more micro computers running lunix

http://gumstix.com/
http://www.mini-box.com/site/index.html?gclid=CMOH5ebOgYsCFSYSQgodCGjVJw

i'm not putting these up as bench marks for RIDE, just 'of intreast'.

the way i see it, we should aim for cheap small units. and the power will be in the parallelism, not the processor and ram size.

***
with this in mind i'll look more into the trans-computer model. i agree linux would be cool. but a linux driven node, which meerly controls a servo, is over power to say the least.

I believe what we should  be looking for is. well more than a pic, but less than a gumstick. probally meaning that i would have to write a small os.

another possiblity is, well as we talked about nodes with larger processing capiblities. having a simple nodes running a super striped down version of linux for single servo controls and what not. which can still interface on the ethernet level with more robust nodes.

the way i see this linux, is well, why rewrite existing code. i guess we need to figure out if we would be just rewriting code (if i make an os), or coding it in such away that we remove the bulk of linux and only implimenting required functionity.

this is the other possiblity. which i feel goes again the RIDE concept. which is. implment tiny lunix manchines. then devolope usb devices (such as usb motor) to attach to these lunix manchines... this would be more of an reflection of the mutiple devices to 1 node. but this idea of a master controller breaks the object orinated apporach up. so it's kinda object oriented. but saying that, do we want a paradim to determine the RIDE. in that a node with servos which make up an arm could be thought as such.

node = arm
arm has muscles
muscles = servos.

but if we enforce that. then whos to say a devoper wouldn't say....

node = person
person has muscles
muscles = servos.

so then the advantage of the event driven concurrent system is lost ?

where as if we have the system made from muscles and a dispruduted program, this paraelleism is sustained and of course in the users source code he could store the arm object containing servo nodes.

these questions are hard, because we need access to poeple who are going to use this system.  or we target to use for it.

i think this is just a general problem of anything. things seem to go though fluxes of disproduted or centralized. 

and in terms or robotics.... centralized is avialble.

disproduted is not really that accessable.

***
the other thing is i see these sort of guys being our 'market'

http://cswww.essex.ac.uk/staff/owen/research.htm

i'm glad to see kevin warick isn't the only nutter in accademmia ?

***

another thing i realize my spelling is bad, i will spell cheak all posts before hand in.