
OpenBSD/loongson is still alive - katzeilla
https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/6.5/loongson/
======
phsource
I didn't realize the significance of this, but searched a bit more, and found
this:

> OpenBSD/loongson is a port intended to run on systems based upon the
> Loongson (also known as Godson) 2E and 2F MIPS-compatible processors, using
> the PMON firmware and boot loader

> ...

> Supported hardware:

> Lemote Yeeloong netbook [1]

The Lemote Yeeloong rang a bell, since it's one of the few computers that's
"built on free software from the BIOS up" that was recommended by Richard
Stallman [2]. Glad the effort to run this is still going strong and supporting
the latest version of OpenBSD, released in May!

[1]
[https://www.openbsd.org/loongson.html](https://www.openbsd.org/loongson.html)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemote)

~~~
Fnoord
Stallman's Lemote Yeelong got stolen while on a business trip. He has not been
able to replace it with the same model because no longer made / sold out, so
he is using a less free laptop now (forgot which, and might've changed).

~~~
Mediterraneo10
> Stallman's Lemote Yeelong got stolen while on a business trip.

Interesting, I never heard that story before. Did he use full-disk encryption?
One could presume that Stallman has signing keys for some GNU projects, so
wouldn't the loss of his personal computer represent a major security issue?

~~~
johannes1234321
Only if he has signing keys on a mobile computer he takes on travel ... Which
isn't a good idea to begin with.

(And yes, one could argue that a disk in an office or server could be stolen
as well, whereas a laptop is in sight and loss is noted immediately, but I
won't agree)

------
verisimilitudes
I thought this was obvious, but that's only because I use a Lemote Yeeloong
with OpenBSD, because it's the only maintained system that's simple to
install. I'm not much for Gentoo.

One issue I ran into was no pre-built packages for newer releases, so when I
updated to 6.5 I had to downgrade to 6.3 to get any packages. Sans that, it's
also unfortunate that Common Lisp implementations don't tend to support a MIPS
that isn't under GNU/Linux; the GNAT compiler for Ada also isn't available. I
can get GNU APL though, so that's nice.

Since some are wondering, I bought mine about eight years back for a few
hundred dollars and even back then the website that supplied mine soon ran out
of stock.

This article has reminded me that I'd intended to make pictures and
descriptions of my Lemote Yeeloong available on my website months back, which
is a great option for my 2019-09-09 article, so I'll do so.

Owning this machine has been a nice way to not use x86(_64) for everything and
it's made me intent on my software working properly on less common machines
and operating systems. My choices of language have likely already betrayed
that, but I eventually intend to write implementations of my own and I'll
ensure my Lemote Yeeloong is well supported. I also must remember that OpenBSD
may not support it forever, although I could perhaps take over if it's ever
necessary.

I could write more concerning this, but this seems sufficient.

~~~
katzeilla
The good news is, pre-built packages for latest release(6.5) are available
now!

[https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/6.5/packages/mips64el/](https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/6.5/packages/mips64el/)

------
ajxs
I read a little bit about this a while ago. Is there still a way to buy these?
I've heard great things about systems development on the MIPS platform but
haven't had a great reason to invest myself in learning the architecture. Any
opinions from others on that subject would be appreciated too. I missed the
boat with the Imgtec Creator CI20 board, unfortunately. Does anyone know of
any other Linux capable MIPS development boards on the market?

~~~
delroth
One option is to get one of the many OpenWRT compatible routers -- something
like 80% of them will run on a MIPS CPU (though the trend is starting to
switch to ARM for more recent platforms). That's how I got started with MIPS
development several years ago.

Or if you want to go less standard (e.g. won't run Linux), get a modded
PlayStation 1 :-)

~~~
jchw
Hey, technically, a stock PS2 can run Linux, and that’s still MIPS.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_for_PlayStation_2](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_for_PlayStation_2)

~~~
ZirconiumX
But modding a PS2 only requires a memory card with FreeMcBoot on it (it's
literally plug and play), and at that point you might as well use an updated
version of Linux like frno7's.

~~~
jchw
This is true. I am mostly pointing out PS2 Linux as an interesting footnote,
though it is probably a good argument that PS2 + FreeMcBoot is a better option
than modchipped PS1 for MIPS computing.

------
jaykru
I've used this for some time on a yeelong hosting my personal website
dank.systems (currently down due to an issue with the colo). The base system
is in excellent working order, though some of the ports are broken on loongson
in my experience.

------
snvzz
So is netbsd/m68k.

I am unsure what your point is.

