On 4/23/2013 12:07 AM, tim lindner wrote:
Gary Becker is running a Kickstarter project to create
a CoCo 3 replacement
motherboard.
I'd really like to get one, but it needs more support.
http://kck.st/16fAwkf
Tim,
Thanks for posting this.
I think the name sounds fairly familiar. Like maybe I've visited his
site before....
I haven't spent much time looking at his core, which might be very well
fleshed out, however
The reasons that it didn't get funded (guess it ended today?) might be:
* he really hasn't made any part selections, including which FPGA
* the video is too long and boring
* there's no prototype PCB which leads to
* doing PCB design work with high-density BGA FPGAs can be pretty hard
* delivery was something like 1.5 years away (kickstarter projects
normally push their delivery dates, so it could easily be 2015+ before
something could ship)
* too many details just don't seem hashed out yet, including how exactly
the board was going to interface into the chassis, connector options.
(see updates discussion) It's just hard to imagine what it's going to
look like.
The bottom line is that it didn't seem far enough along and that the
creator needed to spend some more time and money producing at least a
simple prototype on a custom pcb. Showing hdl running on an eval board
_might_ prove out the hdl, but the custom PCB could be a nightmare.
Especially for someone who doesn't have the experience (which he either
doesn't have or didn't mention)
I have a friend involved in a project that just raised $200k which had
prototypes produced along with screen shots from test equipment
demonstrating the stability, capability, etc of the device......
Obviously he spent time and money of his own, but that easily translated
into faith from the investors..... They met their investment goal in 7 days.
FWIW,
Keith