Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In 2012, I ran real Linux on an 8-bit microcontroller (AVR), setting a new world record for lowest-end-machine to ever run Linux. A natural extension of that project was into something faster and more practical, and I did that. Others also did follow-up work based on the original project. Some exciting work also happened based on my LinuxCard followup, my favourite being this gem. Nobody really tackled the actual record for about eleven years. In 2023, there was this advancement. It is still an AVR, so it is not much lower-end, but it does use an AVR with less RAM, so it counts. This is especially true since the author was clearly aiming to beat my record (as per the README). An even more impressive effort was seen, also in 2023, here. That one boots Linux (in emulation) on a MOS 6510. This is a much older-style 8-bit CPU and thus definitely counts as lower-end than an AVR. So, it seems that after 11 years on top (or…bottom), my record had been beaten. This would not do!
*About the Speaker*
In his words: "I was born in Russia in the end of 1980's. I lived in a small apartment with my sister, parents, Great-Grandmother and Linda - our dog. I learned to speak, read, and write fast thanks to my parents. My father made me start learning C at age of six or so. Since then I've been a programmer. With parents I moved to USA in November of 1999. Here I went to school, then college at UIUC. After graduation I moved to California. I worked at VMWare, Lab126, Kno, Google, and Apple. I moved to Austin then and now work at Cruise."
*About Teardown*
Teardown is a yearly event hosted by Crowd Supply that draws hackers, makers, and engineers from across the US (and the world) to meet together in Portland, Oregon. Teardown is about the practice of hardware: prototyping, manufacturing, testing, disassembling, and circumventing, all while having fun. Teardown attendees can expect lively talks, demos, art installations, hands-on workshops, fiendish puzzles, and lots of good food. Check it out! crowdsupply.com/teardown
*About Crowd Supply*
Crowd Supply is the crowdfunding platform of choice for engineers, hackers, designers, and idealists. We help them with the funding and support they need to deliver respectful, thoughtfully crafted, open source hardware to their delighted backers. Come see what our creators are making: https://www.crowdsupply.com!
YouTube: youtube.com/@crowd_supply
Instagram: instagram.com/crowdsupply
Discord: discord.com/invite/7p5huQ
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/crowdsupply
Mastodon: hachyderm.io/@crowdsupply
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/crowdsupply.bsky.social
#opensourcehardware #hardwarehacking #opensource #hardware #teardown #maker #hacker #electronics #crowdsupply #crowdfunding #manufacturing #linux #microcontroller #vintagecomputing
In 2012, I ran real Linux on an 8-bit microcontroller (AVR), setting a new world record for lowest-end-machine to ever run Linux. A natural extension of that project was into something faster and more practical, and I did that. Others also did follow-up work based on the original project. Some exciting work also happened based on my LinuxCard followup, my favourite being this gem. Nobody really tackled the actual record for about eleven years. In 2023, there was this advancement. It is still an AVR, so it is not much lower-end, but it does use an AVR with less RAM, so it counts. This is especially true since the author was clearly aiming to beat my record (as per the README). An even more impressive effort was seen, also in 2023, here. That one boots Linux (in emulation) on a MOS 6510. This is a much older-style 8-bit CPU and thus definitely counts as lower-end than an AVR. So, it seems that after 11 years on top (or…bottom), my record had been beaten. This would not do!
*About the Speaker*
In his words: "I was born in Russia in the end of 1980's. I lived in a small apartment with my sister, parents, Great-Grandmother and Linda - our dog. I learned to speak, read, and write fast thanks to my parents. My father made me start learning C at age of six or so. Since then I've been a programmer. With parents I moved to USA in November of 1999. Here I went to school, then college at UIUC. After graduation I moved to California. I worked at VMWare, Lab126, Kno, Google, and Apple. I moved to Austin then and now work at Cruise."
*About Teardown*
Teardown is a yearly event hosted by Crowd Supply that draws hackers, makers, and engineers from across the US (and the world) to meet together in Portland, Oregon. Teardown is about the practice of hardware: prototyping, manufacturing, testing, disassembling, and circumventing, all while having fun. Teardown attendees can expect lively talks, demos, art installations, hands-on workshops, fiendish puzzles, and lots of good food. Check it out! crowdsupply.com/teardown
*About Crowd Supply*
Crowd Supply is the crowdfunding platform of choice for engineers, hackers, designers, and idealists. We help them with the funding and support they need to deliver respectful, thoughtfully crafted, open source hardware to their delighted backers. Come see what our creators are making: https://www.crowdsupply.com!
YouTube: youtube.com/@crowd_supply
Instagram: instagram.com/crowdsupply
Discord: discord.com/invite/7p5huQ
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/crowdsupply
Mastodon: hachyderm.io/@crowdsupply
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/crowdsupply.bsky.social
#opensourcehardware #hardwarehacking #opensource #hardware #teardown #maker #hacker #electronics #crowdsupply #crowdfunding #manufacturing #linux #microcontroller #vintagecomputing
