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Sun Open-Sourcing UltraSPARC Design

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the why-shouldn't-it-work-for-hardware-too dept.

AKAImBatman writes "While everyone was busy with the holiday season, Sun Microsystems quietly announced the start of the OpenSPARC project. Unlike previous CPUs that were based on the "Open" SPARC specifications (such as LEON), Sun is releasing the complete Verilog source code to their latest and greatest microprocessor. Their current time frame for releasing the source code to the public is in March of 2006. Given their success with the OpenSolaris project, it seems that this is likely to be more than just vaporware. So get out your Virtex FPGAs and your Verilog compilers, and let's get ready to hack some hardware!"

7 of 250 comments (clear)

  1. Big Machines !! by iMaple · · Score: 4, Funny

    So get out your Virtex FPGAs and your Verilog compilers, and let's get ready to hack some hardware!"

    Thats going to give us a nice biiig processor :)

  2. Re:FP! by alman · · Score: 5, Funny

    FP! SP! TP!
    Frame Pointer
    Stack Pointer
    ummmm...
    What's TP??
    Oh yeah
    Toilet Paper - aka SCO Legal Documentation.

  3. Why bother? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Rat brains are cheaper and self-replicating.

    1. Re:Why bother? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sure they are! Here's a code sample: ...AGACTGACTGTCAATGCCCTG...

  4. I'm only half joking, so don't mod me funny by appleLaserWriter · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, how long until we can buy discount chinese-made ultraSPARC chips at Wal-Mart?

  5. free money! by Flunitrazepam · · Score: 3, Funny

    With up to 32 simultaneous threads in one incredibly low-power, low-heat processor, you gain the high-volume throughput you need, while saving millions on power and cooling costs.

    Wow, you'd have to be an idiot to not want to save millions! Nevermind that the technology (Cool Threads) sounds like the name of a Hot Topic spin off... Sign me up!

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    1) Your analysis is based on bad assumptions so your result is way off. 2) You're a sick bastard for fucking a horse.
  6. Now imagine... Apple switches processors *again* by FFFish · · Score: 3, Funny

    What if, eh? Is the core OS X codebase portable enough that Apple could change horses in mid-stride?

    We'd have computers with an open CPU but closed whatever-their-hand-is extension running an open OS with a closed GUI. Only thing left to deliver would be an open Distribution/Payment Channel with a closed DRM; I'm game for that if it's similar to the Mac-side small-apps economy. (A powerful freebie and a right-priced professional version. The freebie is so good you can easily justify the full-package price, especially knowing that it's going to a small team, so you're directly putting supper on their table.)

    This could be a damn fine bit of social revolution.

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