4 ms·

Why would you want that? While soft CPUs are fun and interesting, they are not really considered to be an ideal solution for anything. More like "well, that's w

Why would you want that? While soft CPUs are fun and interesting, they are not really considered to be an ideal solution for anything. More like "well, that's what we have to use due to not having an actual CPU, even though we need one. Either this, or nothing.".

metalforever 3y ago
There are very good reasons to want this. A big one is being able to perform computing without the prying eyes of a corporation, for example if you disagree with the idea of large companies making money off of your data. As a different idea, perhaps you might want to do something with Amiga or old game consoles, and you are developing a game for this. One reason you might want to do this is to teach yourself better 68k assembly language. This is a useful skill to have in certain niches in software security. Another good one is if you are into homebrew computers or are a computer or electrical engineer. Perhaps you would like to make your own processor, or collaborate with your friends on making a processor.
- not_your_vase 3y ago
  But it's not like any of this is impossible to do today. Want to learn assembly of some old CPU, or write a game? Buy a Zynq board, or grab an emulator. It's not like you can't do any of this, because Framework (anyone else) isn't creating hardware for it... there is just simply no mass appeal for consumers. As a half-joke, half-serious question: how do you know that Lattice isn't backdooring all their FPGAs, sending home everything you run through their bird-drone network?
  - metalforever 3y ago
    Here is a post from an expert answering your question about the FPGA thing: https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=5706 https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=5706 I do not want exactly what you are suggesting. What I am into is homebrew computing and trusted compute. I can't have either of these things by just getting a zynq board. The game issue, as you noted, is quite trivial to solve.
xodjmk 3y ago
I think the keywords are 'laptop formfactor'. If your goal is specifically to run niche specialized soft-processors and you wanted it all bundled into a laptop style dev environment, then I think this is a great idea. But for an actual functional laptop, no way.

metalforever 3y ago

There are very good reasons to want this. A big one is being able to perform computing without the prying eyes of a corporation, for example if you disagree with the idea of large companies making money off of your data. As a different idea, perhaps you might want to do something with Amiga or old game consoles, and you are developing a game for this. One reason you might want to do this is to teach yourself better 68k assembly language. This is a useful skill to have in certain niches in software security. Another good one is if you are into homebrew computers or are a computer or electrical engineer. Perhaps you would like to make your own processor, or collaborate with your friends on making a processor.

not_your_vase 3y ago
But it's not like any of this is impossible to do today. Want to learn assembly of some old CPU, or write a game? Buy a Zynq board, or grab an emulator. It's not like you can't do any of this, because Framework (anyone else) isn't creating hardware for it... there is just simply no mass appeal for consumers. As a half-joke, half-serious question: how do you know that Lattice isn't backdooring all their FPGAs, sending home everything you run through their bird-drone network?
- metalforever 3y ago
  Here is a post from an expert answering your question about the FPGA thing: https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=5706 https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=5706 I do not want exactly what you are suggesting. What I am into is homebrew computing and trusted compute. I can't have either of these things by just getting a zynq board. The game issue, as you noted, is quite trivial to solve.

xodjmk 3y ago

I think the keywords are 'laptop formfactor'. If your goal is specifically to run niche specialized soft-processors and you wanted it all bundled into a laptop style dev environment, then I think this is a great idea. But for an actual functional laptop, no way.