I don't understand one point : What do you want exactly do : * A classical open source project with public HDL code with a LGPL like licence to enable reuse and share of modification * The semi-closed developpement of the first OGP that keep the most interresting stuff closed ?
If you want to make money, and if you want a model of mix developpement like Qt and MySQL, The main effort should come from the compagny behind it. And it was previously a failure from the OGP. The comunauty will help only a few (testing,...) You could also propose service to help to doing the real hardware but the code stay open. Like cygnus that port gcc to new cpu. Some hardware project begins with HDL code only, and finish the code before doing real hardware. This could be very long to code a complete working gpu, before anything could be tested on fpga. The fpga card was a failure because it was too expensive and the free router can't be used. Hobby's card should not go over 150$ (cf pandora board, beagle board, Raspery Pi, ...). If you develop an full open source HDL code, when it will be ready you could sell a 100$ card with cheap fpga on it. If it could do the job, It will be the proof that you could go on SoC. Regards, Nicolas Boulay 2012/5/28 Timothy Normand Miller <[email protected]>: > To clarify, rather than over-shooting and never finishing everything, > I think we should develop the simulator as a sequence of progressively > more sophisticated working simulators. Start with some thing minimal > and then add to it incrementally. > > On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 9:06 PM, Xiaohan Ma <[email protected]> wrote: >> C model? >> >> You may want to combine these two steps as one step. >> >> Xiaohan >> >> On May 27, 2012, at 5:56 PM, Timothy Normand Miller <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> Making a roadmap may be a sensible idea, but we don't need slides. We >>> just need a list somewhere. But let's keep it narrow. I think the >>> roadmap should be: >>> >>> 1. Develop a simple GPU simulator. >>> 2. Develop a more sophisticated GPU simulator. >>> >>> We'll leave the rest for later. >>> >>> On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 7:12 PM, Ma, Xiaohan <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> Hi, >>>> >>>> I totally agree with this big picture you proposed - as I described in my >>>> previous email. >>>> >>>> Would you please make some slides to summarize your ideas (probably some >>>> brief schedules and plans for the project you want to do in future - in >>>> outline)? So then all the guys in this thread can easily discuss and >>>> request >>>> modifications of your plan. The finalized slide deck will be the initial >>>> roadmap for us later. >>>> >>>> Thanks, >>>> Xiaohan >>>> >>>> 2012/5/27 Timothy Normand Miller <[email protected]> >>>>> >>>>> I'm not trying to start an argument as to whether or not "intellectual >>>>> property" is real. Maybe I'll blog about that some time. :) I >>>>> nevertheless need to point out that being an employee of a State >>>>> University of New York binds be in certain ways. >>>>> >>>>> http://research.binghamton.edu/Innovation/IntellectualProperty.php >>>>> >>>>> The bottom line for me is that I need to stay far away from any >>>>> cash-flow that might occur. And regarding the IP owned by Traversal, >>>>> Traversal is defunct, and the IP ownership fell back to me, Howard, >>>>> and Andy. We're ready to transfer that, and some responsible >>>>> facilitator(s) need(s) to take ownership (literal or figurative) and >>>>> see where the project can leverage it. I think that there needs to >>>>> still be some centralized entity who can relicense the IP without >>>>> having to ask permission from 1000 contributors. >>>>> >>>>> So, on to what the OGP can do... >>>>> >>>>> ARM has cornered the market on energy-efficient CPUs. And ARM is >>>>> entirely fabless. Maybe the OGP can corner the market on >>>>> energy-efficient GPUs. The design would be dual-licensed GPL and >>>>> commercial, where for production purposes, all GPL viral-like >>>>> characteristics can be stripped in exchange for money, with the >>>>> understanding that breaking binary compatibility with the open design >>>>> (thereby potentially creating a closed architecture) will cost a LOT >>>>> more to license. Our chosen facilitator would handle the money and >>>>> fund whatever seems useful to fund. Mostly prototype hardware, >>>>> reference designs, donations to other projects, etc. Linux Fund took >>>>> over the Open Hardware Foundation, so we can use that. >>>>> >>>>> Of course, most companies that set out, a priori, to be fabless and >>>>> license IP for profit tend to fail disastrously. But we're not trying >>>>> to sustain a company on this. Indeed, the profit margin would have to >>>>> be painfully small in order to be the least bit competitive anyhow. >>>>> Our objective is to put a completely open GPU design out on the >>>>> market, and that isn't necessarily profitable. >>>>> >>>>> So just for fun and science, let's see what we can design. André >>>>> Pouliot and Kenneth Østby spec'd out a GPU shader engine design called >>>>> OGA2. Let's start there. The first thing to do is my favorite part, >>>>> which is to argue about architectural design decisions. Then we make >>>>> a C-based prototype to determine functional efficiency, then we code >>>>> it in Verilog and synthesize it for gate-level synthesis so we can >>>>> judge energy efficiency. >>>>> >>>>> Think about leveraging the brainpower of the FOSS community to design >>>>> a GPU that outperforms and is more energy-efficient than PowerVR. A >>>>> compelling-enough design would get market penetration. Eventually, it >>>>> would make its way from embedded systems into desktop systems and >>>>> supercomputers (GPGPU, etc.), and we would all benefit from having an >>>>> open architecture dominate in graphics. >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Timothy Normand Miller >>>>> http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~millerti >>>>> Open Graphics Project >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Open-graphics mailing list >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> http://lists.duskglow.com/mailman/listinfo/open-graphics >>>>> List service provided by Duskglow Consulting, LLC (www.duskglow.com) >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Timothy Normand Miller >>> http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~millerti >>> Open Graphics Project > > > > -- > Timothy Normand Miller > http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~millerti > Open Graphics Project > _______________________________________________ > Open-graphics mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.duskglow.com/mailman/listinfo/open-graphics > List service provided by Duskglow Consulting, LLC (www.duskglow.com) _______________________________________________ Open-graphics mailing list [email protected] http://lists.duskglow.com/mailman/listinfo/open-graphics List service provided by Duskglow Consulting, LLC (www.duskglow.com)
