That cypress psoc looks fantastic. Very interesting. I had seen the freesoc before but I didn't think it was anything more than a funky arduino clone.
On the topic of OSes... I haven't looked too deeply into existing ones, but they're in the back of my mind. FreeRTOS or Contiki or something? I'm not sure. Right now I am more interested in creating the bare minimum of necessary firmware. I just want a monitor program to start. I think it's important to make the system unobtrusive and modular; like a set of tools rather than a guiding framework. That's somewhat intentionally vague... I haven't thought much about it yet, but my basic feeling is that "useful set of tools" is more enticing than "esoteric operating system." While everybody likes their own pet operating systems, far fewer people want to work on someone else's. Ramble ramble. Like I said, I haven't put a whole lot into this topic yet.
Anyway even if I do end up with something more complex, I know I need to start small if I want to get anywhere, so the first goal is just the monitor.
Maybe it's not such a big deal. Owning every aspect of the system isn't a philosophical requirement of mine, but it may end up being a practical requirement (if I find that it's more mess/effort than finding a lesser device that doesn't have blobs.) I'll have to do some digging and see what options are out there, as the topic is new ground for me.
In the meantime I'm considering the option of using a combination of FPGA and smaller ARM SoC... The FPGA could handle the video interface and some cheap/large/fast DDR2 memory to act as the system memory and video framebuffer. Microsemi (formerly actel) even makes some FPGAs with integrated hard arm cores, but they're a little on the expensive side.
This is one I've been thinking about for a long time though, and each time I'm in a better position to make things happen.
Those are my thoughts for now. No "real" updates as I've been very busy with work, but the weekend is coming up and I'll have time to get back to the fun stuff.
Hah, yes. I suppose I was trying not to seem completely self-serving in my characterization of linux systems, but I do agree with you there.
On the topic of OSes... I haven't looked too deeply into existing ones, but they're in the back of my mind. FreeRTOS or Contiki or something? I'm not sure. Right now I am more interested in creating the bare minimum of necessary firmware. I just want a monitor program to start. I think it's important to make the system unobtrusive and modular; like a set of tools rather than a guiding framework. That's somewhat intentionally vague... I haven't thought much about it yet, but my basic feeling is that "useful set of tools" is more enticing than "esoteric operating system." While everybody likes their own pet operating systems, far fewer people want to work on someone else's. Ramble ramble. Like I said, I haven't put a whole lot into this topic yet.
Anyway even if I do end up with something more complex, I know I need to start small if I want to get anywhere, so the first goal is just the monitor.
I honestly had no idea that the blobs were so pervasive. I knew that the RPi had one and that my beagleboard's omap3530 had one, but I didn't know they were so deeply integrated into the low-level functions. I thought they were just for graphics and DSP stuff.
Maybe it's not such a big deal. Owning every aspect of the system isn't a philosophical requirement of mine, but it may end up being a practical requirement (if I find that it's more mess/effort than finding a lesser device that doesn't have blobs.) I'll have to do some digging and see what options are out there, as the topic is new ground for me.
In the meantime I'm considering the option of using a combination of FPGA and smaller ARM SoC... The FPGA could handle the video interface and some cheap/large/fast DDR2 memory to act as the system memory and video framebuffer. Microsemi (formerly actel) even makes some FPGAs with integrated hard arm cores, but they're a little on the expensive side.
Well, if I could list the projects I've thought about but haven't finished... :-/
This is one I've been thinking about for a long time though, and each time I'm in a better position to make things happen.
Indeed... I know I have limits, but I'm trying to learn as much as possible, and I can cut things out and/or relax my requirements as I find things that are beyond my abilities. I can't solder BGA by hand, but I can manage QFP and SSOP just fine, and those are still somewhat common. My high frequency PCB design skills are lacking and some system integration topics give me trouble, but app notes are my friend there. Plus, with my preferred PCB service (OSHPark) I can get high quality 4 layer boards for $10 per square inch, so prototyping costs aren't too high.
Those are my thoughts for now. No "real" updates as I've been very busy with work, but the weekend is coming up and I'll have time to get back to the fun stuff.