现成Linux平台的电源选择

　　现成Linux平台的电源选择

　　基于ARM体系结构的高集成化嵌入式处理器的出现为易于使用和低成本的Linux平台开辟了一个市场。在短短的几分钟内，有一个合适的Linux发行版本，开发者可以塞一个现成的板如BeagleBoard或熊猫板到主机PC和开始创建软件。这些系统的易用性意味着嵌入式Linux的开发不必局限于专业的开发人员——几乎所有的用户都可以参与构建家庭媒体服务器，并且只需要很少的经验就能为机器人提供核心的智能。甚至连学校也开始使用这些板来教授计算机科学的内容。

　　Figure 1： BeagleBoard layout showing the board’s connectors， several of which can be used to carry power.

　　The aim of the BeagleBoard initiative， for example， was to provide a wide range of users with an embedded， open-source development platform at relatively low cost. Based on the low-power ARM Cortex-A series processor found in Texas Instruments’ OMAP system-on-chip devices， the resulting embedded computer does not need a fan， which means it can run practically silently. Supporting standard interfaces， an entire ecosystem of supporting products has sprung up and， thanks to published interfaces， users are encouraged to develop their own. Similarly， the Panda Board project is based on another ARM-based OMAP embedded processor from Texas Instruments. Another ecosystem has formed around it. There are also Linux computers that are sold by the silicon vendors themselves for evaluation and low-volume， such as the Sabre and Tower System platforms from Freescale Semiconductor.