[Arm-netbook] [fedora-arm] 1ghz ARM Laptop (12in 1280x800 LCD)

[Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton]

On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 6:06 PM, Gordan Bobic <gordan at bobich.net> wrote:

> OK, now I'm _seriously_ wondering why you don't just get an Efika MX and
> drop a 1280x720 screen into it. That sounds like it'll cover just about all
> of your requirements: Cortex A8, 1280x720 display. Only 512MB of RAM, but
> that's the only thing not matching your requirements. Seems a reasonable
> trade-off for something you can buy off the peg right now vs. 10s of 000s of
> $ in development costs.

 already said - 800mhz CPU.  the iMX515 isn't good enough for the
_other_ requirements that i have to satisfy (which i haven't
mentioned, but involve mass-market volume to get the price down, and
require 1080p).  the iMX515 only does 720p.  i set minimum specs of
1gb RAM, 1ghz Cortex A8 and 1280x800 LCD for good reasons.  yes,
1280x720 is _just_ about within that, but the rest of the specs? no.

 i don't know for sure but i suspect the iMX515 is a 65nm part,
meaning that 800mhz is its limit.

>>> I don't see anything about a cell vector processor listed in the spec.
>>
>>  no - and the reason for that is precisely because they DO NOT want
>> people ringing up even _asking_ for "free" support as they believe it
>> is a total waste of their time.
>>
>>  their primary customers have been companies who are basically
>> incompetent at software development, and expect to be spoon-fed full
>> solutions, or they will go elsewhere.  so creativelabs have developed
>> ready-made (proprietary) OpenGL and MPEG proprietary libraries, and
>> that keeps these drone-clone companies happy.
>
> I'd say forget it. This will come to rear it's ugly head as soon as a new
> version of Xorg is released and the drivers stop working.

 tell me about it.  it's why i will be speaking to ziilabs to obtain
details of the Cell's assembly language etc.  i have to come up with a
convincing and reassuring strategy as to why they should do exactly
that.


> As I said, it sounds like what you're aiming for is already covered by the
> Efika MX + TFT panel upgrade.

 no, it's not.  you said it yourself: 512mb RAM.  as a free software
developer, you want 2gb RAM.

 there are also other issues, like the fact that freescale are utterly
and completely clueless when it comes to linux kernel and other
software support.  TI is like ... the benchmark gold standard, and
whilst freescale don't get an "F" for "Fail" due to GPL violations,
doing things like charging $USD 3,000 to get *access* to their iMX535
for example is just asking for trouble.

 bless 'em, though.  the only thing that freescale got right is the
fact that their CPUs are available in 0.8mm BGA pitch, which means
that a bog-standard chinese factory stands a hope in hell of
assembling them.  (below that and you need plasma assembly tooling, to
make the damn things stick!)


> Now don't get me wrong - I really, REALLY want ARM to succeed in this
> segment, but it takes a relatively small manufacturer to ring a wake-up call
> to the big established companies that have responsiveness that broadly
> resembles steering a supertanker.

 we're counting on doing exactly that :)

 l.