[Arm-netbook] Plug computer and FreedomBox-related devices

[Paul Boddie]

On Tuesday 15. September 2015 19.18.26 Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 14, 2015 at 4:47 PM, Paul Boddie <paul at boddie.org.uk> wrote:
> > 
> > It occurred to me that if only we had EOMA-68 boards out there, maybe
> > people wouldn't be so enthusiastic to go to the trouble of making new
> > boards and running the gauntlet of crowdfunding.
> 
>  i knooooow :)
> 
>  here's the thing though:
> 
>  (1) i have to get the standard right for a 10-year-old and greater period
>  (2) i have to get CPU Cards (plural) designed, sponsored, and tested
>  (3) i have to prove that it is, indeed, simpler and lower-cost to
> make carrier boards.
> 
> so that's what i'm doing.
> 
> to explain, first: this project has an absolute top priority of being
> *right* (defined as "viable long-term") over being "rushed to
> profitability".

Sure, I understand that. But what worries me a little is that experience isn't 
being gained to possibly refine the standard or develop for it. Of course, I'm 
writing this with only a superficial knowledge of what has gone on in the 
past, and it is possible that people have done things with previously-produced 
hardware that has informed the effort.

> second: it's no good having just the one CPU Card out there.  people
> won't comprehend the modularity concept if there is only the
> additional cost of having a single processor available.

I understand this, too. It's also useful to have different devices they can be 
used in as well, and I worry that these won't come about without any cards 
being available.

One thing in the back of my mind (and part of a long list of things that I 
could consider doing) is helping to design such a device, and for that I 
suppose I need to collect links to documentation that might help me get 
started.

> third: even i was unable to move the micro-desktop board (which is
> only 4in x 4.5in) forward because i had designed it as a 4-layer PCB -
> costs are around $400 for qty 5 4-layer prototype boards on a 3 week
> turnaround  by complete contrast, a 7-day turnaround for qty 5 2-layer
> prototype (bare copper) boards with larger vias is around $40 for qty
> 2, and around $100 for qty 5.
> 
> so.... it's getting there, paul.

Yes, prototyping gets expensive for advanced stuff, I suppose, and since we're 
not part of the normal industrial operations that can do this efficiently (in 
terms of costs and other things), we're at a disadvantage.

Still, I wonder what those of us reading this list might be able to do to move 
the effort forward in our own way.

Paul