On Sunday 13 May 2007 07:49, Terry Hancock wrote: > Terry Hancock wrote: > > Which is why I'm writing -- I'm hoping you can help me answer the > > questions (I'm providing my existing answers to be edited/added > > to): > > > > 1) What "imaginative" things can you do with OGD1? > > > > * Use Open Graphics Architecture to provide a Linux-friendly > > hardware accelerated 3D graphics card which serves > > desktop environment, CAD, and design needs. (E.g. Blender, BRL-CAD, > > new KDE and Gnome features, etc) > > > > * Use FPGA to create custom ... what? Laboratory > > interfaces? Sound card? What are you all drooling in anticipation > > for? > > > > :-) > > This is probably my biggest question. I know there's been discussion > of this, but it's not always clear to me whether this is about later > cards designed similarly, or actually something you could do with > OGD1 by just reprogramming the FPGA (e.g. does it have the ports -- > where would you plug in speakers or laboratory probes?).
Well, it has a 100-pin expansion connector, to which you could connect anything digital. I'm not sure how flexible the DACs are. Could you use them to generate audio signals as well as video signals? > > 2) In what ways is the OGD1 "free"? > > > > * OGA has free, open-source Verilog, which runs on OGD1 FPGA > > (OGD1 is a platform for a free soft GPU? Is "GPU" the > > right word here?) > > BTW -- will OGD1 cards ship with OGA pre-loaded? Or will the user > have to download tools to update the card before it can be used for > graphics? Is it a "soft" GPU? I guess FPGA bitfiles are somewhat in between software and hardware. Perhaps we should just call it firmware, and say that with the OGA firmware OGD1 can function as a video card. > > * The PCB design is under GPL > > > > * The design implements open interfaces (with the possible > > exception of the PCI interface itself, which we must > > accomodate in order to work on PCs -- OHF is considering > > addressing this with a "platform exemption" like the way > > the FSF lets you get away with using Windows DLLs that > > are "part of the O/S") > > > > * E.g. it implements OpenGL (or at least part of it?) > > I know that it actually doesn't support *all* of OpenGL, is there a > quick way to communicate that? (e.g. a commonly used name for the > subset that is supported?) Off the top of my head, I think it is supposed to be doing most or all of OpenGL 1.2. Lourens
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