Garmin Nuvi 8xx and Garmin Nuvi 5xxx is running a flavor of Gnome Linux according to linuxdevices. Also The Garmin Linux source code page, now lists source code for version 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8 of the Nuvi 8xx software, as well as versions 3.7 and 3.8 for the Nuvi 5xxx. This does not mean much for the everyday user but if you’re a developer or some sort of hacker we thought this information could be of use to you.
A quick look at the Nuvi 8xx source code indicates that the devices run a 2.6.17.7 Linux kernel on a Marvell “Monahans” processor, likely either the Marvell PXA-300 or -310. The kernel seems configured to use 64MB of RAM, and to be patched with Steven Rostedt’s real-time patches.
Garmin’s source code listing for the Nuvi 800 is nicely organized by license, certainly a civilized touch. And, an included patch file shows lots of kernel .config files. Here’s a full list of included open source packages, with a few highlights shown below:
- gnome 2.4.0
- gnome-vfs-2.16.3
- xserver-kdrive-common-0.1
- busybox-1.01
- tinylogin-1.4
- alsa
- blueZ
- matchbox window manager
- geoclue-0.9
Amazon.com Widgets
http://www.navigadget.com/index.php/2008/07/05/garmin-runs-gnome-linux-on-nuvis/