| AMD PIC snubs Linux |
May 03, 2006
 Eighteen months after shipping, AMD's Personal Internet Communicator (PIC), aimed at lowering the cost of computing so half the world could enjoy Internet access by 2015, apparently still doesn't run Linux. It now appears the design may actually be rigged to block the use of Linux.
What's a PIC?
When the PIC reference design debuted in the fall of 2004, AMD touted a target end-user device price point of $185, including a keyboard, mouse, and preinstalled software for basic personal computing and internet/email access (for $249, a monitor would be included). To meet such aggressive price targets, AMD said it designed the PIC for minimal cost, much like a consumer audio/video appliance. It is not internally expandable, and includes a minimum set of interfaces, according to AMD.
The PIC is meant to be a compact, low-cost "consumer appliance"
Key hardware target specs, according to AMD, include: - Processor subsystem -- AMD Geode GX processor, with CS5535 companion device
- Memory -- 128 MB DDR SDRAM
- Hard drive -- internal 10 GB 3.5-inch drive
- Display interface -- VGA 1600 x 1200 resolution, at 85 Hz
- LAN interface -- 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
- Four USB 1.1 ports (2 front, 2 rear)
- Modem -- internal 56 Kbps ITU v.92 Fax/Modem
- Sound -- AC'97 audio with stereo in/out jacks
- Size -- 8.5 x 5.5 x 2.5 inches
- Weight -- approx. 3 pounds
In addition to an embedded Windows CE operating system, the standard PIC includes a minimal set of applications, including a browser, email client, productivity tools (word processing and spreadsheet), and the ability to view images, multimedia files, and standard format documents (PDF, PPT, etc.).
What about Linux?
Given the PIC's computing resources -- a 333-400MHz x86-architecture processor, 128MB DRAM, VGA display controller, and a 10GB hard drive -- the device could certainly support a full-on desktop Linux operating system. This would open it up to wide range of free software for desktop computing applications, including browsers, email clients, educational software, VPN utilities, and more, and would also make the device virtually immune to malware.
Additionally, this would permit distributors of the device -- which include a large number of geographically diverse governments and organizations, AMD says -- to customize it according to local requirements. Plus, using Linux would save the cost of licensing Windows CE -- although, in fairness, Windows CE licensing can cost $3 per device or less, depending on the number of options selected.
So where is the PIC's Linux support? Asked about the status of Linux running on the device, an AMD spokesperson responded, "The PIC can run Linux, but it is not a solution that our customers or users have asked for."
Still, hardware hackers in the Linux community have never been shy about installing Linux on everything from iPods to game consoles to toy computers for kids to wireless access points and smartphones. So, why haven't these "Penguinistas" taken on the PIC?
Penguins need not apply
Before the PIC was discontinued by Radio Shack, many likely did try. However, the PIC uses a BIOS that may have been specifically configured to guard against such (mis)appropriation.
The PIC's BIOS was implemented by AMD using BIOS software and development tools from General Software. General Software specializes in helping device makers "gate or accelerate" specific device uses, it says.
Steve Dierden, VP of marketing, explains, "Our BIOS comes in source toolkit form, so you really have a lot of configuration power over what an image will do... and not do."
Dierden declined to comment on the question of whether AMD had specifically locked out Linux in its PIC BIOS implementation, but added, "We have certain customers who've requested that Linux can't be booted, or Windows can't be booted."
How could the tools be used to prevent Linux from booting? "[Our kit lets customers create BIOSes that] verify images before booting them, or [that] require a running OS to 'check in' with the BIOS from time to time. If it doesn't, the BIOS assumes that malicious code has taken over, and restores the device to its original state," Dierden said.
Last year, plans were announced to demonstrate the PIC running Linspire Linux at the 2005 Desktop Linux Summit in San Diego. Presumably, the PIC used in that demo had a BIOS reconfigured for Linux, assuming the demo came off as planned. "Our tools would let them build a BIOS for Linux, sure," Dierden said.
Dierden elaborates, "Other BIOS companies focus on the desktop. PC BIOSes tend to be additive, in terms of features, so PC BIOS makers are in the game of adding new features, not taking them away. We're the opposite, because our customers make routers, medical equipment, things like that, they don't want their devices to behave like a PC. The last thing they want is for the customer to be able to hit a few buttons at start-up, re-configure the BIOS, and repurpose the equipment."
Dierden emphasizes the modular nature of General Software's BIOS tools. "Our customers want BIOS-like capabilities. They want it to initialize the hardware, and pass control on to OS, and deal with security issues... but not allow plugging in a USB keyboard, mouse, and console. With our toolchain, it's easy to specify what features you want and don't want. And when you build it, the code is actually not in the image. We have something like 870 configuration options that allow you to include or exclude particular features and capabilities."
Still, armed with enough coffee, sleepless nights, and a workbench strewn with JTAG tools and logic probes, couldn't a legion of Penguinistas still manage to get in, somehow?
Dierden responds, "That would not be a fair challenge to throw out there. Ultimately, everything is hackable. It's just a question of time-over-target. We did see after the PIC was introduced, that a few people were trying [to boot Linux on it]. Then people kind of threw up their hands, and we never did hear if anyone had successfully hacked it. But all you try to do with security solutions is to mitigate the risk, and make the likelihood or the cost of an attack out of reach. It's more a question of 'Is it cheap? Is it repeatable? Is it easy?' [than of 'Is it possible?']"
And then, reflashing the BIOS with a less persnickety one might help, too.
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