Re: Parallella project on Kickstarter
On Mon, Oct 15, 2012 at 03:28:52PM -0700, Tom Glover wrote:
> I'm writing to draw fellow Debian ARM users' attention to the
> Parallella project currently on Kickstarter. Link:
> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adapteva/parallella-a-supercomputer-for-everyone
>
> The project's founders are seeking funding for an arm-based
> development board based around their 16/64 core multicore Epiphany
> processor.
>
> Apart from the Epiphany processor, the specs are comparable with other
> arm-based dev-boards (Pandaboard etc.):
>
> * Dual-core ARM A9 CPU
> * Epiphany Multicore Accelerator (16 or 64 cores)
> * 1GB RAM
> * MicroSD Card
> * USB 2.0 (two)
> * Two general purpose expansion connectors
> * Ethernet 10/100/1000
> * HDMI connection
> * Ships with Ubuntu OS
> * Ships with free open source Epiphany development tools that
> include C compiler, multicore debugger, Eclipse IDE, OpenCL
> SDK/compiler, and run time libraries.
> * Dimensions are 3.4'' x 2.1''
>
> The project is especially interesting from a free software point of
> view:
>
> * Open Access: Absolutely no NDAs or special access needed! All
> architecture and SDK documents will be published on the web as
> soon as the Kickstarter project is funded.
> * Open Source: The Parallella platform will be based on free open
> source development tools and libraries. All board design files
> will be provided as open source once the Parallella boards are
> released.
> * Affordability: Hardware costs and SDK costs have always been a
> huge barrier to entry for developers looking to develop high
> performance applications. Our goal is to bring the Parallella
> high performance computer cost below $100, making it an
> affordable platform for all.
>
> On most extant ARM-based SoCs/dev.boards, the coprocessor (i.e. GPU)
> is encumbered by NDAs, closed source drivers, binary firmware,
> undocumented instruction sets, etc.
>
> Originally, the plan was to release documentation when the project
> reached its funding goal; however, they decided to release the
> documentation early, in order to generate more interest, see
> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adapteva/parallella-a-supercomputer-for-everyone/posts/323691
>
> The project is currently struggling to meet its funding goals; I would
> encourage everyone interested in advancing the cause of free software
> on ARM platforms to back Parallella, and to pass on the word to others.
>
> Disclosure: I'm backing the project but am not otherwise affiliated
> with its founders.
I was just about to pledge (actually thinking for two boards) and then
noticed it has no SATA. Oh well I don't want one at all then.
I know how slow and inefficient microSD is for storage.
--
Len Sorensen
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