[colorforth] ForthBox and FPGA (was: Ideas)

[Jecel Assumpcao Jr <jecel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Monday 01 March 2004 13:54, Samuel A. Falvo II wrote:
> [...computer *kit* that can sold.]
> [...stripped down ... ForthBox...]
>
> Anyway, I bring this up because my Wiki has a lot of stuff on the
> ForthBox concept that I've been developing since the beginning of
> this year.  However, it hasn't been updated in a while; that's
> largely due to my personal lack of bandwidth.  However, the concept
> isn't dead.

Please post a link.

I wonder why you aren't thinking of a FPGA based solution like you 
mentioned in another thread? Don't let the high prices of development 
kits discourage you: I build a board with the same functionality as a 
nice $280 kit from Xess and it only cost me $30. This board started 
life as a ColorForth computer, though now it is a Smalltalk machine.

You can see some pictures at http://www.merlintec.com:8080/Hardware/18 
of the board adapted from its original application as a terminal for 
truck drivers to be a low cost general computer for a demonstration.

Doing a new project around old technology is not a good idea unless you 
are only after a learning experience and don't mind spending more than 
you would for a better and more modern alternative. For example, the 
cheapest memory is currently the SDRAM chips which are very hard to 
interface to older microprocessors.

A Xilinx Spartan IIe XC2S50E-6TQ144C costs $13.50 in single quantities 
and there are competitive alternatives from Altera and others. Since 
this would be the whole computer (except for RAM and Flash) instead of 
just a CPU, a $2 processor might actually be more expensive. And it 
wouldn't have an instruction set as nice as MISC.

In my case a color TV output only cost 4 resistors and an RCA connector, 
while a VGA output was 12 resistors and a DB15 connector.

-- Jecel

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