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A lot of times companies like this need to sign NDAs to get the design documentation for the ICs and SOCs needed to even make the thing. If theybhad an open so
by iancmceachern 5y ago
A lot of times companies like this need to sign NDAs to get the design documentation for the ICs and SOCs needed to even make the thing. If theybhad an open source SOC and ICs then they could do it....
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- mastax 5y agoYes, it all comes down to Broadcom. Of course, that is a choice as well. They could've chosen a more open SoC, though there aren't many options. Most open hardware projects use the NxP (nee Freescale) i.MX series, which have open datasheets and open (with login) reference manuals. It makes sense that a bunch of ex-Broadcom engineers looking to make a cheap computer to educate children would use their connections at Broadcom to get an old cheap SoC. The closed schematics and bootloader do not matter to teaching kids scratch and python. I guess it isn't surprising that they haven't changed course since they've been so successful, but it is disappointing.