Linux kernel version 6 support

[Varti]

Hi greguu,

thanks for the update. Please keep us updated about your work on 6.2, I hope not too much code has been left out which would prevent its use on our Z's. Sad to hear about the wireless drivers, though it was inevitable... I'm wondering is if it would be possible to use newer network cards on our Zauruses. An USB wifi dongle, connected via an USB type B-female A connector might be our best chance, though it won't look pretty. This way we wouldn't be limited to 802.11b connections, which might be already not supported anymore by some routers. In the past USB host adapter for the CF slot were available too, though I'm not sure if they are still available somewhere.

Varti

[greguu]

The linux kernel community is planning to retire / deprecate a few more arm kernel boards/features
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/2831c5a6-cfbf-4fe0-b51c-0396e5b0aeb7@app.fastmail.com/

1. gcc15 may no longer support iwmmxt for builds, but Zaurus binaries could be still build with armv5tel only
2. remaining PXA platform files (spitz.c etc) in the linux kernel will be purged out in early 2025 if not converted to Device Tree..
3. There is also mentioning of BE (big endian) support being phased out and that would be a shame for other Intel Xscale based systems too. IXP4xx etc

Well, I guess I give it another shot, although the lack of enthusiasm from the community is not very motivating and if anyone is keen on preserving this in the kernel, just get in touch.

[Varti]

You can rest assured that you have my support    I have posted on some Reddit subforums (r/RetroBattleStations, r/Zaurus, r/VintageComputing, r/OldHandhelds) to see if there's any VoidZ user around, and if there's any interested there on a new kernel release.

EDIT: link to the threads:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OldHandhelds/comments/1en7d9q/linux_kernel_6x_for_sharp_zaurus_slcxx00_pdas/
https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/comments/1enajny/linux_kernel_6x_for_sharp_zaurus_slcxx00_pdas/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Zaurus/comments/1en7h66/linux_kernel_6x_for_sharp_zaurus_slcxx00_pdas/
https://www.reddit.com/r/vintagecomputing/comments/1en7ewr/linux_kernel_6x_for_sharp_zaurus_slcxx00_pdas/

Varti