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In response to cushychicken, The CE software isn't much better. Half the time, I can't figure out why companies pay for the licenses. The other half, I marvel a
by noobiemcfoob 13y ago
In response to cushychicken, The CE software isn't much better. Half the time, I can't figure out why companies pay for the licenses. The other half, I marvel at just how much the software does for you.
But the tools aside, without a low cost foundry and with a low barrier to entry for new developers (i.e. not requiring a lengthy approval process), the open source tools are just a first step. It would be amazing to one day have the resources for a hobbyist to build an ASIC. Once we've reached the limits Moore's law, that may be the only way to keep the IC industry interesting.
- cottonseed 13y agoI wasn't even thinking about silicon-level design, just board-level design. You could get pretty far with great board design tools and medium-sized FPGAs.
- cottonseed 13y agoOK, actually, I was: I'd love to see a free version of Synopsys design compiler. I agree, tho, NDAs for FPGA vendors and foundries is a huge problem.