[Arm-netbook] AM389x EOMA-68 CPU Card

[luke.leighton]

http://rhombus-tech.net/ti/am389x/

ok, i'm evaluating this CPU for use as an FSF Hardware-Endorseable
option, with the added benefit that (for a price!!) the TMS320DM8167
could also be used (and others in the series), giving full HD video
encode at 1080p60 which is pretty incredible.

the stats on the whole series - AM389x, DM816x etc - are pretty
stunning.  2-lane PCIe, 64-bit-wide DDR3 RAM interface at up to
1600mhz (!), Gigabit Ethernet and SATA-II.

the AM3892 isn't *that* much more pricey ($32 for the 1.2ghz version)
especially when you compare it to say the OMAP3530 ($38 for a 720mhz
version) and even the DM3725 is comparable ($30 for the 1ghz version).

i also found the schematics for the AM389x EVB which is _great_.  i'm
speaking with John Sullivan and Dr Stallman, to get things moving,
with a view to making an FSF-Endorseable Tablet+Laptop.  personally i
prefer 10in with a 1280x800 IPS LCD but there is also a case for
making a 7in chassis.

*also* i've found *another* team who have pre-orders for free software
tablets *already*, and they're very enthusiastic about EOMA-68, about
the possibility of working along-side the FSF with a crowd-funding
effort and joining in with a group buy on the chassis's.  this still
has to be announced formally, and also they have worked quite hard
with their clients doing reviews and have found that nobody wants 7in
tablets with *less* than 1024-pixel width, they're just too unusable.

lots to do here, but i just wanted to let people know what's going on
- it's quite exciting, and the breakthrough was finding those
schematics.  that means $10k EOMA-68 AM389x PCB development costs
appx, not $100k, which makes an AM389x CPU Card even in 1k volumes a
real possibility.

l.