[qb]Apr 7, 2017
Monoid Mary

> People often don't realize how important it was to OSS that it was preceded by decades of easy access to programming tools and resources meant for absolute beginners.

> OSS needs FPGAs, and FPGAs need what programming had back in the 1980s: an on-ramp.

Man this looks really cool. Am excite. https://www.blinklight.io/blog/2017-03-31/

Apr 7, 2017 at 3:55amWeb
Show threadCoolStarApr 7, 2017

@argumatronic @KitRedgrave to be honest, I stopped using Linux as a main OS simply due to the amount of effort it takes to do certain tasks on it, and the amount of maintenance required...

although that being said; I do run coreboot with an OSS tianocore payload on my netbook

Show thread🔜@[email protected]Apr 7, 2017
@argumatronic have you seen https://github.com/m-labs/migen?
Show threadMonoid MaryApr 7, 2017
@parataxis i hadn't, this looks cool. i am especially interested in the pedagogical element of the blinklight project and hoping to use with my children if it goes well enough. awoooo.
Show threadDrew 🌊Apr 7, 2017
@argumatronic Hey, my Dad has an array of gates. In a field. I don't think they're programmable though 🙁 (he has a farm)
Show threadMonoid MaryApr 7, 2017
@ocean but does he have logic goats on his farm?
Show threadDrew 🌊Apr 7, 2017
@argumatronic Haha 😂 No, goats are completely illogical.
Show threadMonoid MaryApr 7, 2017
@ocean i already like you
Show threadDrew 🌊Apr 7, 2017
@argumatronic Haha thanks. You had me at "pedagogical" :grin:
Show threadDrew 🌊Apr 7, 2017
@argumatronic and of course the Haskell 😄
Show threadDrew 🌊Apr 7, 2017
@argumatronic I'm sorry, that's terrible 😊 Blinkenlight does sound very interesting.
Show threadJJ ✅「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏎ⒶApr 7, 2017
@argumatronic *WHOOPS EXTERNALLY*
Show threadWilliam D. JonesApr 7, 2017

@argumatronic FOSS FPGA community is definitely in part inspired by "I'm so f***ing sick of the shitty vendor environments that I'm taking matters into my own hands".

But it's getting easier all the time. Maybe I'm biased w/ how (2010-2012) it used to be harder, but I take issue with the author just shrugging FOSS achievements off as "no comparison".

Also, @parataxis beat me to it, but migen is almost exclusively what I use now.

Show threadJJ ✅「cιtιƶεnƒιvε」🏎ⒶApr 7, 2017
@cr1901 huh. I did not have that takeaway at all when I read it @argumatronic @parataxis
Show threadWilliam D. JonesApr 8, 2017

@five Now that I've had time to reflect... something bothers me about that blog post that I honestly can't pin down. Some thoughts:

1. I agree hardware is DEF not as accessible as software.

2. A simulator like blinklight is prob a good starting point.

3. Re: "When computers first" paragraph, FPGAs expose you to implementation details that are abstracted away from programming environments.

4. In the 70's a single person could build a competitive in marketplace computer. Not true today

Show threadWilliam D. JonesApr 8, 2017
@five (Okay, 4. isn't quite true, but it's difficult mainly because "the hardware/bus specs that modern hardware uses to talk got a lot more complicated in exchange for user convenience".)
Show threadKris NuttycombeApr 7, 2017
@argumatronic I have an openmojo board that I've never figured out what to do with. Got any good project ideas?
Show threadVertigoApr 7, 2017
@argumatronic You're solving pretty much the same problem my Kestrel Computer Project aims to solve, albeit perhaps targeted at a different audience. :)