Greg, Consider this: an embedded linux system loads a ramdisk image built using buildroot, and its root fs is in ram and stays there. They have alsa up and running in seconds. Alsa is easy because it's in the kernel and can even be statically included in the kernel. The applications are more difficult, but surely doable unless there is some weird limit to ramdisk size. Ram is way faster than disk, and flash on embedded is way slower than disk. Maybe some day we'll all be running huge ramdisks. If we had enough memory, why not? It would be fast. As long as my critical files, not the system but data, are on disk then who cares if the root fs is corrupted, in fact, to reboot an embedded linux system you press a button, and voila, two seconds later you're whole root fs is brand new, just as it was because the buildroot makes a nice image that loads into ram on boot. Another related interesting tool is uboot bootloader, another embedded tool but may be relevant here. With the uboot, you can use command line args to load a ramdisk. Now if only uboot could talk hehe. -- Doug
