Hi.

I'm planing to implement an openRisc based SoC, and I have several question before I start my work.
1) what are the differences between minSoC and orpSoC.
2) which is easier to import to a ml509/ml505 board ? and what type of work needs to be done - I heard the memory modules on orpsoc are harder to implement on ml50x boards.
3) is it possible to have a linux kernel running on minSoC ?
4) how much work is needed to have a VGA core running (on minSoC and orpSoC) ?
5) what is the fastest (or most efficient) way to learn about the system (I'm referring to understanding the architecture, writing the software, and adding cores, how to start-up a program on the system, and read the results) - in other word, if I'm going to work on the system for the next year or so, what should I learn ?

my background is very limited, it consist of:
1) a good knowledge of linux based OS.
2) very limited experience with VHDL (but I did some small design and simulation projects).
3) no experience with verilog (but I've learned the language).
4) limited working experience with FPGAs.

I'm new to here, and to the design world in general. But I have the time and motivation to learn what I love, no matter how hard the road will be. so I hope to find the help I need to succeeded.
this is my first "big" proje