+# Draft Libre-SOC Chip article
+
+Revisions / History:
+
+* 11 May 2020 - version 2
+
+
+**So much more is possible within this very small chip. Not the fastest,
+nor the most powerful but the most radical for a new piece of silicon
+in the 21st century. The chip will be available to our members together
+with the expertise to use it.**
+
+The Libre-SOC project, with MarketNext, creates a first-of-its-kind
+Libre-licensed CPU with built-in GPU (3D) and VPU (Video) capabilities. It
+is open to anyone, any entrepreneur, anywhere in the world to extend
+it to meet the needs of their local market. This market was previously
+considered the realm of very large corporations only. Not having expertise
+hasn’t been an obstacle to having the vision because MarketNext has
+been able to provide very specific expertise to support this new member.
+
+This chip can allow people to manufacture Smartphones, tablets &
+notebooks, single board computers for all sorts of industrial, embedded
+applications, entertainment devices, automotive & power management for
+new electric vehicle designs, interactive kiosks, public information
+systems, power and resource management. You can build intelligent
+behavioural networks for electric vehicle recharging & power-grids.
+One application could be to accelerate the evolution of the current
+internet to be better suited to developing economies, and providing
+access to management heuristics within that network.
+
+It has been built so that countries and citizens regain Sovereign control
+over their computing technology. When the Quad-core version of the chip
+is ready, its cost in volume will be around $4 (74 ZAR, 302 INR, £3.22).
+It has a massive potential to change the status quo. We accept at the
+moment that things are manufactured in South Korea or China and then
+distributed all over the world. With Libre-SOC chips, suddenly, anybody
+with a small workshop can create sophisticated computing devices with
+much reduced legal and technical hurdles. We are building expertise
+which is valuable and we are inviting anyone to co-create empowering
+opportunities for the people who use it.
+
+New MarketNext member Luke Leighton conceived this design, and, with the
+help of Mitch Alsup on the comp.arch newsnet group, got a crash-course
+education in chip architecture. Mitch is the designer of the Motorola
+68000, 88120, AMD K9, AMD Opteron Series, and a lead architect on
+Samsung's recent GPU. He is also one of the few people in the world
+with working knowledge of the exceptionally powerful Cray CDC6600 -
+the inspiration for this initiative's core engine. Other invaluable
+team members, Jacob Lifshay, Yehowshua Immanuel, Michael Nolan and more,
+share the same goals and have been helping to make this chip a reality.
+
+“We’re not trying to build the fastest", Luke said. "or the most
+powerful computer processor ever. It is the most radical design.
+It’s capable of a high degree of parallel processing. Also it’s
+the first ever Libre-licensed chip which has such a radical and
+ambitious architecture, with an extended instruction set that makes GPU
+instructions native. This means that all video and 3D processing is
+done far more efficiently inside the chip, dramatically simplifying
+software drivers and end-user applications as a hugely beneficial
+side-effect”. Fundamentally, free open source software is better,
+not just because it’s free as in free beer but also because it’s
+free as in free and fair elections. When a closed operation works,
+their development cycle tends to go through big internal iterations and
+the teams are contractually unable to talk to anyone. The 3rd party
+developers using that product who find errors and need help from the
+company meet stone-cold brick walls in the form of NDAs and "support
+contracts". With this design being conducted entirely in the open,
+developers do not need to ask permission. They can download the drivers
+and the full hardware design immediately. Mistakes are rectified faster,
+more elegant solutions are incorporated earlier, the open design process
+always creates better results which are more user & market friendly.
+
+There is also an additional huge market for peripherals, interfaces,
+environmental sensors, human interface devices including virtual reality
+supported by future versions. By 2022, we expect to mass-produce a
+Quad Core 64-bit chip with a dual issue 800Mhz processor and a 320 pin
+package for under $4.
+
+Libre-SOC is a system which has grown from following Libre principles.
+What it basically does is it extends the ethical FOSS (Free Open Source
+Software) principles into hardware. Presently you have to run open source
+software on hardware such as Intel or Apple. When this chip exists there
+will be no corporate stranglehold on any part of the whole stack.
+
+This allows massive revenue transfer. We open closed markets and create
+product income for all members of the network closer to the point of use.
+The astronomical revenues kept in tax havens by corporations can now be
+shared by local communities all over the whole world.
+
+Any patents will be based on the IBM patent pool concept, which is
+royalty-free for any user unless that user asserts litigation detrimental
+to other members of the user community.
+
+So here is a system where MarketNext members can provide customer
+services, legal service, marketing services and crucial technical
+expertise. Although we can’t have complete control over how an open
+product is used, the core developers and MarketNext members, having
+current know-how, are by default the logical best route and will have
+first-mover advantage.
+
+Within closed and proprietary systems, you have the so-called Peter
+Principle where people are promoted into a role above their ability
+and then they stay at that role, slightly above their ability. In an
+open system that can’t happen. In an open project you are not
+working with a project according to the abilities you had in the past.
+You’re contributing according to your best assets right now and we
+can avoid the massive mistake of closed systems.
+
+For example: due to NDAs, proprietary and closed development teams
+are prevented and prohibited from reaching out if they need outside
+assistance. Libre and Open Projects, never having signed an NDA, if
+they need help, may ask on public forums such as comp.arch, immediately.
+More than that: again, with no NDAs, and operating entirely in the
+public eye, anyone may reach out, at any time, and volunteer their advice
+and expertise.
+
+It will be practical and usable. We are doing this really fast because
+sharing knowledge is key to our growth. We hope to have our first device
+ready for October 2020 as a proof of concept test chip. We already have
+simulator builds and unit tests as part of the daily development plan.
+By August this year, we aim to have an FPGA (Floating Point Gate Array)
+build ready which is a hardware simulation and then we will really be
+able to test it. We will potentially have around 30 chips available for
+testing on 180nm. Those precious chips will be available to exclusive
+and strategic partners willing to help us achieve this ambitious goal.
+
+A simple way to understand how the Open Source model works is for
+example with Linus Torvalds who was the spearhead of the Linux operating
+system. He is available to anyone in the world to help with their Linux
+project. But it works fine without him. He’s available for hire but
+not for employment. Typically such founders will be involved in projects
+which expand the use case and which extends the reach of the technology.
+Because of the openness and the visibility of this development, that
+expertise becomes available to more MarketNext members to share.
+
+Libre-SOC has thrived by openly asking questions in public and receiving
+amazing support. The collaborators come so far from India, Russia, UK,
+Iceland, Canada, USA, Germany, Belgium and Taiwan. Now that it’s part
+of MarketNext we expect that collaboration to grow further.
+
+There are many applications for this in the developing market and
+advantages from removing reliance on expensive imported goods and being
+able to manufacture more locally. This chip will be available cheaply
+to members and support and expertise will be available to members for
+how to take this and make this core component which has never been
+available before.
+
+With Linux over the past few decades, there have been very stable incomes
+from this free project from support, education and training. It powers
+over 60% of all the worlds’ web servers. Now these are the first steps
+ever in creating an open hardware platform. The potential applications
+for this are highly expansive.
+
+Whilst considerably simpler this creates more opportunity for those
+in legal services, human resource consultancy, education, science &
+engineering, public policy, and many other areas of our members interests.
+
projects / libreriscv.git / blobdiff