This is something I have been keeping an eye on and I think will be of great interest $25 computers http://www.raspberrypi.org/faqs ----- Original Message ----- | From: "aki" <aki275@gmail.com> | To: "Skunkworks Mailing List" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2012 11:13:19 PM | Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] Technology Producers Group | A posting for the Technology Producers Group. Semi-Conductors, incase | you did know this. | How do I create a prototype | - Prototyping is much easier now than the 80s or 90s and can be very | expensive. You can choose Intel, AD or Texas Instruments. There are | also a number of semiconductor manufacturers in the Far East but | here you must know what you are doing and which semiconductor to | use. Anyway, say for example you are an Open Source expert and are | looking at creating the prototype say for the NTM/IDS devices. Most | of the time, embedded devices will work but you don't need a | full-fledged computer hardware type system. To run an embedded | version of your workable OS, you already have a full semi-conductor | chipset that you can build on. | - Watch the video from Texas Instruments on the ARM processors and | how much they have done for Open Source Technology Producers to not | only get started quickly but also build within their tools. | http://www.ti.com/lsds/ti/dsp/arm.page?DCMP=TIHomeTracking&HQS=Other+OT+home... | . Watch the video on the page link. There is a lot of information | that can help you build complete systems. | - Remember that many semi-conductor manufacturers have a batch order | of a 1000pcs or also known as 1K. This is very important, as Texas | Instruments allows you to purchase single processors for | prototyping. Others do not offer such. | - They also have excellent evaluation kits that make you prototype | development much easier. | - Depending on what you need to create, you may have to shop around | other places because prototyping costs can easily shoot up and also | get complex. When buying just the semi-conductors from different | manufacturers can place serious delays in design work. | - Forget about buying micro-motherboards/ram/cpu etc as they will | increase your input costs when you want to build embedded systems. | Go the semiconductor route. | _______________________________________________ | Skunkworks mailing list | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | ------------ | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | ------------ | Skunkworks Rules | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | ------------ | Other services @ http://my.co.ke