===== AlphaBook 1 ===== ^ AlphaBook 1 ^^ ^ CPU | [[wp>Alpha_21064#Alpha_21066A|21066A]] (LCA45) | ^ Core logic | LCA (integrated in the CPU) | ^ Memory | 32 MiB to 128 MiB, SIMMs | ^ Buses | PCI, PCMCIA | ^ Firmware | SRM | ^ Kernel option | ''CONFIG_ALPHA_BOOK1'' | ^ Linux | Linux 6.9 and earlier | The AlphaBook 1 (styled ALPHAbook 1) is the only Alpha notebook computer that reached the market. It was built by Tadpole Technology, announced at DECUS on 5 December 1995, and shipped from early January 1996. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-January.mbox#L23398|"Re: Alpha Notebooks, Notebooks with hardware MPEG"]], Britt Lysaa, comp.sys.dec, 5 Jan 1996, quoting a Business Wire release of 5 Dec 1995)] ==== Specifications ==== Specifications are from the announcement except where noted. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-January.mbox#L23398|"Re: Alpha Notebooks, Notebooks with hardware MPEG"]], Britt Lysaa, comp.sys.dec, 5 Jan 1996, quoting a Business Wire release of 5 Dec 1995)] * Closely related to the [[hardware:motherboards:axppci33|AXPpci 33]] and the Multia: the same 21066A with its integrated PCI and memory controller, plus power management and a Cirrus PCI-to-PCMCIA controller [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/netbsd-port-alpha-mbox/1998-June.mbox#L7388|"First-draft AlphaBook support"]], Jason Thorpe, port-alpha, 25 Jun 1998)] * DECchip [[wp>Alpha_21064#Alpha_21066A|21066A]] (LCA45) with a variable speed of up to 233 MHz, and 512 KiB of write-back level 2 cache * PCI bus and memory controller integrated into the CPU, feeding the graphics, PCMCIA, and SCSI interfaces * Industry-standard SIMMs, user upgradable, 32 MiB to 128 MiB * Removable 2.5-inch SCSI-2 hard disk, 520 MB, 810 MB, or 1.2 GB * Western Digital WD90C24A2 graphics controller with 1 MiB of video RAM [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/1996-October.mbox#L12148|"Tadpole Alpha1 notebook"]], Nigel Metheringham, axp-list, 11 Oct 1996)] * 10.4-inch true-color TFT panel, 800x600 with 256 colors from a palette of 262,144; up to 1024x768 on an external display * Two PCMCIA slots taking two Type I/II cards or one Type III card, driven by a Cirrus 6729 PCI-to-PCMCIA controller [(>[[https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/arch/alpha/kernel/sys_sio.c?h=v6.9|arch/alpha/kernel/sys_sio.c]], Linux 6.9)] * 3Com Ethernet PC Card included; optional 28.8K fax/modem PC Card; two docking station options * Integrated 16-bit stereo audio with internal microphone and speaker and in/out ports * Hitachi H8/337 microcontroller monitoring battery charging and CPU temperature [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-os-linux-alpha-mbox/googlegroups-1998-November.mbox#L20960|"REQ: Tadpole AlphaBook1 H8/337 power/thermal monitor info"]], Thomas Pfau, comp.os.linux.alpha, 13 Nov 1998)] * Rugged magnesium case, NiMH battery, 7.5 pounds ==== Firmware ==== The AlphaBook 1 has only the SRM console. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/1997-August.mbox#L12298|"Re: Alpha based notebook available????"]], Jay Estabrook, axp-list, 15 Aug 1997)] Digital shipped its firmware in an ''alphabook1'' directory on the Alpha firmware CD-ROM. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/netbsd-port-alpha-mbox/1997-February.mbox#L2455|"Re: Support for AXP Motherboard"]], Carl S. Shapiro, port-alpha, 21 Feb 1997)] [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/1999-October.mbox#L7397|"Re: How to flash MILO? ( Not a faq )"]], Peter Rival, axp-list, 6 Oct 1999)] Linux boots from SRM with aboot. ==== Linux ==== Linux 6.9 was the last version to support the AlphaBook 1, with ''CONFIG_ALPHA_BOOK1''; Linux 6.10 removed support for processors older than the EV56 (21164A). [(>[[https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/arch/alpha/Kconfig?h=v6.9|arch/alpha/Kconfig]], Linux 6.9)] It was a separate Linux platform rather than part of Noname. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/1998-March.mbox#L30004|"Re: AlphaServer 800"]], Jay Estabrook, axp-list, 25 Mar 1998)] The kernel fixes the console at 800x600 and disables SCSI burst mode, because the Cirrus 6729 PCMCIA controller is sensitive to PCI bus bursts. [(>[[https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/arch/alpha/kernel/sys_sio.c?h=v6.9|arch/alpha/kernel/sys_sio.c]], Linux 6.9)] ==== Known issues ==== * **Heat and clock throttling:** the 21066A runs hot in the notebook enclosure, and the firmware reduces the clock as the system warms. Although rated at 233 MHz, it typically ran at 116 MHz or even 57 MHz. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/2000-April.mbox#L9388|"Re: Alpha laptops"]], Jay Estabrook, axp-list, 13 Apr 2000)] Sustained operation at full speed requires external cooling such as a fan. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1997-August.mbox#L35804|"Need Quiet Cooling for Tadpole ALPHABook"]], Jerry Leslie, comp.sys.dec, 6 Aug 1997)] * **PCMCIA versus SCSI:** kernels have been reported to detect either the SCSI controller and disk or the PCMCIA bridge, but not both. Since the only networking is a PCMCIA card, this makes a networked, disk-booted configuration difficult. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/2009-September.mbox#L976|"[RFC] Dropping Alpha sparse mapping support from X"]], Davis Johnson, axp-list, 20 Sep 2009)] [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/2015-April.mbox#L946|"still someone here ?"]], Davis Johnson, axp-list, 7 Apr 2015)] The PCMCIA bridge interfering with DMA is the suspected cause, and no fix has been reported. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/2015-April.mbox#L885|"still someone here ?"]], Davis Johnson, axp-list, 7 Apr 2015)] * **Disk size:** the drive is a 2.5-inch SCSI unit, and these are scarce; the largest reported in an AlphaBook or a Multia is 1.2 GB. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/netbsd-port-alpha-mbox/2002-February.mbox#L2356|"Re: RAM and drive for Multia?"]], Julian Coleman, port-alpha, 14 Feb 2002)] [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/2015-April.mbox#L946|"still someone here ?"]], Davis Johnson, axp-list, 7 Apr 2015)] * **Memory ceiling:** 128 MiB is the maximum, which limits what can usefully be built on the machine itself. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/2015-April.mbox#L946|"still someone here ?"]], Davis Johnson, axp-list, 7 Apr 2015)] * **Installation media:** there is no CD-ROM drive, so installation is done over the network from a PCMCIA card or from an external disk. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-os-linux-alpha-mbox/googlegroups-2000-November.mbox#L2418|"Tadpole AlphaBook 1 with linux.."]], KaV, comp.os.linux.alpha, 20 Nov 2000)] ==== History ==== Tadpole built the AlphaBook 1 under a strategic agreement with Digital announced in May 1994. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-January.mbox#L23398|"Re: Alpha Notebooks, Notebooks with hardware MPEG"]], Britt Lysaa, comp.sys.dec, 5 Jan 1996, quoting a Business Wire release of 5 Dec 1995)] Tadpole had built three generations of SPARCbook notebooks, and the AlphaBook 1 applied the same design to Digital's 21066A. It was aimed at software development, defense, communications, and engineering customers who needed a portable OpenVMS machine; Digital's own low-power notebook projects, Alpha LEAN and Burns, never shipped. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-January.mbox#L25785|"Re: New Alpha XLs????"]], Terry C. Shannon, comp.sys.dec, 11 Jan 1996)] Jim Paradis had Linux running on a prototype in May 1996, [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/1996-May.mbox#L7828|"insmod troubles -- any clues?"]], Jim Paradis, axp-list, 10 May 1996)] and the platform was included in Jay Estabrook's public patch kit in July 1997. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/1997-July.mbox#L20316|"NEW and IMPROVED Alpha Patches and MILO Sources!"]], Jay Estabrook, axp-list, 17 Jul 1997)] List prices started at $13,950 for 32 MiB of memory, a 520 MB disk, the 3Com Ethernet card, and bundled OpenVMS, and a fully loaded machine ran to $25,000. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-January.mbox#L23398|"Re: Alpha Notebooks, Notebooks with hardware MPEG"]], Britt Lysaa, comp.sys.dec, 5 Jan 1996, quoting a Business Wire release of 5 Dec 1995)] [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-os-linux-alpha-mbox/googlegroups-2001-October.mbox#L1403|"Re: ALPHAbook1"]], Chan F. Y. K., comp.os.linux.alpha, 28 Oct 2001, quoting Information Week, 11 Dec 1995, p. 28)] Production had ended by 1999. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1999-July.mbox#L11339|"Re: wanted : alphabook"]], Harry Bligth, comp.sys.dec, 22 Jul 1999)] Few were sold. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-December.mbox#L8963|"Re: affordable Alpha laptops?"]], Terry C. Shannon, comp.sys.dec, 18 Dec 1996)] OpenVMS was the launch operating system, [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-January.mbox#L23398|"Re: Alpha Notebooks, Notebooks with hardware MPEG"]], Britt Lysaa, comp.sys.dec, 5 Jan 1996, quoting a Business Wire release of 5 Dec 1995)] which made the machine unusual: OpenVMS did not otherwise support 21066-based systems such as the AXPpci 33 and the Multia. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1997-April.mbox#L9285|"Re: Help: AXPpci33 (was Re: Help: DEC PCI33 M/B)"]], Stephen Hoffman, comp.sys.dec, 25 Apr 1997)] [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-March.mbox#L21056|"Re: AXP hardware support for VMS"]], Vance R. Haemmerle, comp.sys.dec, 14 Mar 1996)] OpenVMS V7.3-1 was the last release to support it. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-unix-tru64-mbox/googlegroups-2002-January.mbox#L1983|"Re: Where does VMS fit in here? (Was Re: HP admits...)"]], david20@alpha1.mdx.ac.uk, comp.unix.tru64, 30 Jan 2002)] Digital UNIX was promised for 1996 and could be ordered by August 1997. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1997-August.mbox#L27104|"Re: Need Quiet Cooling for Tadpole ALPHABook"]], Al Herb, comp.sys.dec, 7 Aug 1997)] Windows NT was never supported. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-April.mbox#L10601|"Re: NT on Alpha chart?"]], Jeff Monasch, comp.sys.dec, 26 Apr 1996)] NetBSD gained preliminary support in June 1998, [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/netbsd-port-alpha-mbox/1998-June.mbox#L7388|"First-draft AlphaBook support"]], Jason Thorpe, port-alpha, 25 Jun 1998)] and it appeared as a new platform in NetBSD 1.4. [(>[[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/netbsd-port-alpha-mbox/1999-April.mbox#L9301|"NetBSD-1.4_ALPHA/alpha available [actually BETA]"]], Ross Harvey, port-alpha, 22 Apr 1999)] ==== Conflicting information ==== The following sources conflict with each other or with the account given above. They are listed here for further investigation. * **Codename** * The kernel's system variation tables and the lists posted by Digital engineers give the codename Burns (see [[hardware:systems|Systems]]). * [[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-January.mbox#L25785|"Re: New Alpha XLs????"]], Terry C. Shannon, comp.sys.dec, 11 Jan 1996: Burns, "a.k.a. Green Machine", was a Digital prototype, the successor to Alpha LEAN and designed to run Windows NT, and distinct from the AlphaBook 1. * [[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1999-November.mbox#L19749|"Re: Digital Miata Computer"]], Fred Kleinsorge, comp.sys.dec, 11 Nov 1999: the design underlying both the Multia and the AlphaBook 1 was "Mustang 1", an LCA-based machine. * **Relationship to the AXPpci 33** * [[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/axp-list-mbox/2000-April.mbox#L8935|"Re: Alpha laptops"]], Ron Farrer, axp-list, 13 Apr 2000: "It was based on the AXPpci33 motherboard (21066)." * [[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/netbsd-port-alpha-mbox/1998-June.mbox#L7388|"First-draft AlphaBook support"]], Jason Thorpe, port-alpha, 25 Jun 1998: "basically AXPpci33 machines + power management and a Cirrus PCI-PCMCIA controller", which is a statement about the programming model rather than a shared board. * **CPU** * The announcement, and most later reports, say 21066A at up to 233 MHz. * [[https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/arch/alpha/Kconfig?h=v6.9|arch/alpha/Kconfig]], Linux 6.9: the AlphaBook 1 is built with the Noname (AXPpci 33) support, whose description gives the 21066. * [[https://github.com/alphalinux/mailing-list-archives/blob/main/comp-sys-dec-mbox/googlegroups-1996-January.mbox#L23617|"Re: Alpha Notebooks, Notebooks with hardware MPEG"]], Steve Lionel, comp.sys.dec, 5 Jan 1996: "a 21066-AB processor running at 233MHz". {{tag>hardware system 21066 tadpole}}