Using Apple's Mac Mini as an embedded platform

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Mar. 17, 2005

IBM's developerWorks site has published an article about using Apple's Mac Mini as an embedded platform. The Mini has a fast processor and lots of connectors, and it comes with free self-hosted development tools that can be used to develop kiosks and other embedded devices, according to author Peter Seebach.

(Click for larger view of Mac Mini)

The Mini is not the first Apple system to attract the attention of embedded developers. LynuxWorks has long offered Linux 2.6 BSPs for Apple's G5 desktop systems. Seebach says embedded developers can run Mac OS X, BSD, or Linux on the Mini, and has promised a future article specifically focusing on running Linux on the Mini.

According to Seebach, the Mini has a G4 processor with AltiVec acceleration and a large L2 cache. It comes with a 2.5-inch laptop-sized hard drive, and a DVD/CD-RW. A single RAM slot accepts PC2700 DIMMs up to 1GB. A large, external 85Watt power brick with a unique connector keeps the Mini small and cool, Seebach says.

The Mini's case snaps together, but can be opened with two putty knives. However, if you break the case, Seebach says, you void the warranty, so he suggests taking it to an Apple dealer for RAM and other upgrades. He says few embedded developers will need to split the Mini's case, however.

The Xcode Tools included on a DVD distributed with the Mini support development in AppleScript, C, C++, Objective-C, Java, Perl, Python, and Ruby programming, and the Mac OS X includes a nice development environment, Seebach says, including compilers that can be run from the commandline. Alternatively, embedded developers can use third-party tools such as Eclipse or Netbeans, Seebach says. Source code is available for much of the Mac OS X operating system and many Mac OS X drivers, or developers can use Linux or BSD, Seebach says.

According to Seebach, the Mini includes open boot firmware that is "years more advanced" than PC boot firmware. Holding "command-option-O-F" boots the Mini to an open firmware command prompt with a Forth interpreter. And, the open firmware environment can be accessed over a network, useful for headless embedded systems, especially since the Mini lacks a serial port, Seebach notes.

The developerWorks story is here.

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