RE: [linux-audio-dev] Fwd: Creative's IP concerns

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Subject: RE: [linux-audio-dev] Fwd: Creative's IP concerns
From: Pieter (pieter.palmers_AT_student.kuleuven.ac.be)
Date: Thu Jan 24 2002 - 15:40:06 EET


> Pieter wrote:
>
> >--cut---
> >
> >>*Are* any of creative's competitors releasing specs for chips that do
> >>advanced effects? I understand RME and MidiMan have been quite open,
> >>but they use FPGA chips, and am I right in thinking those are
> >>off-the-shelf chips with already open specs?
> >>
> >
> >FPGA (= 'Field Programmable Gate Array') chips are indeed open
> spec (well,
> >most of them). But the problem is that the chip specs are no
> source of info
> >for writing drivers. Let me explain a little about FPGA:
> >
> It's worse than that. To program the FPGA you have to take the netlist
> from your design program and then create a chip-specific bit sequence.
> How this is done is secret. So you can't program any reasonably
> up-to-date FPGAs with open-source software. I have hammered on the
> doors of many manufactueres asking "how does keeping this bit sequence
> secret help you sell more FPGAs?" but the answer is a long silence.
>

I didn't know it was that bad. I did get a course in FPGA programming,
but as we had to use XilinX foundation manager, I didn't experience
that problem. Anyway, I was just trying to point out that even if you
get the (programming) specs of the FPGA, they wouldn't be usefull if
you don't know how RME used it (eg: what pins are PCI). Could be hard
to figure it out. And you would have to rewrite 'firmware', which was
not the intention.

PP


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