Re: XMOS XC-1 kits are ****pping

On 13 Oct, 20:42, Eric Smith <e...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Bob wrote about XMOS:
>
> > They seem far too fixated on doing everything in software, things like
> > ethernet where there is no point shoveling bytes in software if
> > hardware can take care of it.
> Leon wrote:
> > They are supplying free libraries for all the usual peripheral
> > functions. Doing stuff like that in software is much cheaper than
> > using hardware, and easier in many ways.
>
> Been there, done that, and it's not cheaper or easier when you
> consider the overall system cost impact, not just the "benefit" of
> leaving out the hardware block. =A0That was the path Scenix/Ubicom went
> down, calling it "virtual peripherals", and it was not very
> successful. =A0Ubicom has since added hardware for Ethernet, USB,
> etc. to their most recent parts. =A0The reality is that a hardware
> Ethernet MAC costs less than the total system cost impact of the
> software alternative.
>
> Eric

Not if you have four 400 MIPS cores on the chip, each with 64 bits of
I/O, 64k of RAM, with 3.2 Gbit/s comms links between cores and 32
threads per core, with switching between threads in one clock. If the
software is free, it is a very cost-effective solution, especially as
the chips will be very cheap.

Leon