Thanks to everyone suggesting AMD processor alternatives (Geode LX) a while back. However, we have decided to stay with Intel Atom (due to its much faster clock speed as well low power requirements).
Which version of coreboot (v2 or v3) would be better to port to Intel Atom? We want a fast boot up to both Linux and at least one Microsoft OS (maybe CE). Based on Carl-Daniel Hailfinger's recent post regarding "Open Firmware", v3 would probably be much faster than v2.
I helped do an (Opteron) nVidia nForce4 LinuxBIOS port a few years ago, but I don't think it will be much help in porting coreboot to the Intel Atom. Which coreboot chipset might be the best starting point for a port to Intel Atom?
Any other opinions about firmware development on the Atom would be welcome ...
It seems like an American Arium ECM-XDP3 with SourcePoint would be well worth the price for a large porting effort such as this. (It will provide both assembly and C level JTAG debugging.) Is there a cheaper JTAG debugger that might be viable on Atom/Poulsbo?
The firmware will be stored on a SPI NOR flash via LPC and an embedded controller rather than FWH.
I have two major concerns about this port:
1) I may not have enough time/resources to complete it. So I may end up optimizing a commercial UEFI solution.
2) I'm not sure I will be able to contribute my source code changes back to the coreboot project due to NDA restrictions/ambiguities.
Sincerely,
Ken Fuchs