R0b0t1 <r030t1 <at> gmail.com> writes: > > That the hardware description is foss doesn't mean the fpga fabric or > routing software is.
OK, agreed. But I did read quite a bit, but new to the SH family of processors. It appears that since so many SH-2-> SH-4 patents have expired or will expire very soon, there is much optimism about the pathway forward. There are other expiring patents on old ARM hardware and many of those original (hardware) designers are behind the movement to build many similar processors that are open sourced. Licensing does vary. Ymmv. So there are many open source projects popping up, both bsd and gpl licensed and even (haskell) tools to generate vhdl. Surely it's going to take a village, but patent free is patent free, so there is a viable path forward for this hardware and associated linux stacks on top. Read here to get a quick overview, from 2015:: https://lwn.net/Articles/647636/ Or these vhdl projects can be used to build (tape_out) a SoC on a variety of fpga or silicon platforms. There are event old fabs (180 nm) that will spin up chip runs for dirt cheap. There is a plethora of opensource hardware components at:: opencores.org. Or you could run these fpga codes inside some of the newer Intel processors, just like how the NSA does it.... Maybe not commercial, but surely a very cool way to secure key components in your network. Gentoo hardened on a 'hardened opensource core'. Perhaps a robust encryption engine, if rebooted or hacked, goes poof, those really cool security devices, that can just go poof (like an rm -rf command), when some pecker goes looking at something they should not... Or, just maybe I can get an fpga on a new cell phone :: https://blog.arduino.cc/2013/08/12/diy-cellphone/ It's exciting work, no matter how you slice it. Maybe the old intel (iPSC) routing for their hypercube products has some interesting patents about to expire. I'm not sure you can patent a 'fpga layout' but it'd be trivial to get around, anyway. For Damn Sure, the coolest application is a reconfigurable cluster on fpga's, that use whatever core you like (simd, risc, ???) (maybe snowden will publish a roooski core?), with a custom amout/type of ram (something very cool like 'content addressable memory), and load up gentoo hardened, all in a few seconds.... It's a brave new world, as the gentoo commoner (that's us, brah) get some real world, bitchen toys! hth, James
