[Arm-netbook] ULP-COM

[jm]

On Thu, 2012-11-15 at 03:11 -0500, luke.leighton wrote:
> yes i've seen ulp-com.  it is the same deal as q-seven and other
> mxm-based modules. these standards are suitable for industrial
> applications such as digital signage and other factory-only-install
> purposes. due to the "optionality" inherent in these types of
> standards there will be massive fragmentation and confusion.  look at
> q-seven for an example: there is a list of appx 20 types of interfaces
> ranging from PCIe to RS232; next to each is an optional minimum and an
> optional maximum number of the interfaces that a particular card is
> permitted to support.  this number ranges from 0 to 8 in some cases.
> how the bloody hell anyone is supposed to successfully pick a
> particular card or even a motherboard when the interfaces are random
> is anybody's guess.
> 
> so yes - nice idea, total chaos in practice, adoption will probably be
> specific to certain market segments such as digital signage, but even
> there, why go to all the trouble in such a high-volume market, when
> for $10k you can get a single board made up and not have the overhead
> of the connector.

The mistake they make is to put too much into the SoM board.
Self restraint needed.
Put CPU + flash + RAM + xtals + regulator on SoM board
and leave the rest to the mboard. That way, the SoM can be changed
out for a faster / better version to upgrade the mboard.
It makes business sense as you and I will want to upgrade the CPU
and sponsor the better SoM makers by buying the specific SoMs that
have better features. Particularly those that are more open and have
better documentation. In the same way the mboards can be replaced
without loosing the investment in SoM boards.
For tinkerers, the SO-DIMM connector can be brought out to prototyping
area to rewire as needed - so most likely the SoM boards will never
become obsolete even if the mboards don't match pins.

With CPUs like the A10, best to also put the uSD card to the SoM board.
That way you can keep the OS with the SoM board without having to rewire
between boards when you build up a collection of mboards and SoM boards
and start swapping between them.


> l.
> 
> 
> On 11/14/12, Barry Kauler <bkauler at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Have you guys seen this:
> >
> > http://blogs.arm.com/embedded/702-i-like-pc-like-arm-reaches-into-computer-on-module/
> >
> > cnxsoft posted some info on boards with ULP-COM connector:
> >
> > http://www.cnx-software.com/2012/11/14/kontron-ulp-com-samx6i-freescale-i-mx6-solo-dual-and-quad-computers-on-module/
> >
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