[9fans] Consindering eBox-4854 for Plan9

[TheAbysmal <d.clark@bluebottle.com>]

Hi all.

I am considering purchasing an eBox IV Series box for a Plan9
installation, and I was curious of any of your successes or failures
with these or similar systems.  Specifications for each box in the
series can be found at http://www.wdlsystems.com/downloads/specs/1EBX48T_s.pdf.
The eBox-4854 is what Zombu uses for their $99 subscription machine,
so I imagine it is open-source friendly enough, but I have had all
manner of difficulty installing Plan9 on many machines.  I recalled
seeing a few posts here concerning success on VIA EPIA platforms, but
not much, so I figured I would voice a few concerns and questions:

The eBox-4854 box features Realtek RTL8100B 10/100 Base-T Ethernet.
This is not listed on the Plan9 hardware compatiblilty page.  Perusing
online forums suggests that this adapter can be driven on some Linux
distros with 8139too.  How likely is Plan9 to similary drive this
ethernet adapter?

It also features integrated VIA UniChrome Pro II video to which the
Plan9 hardware compatibility page suggests it can be driven in VESA
mode.  However, I do not know if there are key differences between
UniChrome and UniChrome Pro II that would prevent this.  Are there any
such differences?  Notwithstanding said differences, at what maximum
resolution would Plan9 enable on this adapter?

Rather than a traditional hard disk, the eBox-4854 fits an IDE Flash
SDD.  I imagine that this would pose no problem for Plan9, since such
devices usually internally manage translation from Flash to standard
IDE.  Am I about right in this assumption?

Finally, a related, but misplaced question:  Does anyone know on what
chipset the optional integrated wireless adapter is based?  I have
searched in vain.  Again, it must be open-source friendly, but open-
source wireless compatibility varies wildly across platforms and
distributions.

Thanks.  I look forward to your inputs or suggestions if and when you
have the inclination and time.