NSLU2 and python - a love story ?

[Terry Reedy]

"Thomas W" <thomas.weholt at gmail.com> wrote in message 
news:1117664564.859147.185660 at g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> have replacement-firmware. The point is that alot of people have
> modified their NSLU2, which by the way don't remove any of the
> functionality of the original product as I understand it,

There are two replacement firmware images.  One extends the original 
firmware functionality (moving data back and forth from ethernet/internet 
to usb strorage).  The other, for Linux experts, replaces it.

> My interest in it is due to the fact that my current two servers makes
> alot of noise, are big and uses alot of eletricity.

I had not thought of that aspect.

> The first project I have in mind is a web-interface to my digital image
> collection, in which I can organise the pictures in categories, add
> metadata, generate galleries and slideshows etc. From what I can see
> the NSLU2 would have little problems serving this specific purpose, in
> addition to serving the images thru samba as well so I can access them
> with my laptop, my KISS DP-558 PVR and my XBox. The
> "distro"/replacement-firmware for the NSLU2 allready have most of the
> modules I need ( CherryPy, pySQLite/SQLite ). The only thing missing
> is, as I said earlier, PIL.
>
> I think anything running linux and especially Python, is awsome, I'll
> admit that. Perhaps I'm just blinded by all that and cannot see the
> fact that 266Mhz isn't enough "juice".

It depends on your image sizes and amount of processing you want to do on 
the NSLU2.  For uncompressed TIFFs from multimegapixel cameras, 32MB will 
be cramped.   One can apparently expand memory, but "A new kernel will be 
necessary to enable usage of the extra memory. "  I don't know if this 
means the new kernel in either or both the replacements or one that one has 
to supply.

60K jpeg web images are a different story.

For interactive processing of such large images (like color correction, 
edge finding, etc) my experience (with 300-400MH Win machines) suggests 
that you might find 256MH somewhat pokey.  But I don't know what you are 
used to with your laptop or current servers.  I don't know what 'generate 
gallery' requires.

Terry J. Reedy