Some newbie questions

[Bill Smith]

I was able to find a fairly old Netwinder 275, and got it working OK.  It must be one of the older models, with 32MB RAM, and a 810MB HD.  The OS kernel date is June 29, 1998.  I've read through the archives here, and most of the material posted at http://netwinder.oregonstate.edu/pub/.  Apparently, most of the firmware has been removed from the site due to GPL restrictions.  I'd love to update the firmware so that I could also update the OS.

Any ideas as to how firmware can be obtained?  Do any other boot managers work on this machine?

I will probably try to replace the existing hard disk with a CF-IDE adapter.  Has anyone tried this, and if so, does it then run cool enough to shut off the fan?  Any real performance hits with a Compact Flash, and would it be safe to turn off swap?

Thanks,
Bill