FPGA

Joel Newkirk moko at newkirk.us
Thu Dec 7 01:18:56 CET 2006


michael at michaelshiloh.com wrote:
> On 12/5/06, Markus Stehr <bastetfurry at ircnet.de> wrote:
> 
>>  What do you think about giving the Neo1973 a FPGA?

> What hardware peripherals would you add, if you had this options?
> 
>   USB 2.0?
>   That second SIM card?
>   Other FLASH card interfaces?
>   I2C, SPI, One-Wire?
>   VGA out (although I suspect it would require too big an FPGA)?
>   Bluetooth?
>   Game device interfaces?
> 
> I welcome your feedback.
> 
> Michael

If 'done right' (including external access to several customizable pins
on a connector) there's no end to the possibilities for interfacing with
proprietary and custom equipment controllers, environmental monitors,
data gathering devices, etc ad nauseum.  Each micro-niche market could
exploit it for the cost of a custom cable and quite possibly just
porting an existing linux/unix application.

I don't see VGA out being as useful as composite-video out.  (same
output as most digital cameras offer, so I suspect there are several
readily-available solutions in compact silicon)  I think that if someone
is near a VGA monitor, they're near a PC.  Jack the Neo into the USB.
If we could support both USB storage and USB networking simultaneously,
(I suspect that's not possible, though) then it could optionally autorun
NX or VNC or some other 'remote desktop' support when inserted. (hmmm,
would it be possible to just be USB storage, and feed remote desktop
through a 'local' socket on the shared filesystem?)

But composite opens up a different world of interaction with TV and
video systems.  How may TVs today do NOT have a composite video input
right on the front panel?

Basic photo retouching/captioning/scaling prior to email transmission.
Presentations.  With 3G data or wifi plus camera, video conferencing.
Video/movie playback.  Bigscreen jukebox.  (playlist/details on TV,
controls on touchscreen, if dual-head video were possible)

I'm also imagining a Neo with motion sensor (like
http://www.gyration.com/en-US/GyroTech.html - works fantastic IMHO in
their mice, but is too large, basically a 14mm cube) and a composite
cable to the front of a TV, running head-to-head networked games, with
voice chat.  'dualscreen' games (like nintendo DS) where touchscreen is
used for controls, TV is used for game display.

j




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