[Arm-netbook] fosdem2016

[Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton]

---
crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68


On Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 6:08 PM, GaCuest <gacuest at gmail.com> wrote:

>> good for you! so the question becomes: is it worthwhile for you to
>> spend the time as an early adopter, to help "prove the concept" - i'm
>> pretty sure it'd be possible to find a home for the end result (i have
>> to give one to dr stallman for example).
>>
>
> Well, maybe the problem is that the project initially was too ambitious
> for a small company.
>
> I remember when EOMA-68 would be sold in stores and you could
> put it on any kind of device. It was a very good idea, but very difficult
> to do (at least without the money of a big company).

 not really.  remember that i am doing this as a very long-term
project.  it's not a "if it doesn't succeed in the first 8 months give
up and go do something else" project.

> The problem is that people will be reluctant to buy a computer with
> Allwinner A20. Even the people will be reluctant to buy a computer
> without Windows or Linux (x86).

 the entire EOMA68 concept is based around upgradeability.  i *don't
care* that the A20 is "old" - it's "good enough".  and in the future,
because of the upgradeability, other SoCs will be along and will fit
into the form-factor - double the RAM, double the speed, double the
storage.

 remember, this is *not* a "give up after 6-8 months" project, it's a
"remain committed for the next 10-12 years" project.

> Perhaps it would be interesting to establish requirements for
> software and minimum hardware requirements as did 96boards.

 no.  absolutely not.  ok, clarification: the standard defines the
minimum hardware requirements, in terms of what interfaces MUST be
provided (even if they're lower speed).

 but software-wise: how can you define minimum software requirements
for a pass-through card?  you can't.  how can you define minimum
software requirements for an FPGA-based card?  you can't.

 the whole point of the exercise is that there should be a *range* of
CPU Cards.  i've discovered a $3.50 SoC from Ingenic that has 128mb of
built-in RAM.  it's possible to create a 2-layer PCB based around it.
total BOM could well be around the $8 mark.

 ... should i define "minimum software requirements" that exclude the
possibility of creating such a low-cost CPU Card?  hell no!!

 now, if that $3.50 SoC happened not to have the required SD/MMC
interface, or happened not to have 18-pin RGB/TTL which could do
1366x768, or anything else, *then* it automatically gets excluded.

 bottom line i'm happy with the way things are with EOMA68, and i
trust that there will be a huge range of SoCs in the future that will
fit even the highest-end requirements and cost well over $200, as well
as fitting people's needs at the lower end as well.

l.