Re: [colorforth] ForthBox and FPGA (was: Ideas)

["Samuel A. Falvo II" <kc5tja@xxxxxxxx>]

OK, now that I gave my rationale behind my decision for the ForthBox 
concept, let's explore some other options.  Let's *assume*, for this 
particular thread, that I can use FPGAs cost effectively, and that 
kit-builders wouldn't mind the soldering issues they raise.  This is 
because, as my wiki pages indicate, I *do* prefer to use a real MISC 
architecture.

Oops, also, I forgot to post my link in the last message.  Here it is:

  http://www.falvotech.com/cgi/fsforth/ForthBoxConcept

> 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.

I raised objections in the other post.  But let's assume those objections 
have been resolved in favor of the FPGA solution.

How difficult would it be to put an Ethernet port in?  A USB host 
controller?  One of my personal goals for my ideal ForthBox (which is 
not able to be addressed with the Kestrel design) is to connect it to my 
network to do IRC and e-mail access.  I don't want to use RS-232, 
because that doesn't eliminate my dependency on my PC.  And if it 
supports USB, then I see no reason to support dedicated PS/2 ports for 
the keyboard and mouse, nor for printers or other peripherals.  Even 
storage devices can be established as USB devices.

--
Samuel A. Falvo II


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