Who needs a funky modded machine to run type up word documents?
    • Just don't try to drop in a Dlink G520 wirless network card. (802.11G)

      The supported windows drivers crash XP hard. All i can get out of D-link tech support is to try different PCI slots. (if only they knew)

      I thought it was funny that the 3rd party unsupported drivers (madwifi) work better than the supported ones.

  • This project is da bomb!
  • Make linux, not war.
  • noticed the epia site having touble. http://www.thexdershome.com/Armybox/page1.html trying to get armylinux.com http://www.thexdershome.com/armylinux/www.armylinu x.com
  • 1. Paradrop cases of "ammo" into Iraq. Let the Iraqis take and hide in their weapons caches.

    2. CIA makes a discrete phone call to SCO.

    3. SCO sends an army of lawyers over to Iraq to sue anyone with "ammo".

    4. ???

    5. Profit!

  • It would make the foundation for a kickass Linux game distribution, since all the important hardware would be on the same board, and thus standardized.

    Kind of like the Indrema, only real.

    Jon Acheson

  • Yo (Score:2)

    by makapuf ( 412290 )
    this PC is da bomb, man !

  • Armed geeks (Score:3, Funny)

    by aWalrus ( 239802 ) <sergio@overcaffeina t e d . net> on Monday September 08, 2003 @04:05PM (#6903965) Homepage Journal
    Judging from the comments in this story I have to say... The amount of /. geeks that "have an ammo box lying around somewhere" is somewhat scary.
  • Hackers have been working feverishly to get an embedded linux small enough to be fully functional inside a can of Spam. The project makes use of a 10GB IBM Microdrive, a custom power supply, and a hacked Palm device.

    Iva Knowlife, the project leader for the linux-in-spam project, Spamix, stated that while it won't have any display or input devices, it supports gigabit ethernet and has a high geek factor, so the whole world should know about it. When asked what the practical purpose was, he said "Hell if I

  • Times are a changin. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by wideBlueSkies ( 618979 ) on Monday September 08, 2003 @04:15PM (#6904082) Journal
    My Dad used to use an ammo box as a toolbox. It was just the right size to carry the socket sets and wrenches he used for automotive work.

    He'd get a good kick out of seeing a computer running out of one.

    wbs.
  • Seriously, what do you expect? Some of the images are 2Mb and need to be shrunk on screen to be seen!

    If you wanna post pics of your latest project, think about the design of your site, us who call ourselves slash have little mercy for ye of large files.
  • What does the guy expect? Some of the images are nearly 2Mb and need to be resized to be seen on-screen.

    If you are going to post snaps of your latest project, please consider the design of your site - for we who are slash have little sympathy for ye of large files...
  • This is just regular PC Linux. Real embedded Linux runs on ARM, PowerPC etc CPUs.

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