Just remember to take deep breaths..
I think the CF is intended as a "boot device" for CFE/Linux.
If I remember correctly the X1000 is the first AmigaOne to use CFE instead of UBoot.
The main job of these "boot managers" is to:
Power up the system, recognize and configure devices, PCI and otherwise,
Determine what device to boot from and start loading the OS.
CFE offers support for booting from HD or CF, as well as network (I think)
It offers the possibility of booting into Linux or AmigaOS, and to choose from
a list of possible boot volumes.
Even though I have only one linux partition, I am real happy to be able to choose
which AmigaOS boot volume at each bootup. I have at least five different
setups, and if I screw one up I can just choose one of the others for an easy
recovery.
Anyway, getting back to CompactFlash: I believe the Linux kernel does not
natively read AmigaOS file types, so there has to be a FAT file system to
load the linux kernel. (The Kernel is the very first part of an OS to load)
That's why many people put the Linux kernel on a USB stick. But that is
sometimes inconvenient. By making the CF card your "home base" for Linux
Kernels, you'll always have them right there where you want them, without
tying up a hard drive for the purpose. Of course the REST of Linux needs to
be on a drive somewhere, but the Kernel is what starts the process.
Oh, and in case it's not apparent, I am a complete newbie when it comes to
Linux. I never even touched it before my Debian install on the X, and truthfully
I don't go there very often. So if I got anything here wrong, I trust the more
experienced penguins to correct me.
Maybe one day we'll be able to reach the CF card from AmigaOS, but I don't expect
it to happen this week or next, as there are too many other things that need
attention first. Because of some work I did on Xena, I know how and where to reach
the CF card, but I have no idea how to connect it to a filesystem.
Most important: Have Fun!
LyleHaze