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1. minute (mntmn@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 14-Feb-2024 21:35:19 JST minute

   (this post is a bit longer, read on in the thread)

   i'm at a crossroads concerning the LS1028A for MNT Reform and would like your input. the first batch of 50 is now basically sold out, the last 5 of it are going to Crowd Supply as part of initial stocking of a bunch of our expansions and peripherals (which is great, finally!).

   the LS1028A module is quite special to me because:

   - it is fully OSHW (Altium, but can be opened in KiCAD)
   ...

   • minute (mntmn@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 14-Feb-2024 21:35:31 JST minute

     in reply to

     - can be run without binary blobs (if you don't use the eDP output, i.e. in a desktop or server)
     - 16GB RAM
     - real QoriQ PCIe controller that can drive GPUs etc

     the downside is it has only 2 modest A72 cores and 28nm tech is getting old.

     it was a really rocky ride (at times painful and i wanted to cancel the project several times because it felt so cursed) to get it to work and ship and now that it works, i'm not sure if the demand is there for another batch.

   • minute (mntmn@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 14-Feb-2024 21:35:39 JST minute

     in reply to

     back in the day there was a lot of talk from the FSF scene wanting blob-free hardware, but i'm not sure if it's still there and/or real (i.e. including a will to fund more of it).

     is there demand for another batch, perhaps in conjunction with the Rack form factor? or would you rather have a more powerful CPU and tolerate some binary blobs?

   • minute (mntmn@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 14-Feb-2024 23:44:13 JST minute

     in reply to

     • Ian Kelling

     @iank do you have any input perchance?

   • minute (mntmn@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 15-Feb-2024 02:31:37 JST minute

     in reply to

     • as400 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 🐧

     @as400 what is "baked in firmware"?

   • as400 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 🐧 (as400@mas.to)'s status on Thursday, 15-Feb-2024 02:31:38 JST as400 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 🐧

     in reply to

     @mntmn

     Is LS1028A really blob free ?
     There is no baked in firmware in usb controller, pd controller or something like that ?
     Asking because it's hard to believe.

   • minute (mntmn@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 15-Feb-2024 03:50:32 JST minute

     in reply to

     • as400 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 🐧

     @as400 what exactly is that? how does the firmware get into the controller in your scenario?

   • as400 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 🐧 (as400@mas.to)'s status on Thursday, 15-Feb-2024 03:50:33 JST as400 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 🐧

     in reply to

     @mntmn

     Like "onboard" firmware that comes with such a controller.

   • ElectronicAcorn (electronicacorn@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 15-Feb-2024 07:37:29 JST ElectronicAcorn

     in reply to

     @mntmn I'd still rather remove any proprietary bs and untrustworthy bloat at extra cost any day.

     Most people either don't care, don't know any better, or worse take convenience over privacy. The world's a mess because we allow it to happen.

     Thanks for caring, and please don't stop.

   • FrostBeast (frostchild@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 17-Feb-2024 14:38:57 JST FrostBeast

     in reply to

     @mntmn Still desire it, pocket mnt reform could use this. I don't know when, but vision five version 2 could provide this potentially. Although not sure how much support it has... yet.