Great slides! Thanks for sharing. If it's not too late, change "to" to "too" on Slide 14 of the 2nd set of slides (Ozprodev's Space Invaders game) in the wording "to/too bad we can't go back to 1978...," as we wouldn't want anything to distract the eye from the Prop 2. Gee, if we could go back to 1978, a Prop 2 could represent an arcade of 8 machines (sans monitors, power supplies) in a single chip. Incredible...even in 2013!
The slides are awesome Chip. It tells the story beautifully.
The thing that still amazes me about the prop is its ability to bit-bang its own video. As prop fiends that's assumed knowledge. Make sure they know the P1 and P2 do their own video generation!
That's one of the main things that blows people away when I demo the prop to them. That's what got the owner of this conference I'm volunteering at to go prop over arduino this year! I can't imagine how much fun we're going to have with the P2 and HD!
Heh... 16 seconds? That's kind of funny. I'll bet a cookie they listen intently, only to be left wanting to hear a lot more! I like the presentation.
A few words were given to the process: ...work alone from a place where people of like mind can join you...
That's interesting Chip. IMHO, there is your camel or donkey as opposed to a fine horse.
So then, on a process note, having a goal and keeping it is important. Managing that against business, time and other basic realities is also important. From there, inviting people with mutual interests and like minds in to share, contribute and motivate is a good thing, so long as the goal isn't really lost.
Open design then requires at "benevolent dictator" who owns it completely in order for the work to render something that really makes sense. That's gotta be true for something atomic like a CPU is. I've been thinking about Linus and the Linux kernel, and that's about how he ran it, and still does to a high degree. The kernel is a much bigger thing these days, and there are some people who have high ownership, but Linus still is the guy, and it is his kernel at the end of the day. (ownership wise, not in terms of who owns contributions, copyright, GPL, etc... different subject)
I think this kind of thinking is notable. I hope we see working chips this go around and I hope the talk is well received to the point of "bonus Q&A time" which can often happen when a compelling one gets tossed into the schedule.
There isn't time in this presentation, but it would be really great to get some words on the original vision that you formed after P1 ended up done Chip. Then compare it to the result today and identify where that vision clarified or was added to based on realizations you had along the way.
Great presentation! Very much in the tone of the past Open Hardware Conference presentations I've seen in the past.
Holding a chip in your hand might seem anticlimactic but wait until folks start playing with them! I'm sure we're in for a lot of interesting times ahead and a bunch of surprises on what can really be done with a Propeller2.
Just managed to find a minute to step though the presentation.
It's fantastic.
There is something deep in there about the design process. And it's hard to express. Chip has in his mind some kind of vision about how the Prop should be. A style, an architecture, or just a vague notion, an aesthetic. A set of, perhaps unstated rules to guide the development.
There are perhaps hundreds of ways that vision can be helped along with all kind of detail tweaks and smoothing out of wrinkles.
There are also perhaps hundreds of features that people want that just don't fit. Like warts on on the Mona Lisa. I would say interrups is the classic case here. They may help solve some problems in some cases but the overall ugliness, complication and violation of those unspoken guidlines is not worth it.
That is how Chip ended up with a horse and not a camel. If we could only capture whatever "that" is and put it to more general use in the world.
'Organic' seems just the right word for it. It's the same sort of optimization Nature provides in conch shells, honeycombs, exoskeletons, and red blood cells. It's a testament to a competent tool doing a proper job. I'd like to think that the synthesis guys provided no particular input, but just let the software do its thing.
I have a related question: how do I hear about these events before they happen? I had no idea this was going on until Chip posted, and I suspect that there's lot's more professional development type things that I could attend if I only knew about them.
Was just thinking that it might have been good to show some Propeller "open hardware" designs...
Although that's maybe outside the scope...
It would have been quite appropriate. I added the "Open Stomp" open-source guitar pedal project, but it didn't get updated into the slideshow, in time.
Chip:
Finally had the time to view the slides. Nice job!
How do you think the talk was received?
I think it went okay, but the prevailing mentality was a little surreal to me. There was a mood there that capitalism is the source of evil and that some sort of collectivism is the answer. I think the problem is more like we have a lot of central-bank-enabled fascism that is being usefully paraded as "capitalism".
We in the USA are are languishing on the surplus side of the dying dollar system, which is depriving us of the necessity to work and thrive (there are now more people on welfare than there are private wage earners). In this environment, where natural law is being suspended, all kinds of errant thinking is flourishing.
To get traction again, we need an honest money system and adherence to sound laws. And the people must want those things.
US national debt
Below is a graph showing the total national debt of the USA.
The period 1900-2009 is based on data from the United States Treasury.*
The period 2010-2020 is based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.*
I suffer the same concerns about banks running everything these days, including their apparent winning combination of "private profits but socialized losses." I am also generally dismayed at the tone of many people in the Open/Sharing world who think all intellectual property should be up for grabs for free. And though I feel that the national debt is greater than it should be, I think it's also instructive to compare it with another bit of data, that of the national GDP. In light of the GDP, the debt is perhaps not as catastrophic as the debt curve by itself makes things appear.
We in the USA are are languishing on the surplus side of the dying dollar system, which is depriving us of the necessity to work and thrive (there are now more people on welfare than there are private wage earners). In this environment, where natural law is being suspended, all kinds of errant thinking is flourishing.
To get traction again, we need an honest money system and adherence to sound laws. And the people must want those things.
I agree 100%.
We need a sound & stable monetary system along with laws that help reward those who produce and work hard.
We need a sound & stable monetary system along with laws that help reward those who produce and work hard.
I'm not sure Chip is talking about government laws, but rather the natural laws common in fair trade, such as supply and demand. (Chip, correct me if I'm wrong.)
Government laws do nothing, or make the problem worse. In my line of business -- or should I say what USED to be my line of business -- the Digital Millennium Copyright Act made it completely legal for thiefs to thrive from piracy. True, it has enabled YouTube, and what could be wrong with that. But it also means creators of content that can be delivered digitally are in constant risk of having their material pirated, with the enablers of this piracy getting a free pass because of clever safe harbor provisions in the DMCA.
Also, in a global marketplace, laws of one nation have little or no teeth in another nation. A lot of the freeloading comes from outside the US.
So, no new laws, please. The ones we have hurt enough.
Did I miss a point here? I thought the DMCA was that which made it illegal to circumvent copy protections on DVD's and such, and under which all those "take down" notices that web sites have to take notice of when asked to remove copyrighted material can be issued. I.e. it strengthened at least some IP protections.
What was your line of business and how did the DMCA make it untenable?
I do agree that too many laws do not help. And often they have unforeseen consequences that can be a net negative to society as a whole.
I think the original 10 commandments was 5 or 6 too many.
Comments
To me it looks a little like a rabbit in a director's chair looking back and saying: "Hey, you'll never have more fun than this."
On second thought, it looks a little like Fozzie Bear.
The thing that still amazes me about the prop is its ability to bit-bang its own video. As prop fiends that's assumed knowledge. Make sure they know the P1 and P2 do their own video generation!
That's one of the main things that blows people away when I demo the prop to them. That's what got the owner of this conference I'm volunteering at to go prop over arduino this year! I can't imagine how much fun we're going to have with the P2 and HD!
workshop analogy is good. Personally, I like the Swiss-army knife analogy...
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/131664-This-is-awesome-(chiptunes-propeller-as-powerpoint-etc...)
http://www.linusakesson.net/music/elements/index.php
A few words were given to the process: ...work alone from a place where people of like mind can join you...
That's interesting Chip. IMHO, there is your camel or donkey as opposed to a fine horse.
So then, on a process note, having a goal and keeping it is important. Managing that against business, time and other basic realities is also important. From there, inviting people with mutual interests and like minds in to share, contribute and motivate is a good thing, so long as the goal isn't really lost.
Open design then requires at "benevolent dictator" who owns it completely in order for the work to render something that really makes sense. That's gotta be true for something atomic like a CPU is. I've been thinking about Linus and the Linux kernel, and that's about how he ran it, and still does to a high degree. The kernel is a much bigger thing these days, and there are some people who have high ownership, but Linus still is the guy, and it is his kernel at the end of the day. (ownership wise, not in terms of who owns contributions, copyright, GPL, etc... different subject)
I think this kind of thinking is notable. I hope we see working chips this go around and I hope the talk is well received to the point of "bonus Q&A time" which can often happen when a compelling one gets tossed into the schedule.
There isn't time in this presentation, but it would be really great to get some words on the original vision that you formed after P1 ended up done Chip. Then compare it to the result today and identify where that vision clarified or was added to based on realizations you had along the way.
Look at the horse! And the nice workshop - perfect analogies in the end of the presentation that people will remember.
Also liked slide 23, showing where place-and-route put the eight cogs...
...and slide 24, showing where the synthesized section fits into the picture.
The whole presentation seems excellent and, when combined with your narrative, a delightful treat for any audience.
Holding a chip in your hand might seem anticlimactic but wait until folks start playing with them! I'm sure we're in for a lot of interesting times ahead and a bunch of surprises on what can really be done with a Propeller2.
Hope you turn a lot of heads at the conference.
Good work everyone! That's one thing I love about this platform, everyone is so helpful.
David Carrier
Edit: Chip updated his original post with a newer version of the slides here: http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/149989?p=1204930#post1204930
I wonder if the synthesis guys had to guide it in any particular way, or if the software just centered on that being an optimal path?
It's fantastic.
There is something deep in there about the design process. And it's hard to express. Chip has in his mind some kind of vision about how the Prop should be. A style, an architecture, or just a vague notion, an aesthetic. A set of, perhaps unstated rules to guide the development.
There are perhaps hundreds of ways that vision can be helped along with all kind of detail tweaks and smoothing out of wrinkles.
There are also perhaps hundreds of features that people want that just don't fit. Like warts on on the Mona Lisa. I would say interrups is the classic case here. They may help solve some problems in some cases but the overall ugliness, complication and violation of those unspoken guidlines is not worth it.
That is how Chip ended up with a horse and not a camel. If we could only capture whatever "that" is and put it to more general use in the world.
OHS is a great place to get some exposure for the next chip!
I keep asking Parallax to substitute pictures of me for Tom Selleck in their materials....
Although that's maybe outside the scope...
Finally had the time to view the slides. Nice job!
How do you think the talk was received?
It would have been quite appropriate. I added the "Open Stomp" open-source guitar pedal project, but it didn't get updated into the slideshow, in time.
I think it went okay, but the prevailing mentality was a little surreal to me. There was a mood there that capitalism is the source of evil and that some sort of collectivism is the answer. I think the problem is more like we have a lot of central-bank-enabled fascism that is being usefully paraded as "capitalism".
We in the USA are are languishing on the surplus side of the dying dollar system, which is depriving us of the necessity to work and thrive (there are now more people on welfare than there are private wage earners). In this environment, where natural law is being suspended, all kinds of errant thinking is flourishing.
To get traction again, we need an honest money system and adherence to sound laws. And the people must want those things.
I agree 100%.
We need a sound & stable monetary system along with laws that help reward those who produce and work hard.
I'm not sure Chip is talking about government laws, but rather the natural laws common in fair trade, such as supply and demand. (Chip, correct me if I'm wrong.)
Government laws do nothing, or make the problem worse. In my line of business -- or should I say what USED to be my line of business -- the Digital Millennium Copyright Act made it completely legal for thiefs to thrive from piracy. True, it has enabled YouTube, and what could be wrong with that. But it also means creators of content that can be delivered digitally are in constant risk of having their material pirated, with the enablers of this piracy getting a free pass because of clever safe harbor provisions in the DMCA.
Also, in a global marketplace, laws of one nation have little or no teeth in another nation. A lot of the freeloading comes from outside the US.
So, no new laws, please. The ones we have hurt enough.
Did I miss a point here? I thought the DMCA was that which made it illegal to circumvent copy protections on DVD's and such, and under which all those "take down" notices that web sites have to take notice of when asked to remove copyrighted material can be issued. I.e. it strengthened at least some IP protections.
What was your line of business and how did the DMCA make it untenable?
I do agree that too many laws do not help. And often they have unforeseen consequences that can be a net negative to society as a whole.
I think the original 10 commandments was 5 or 6 too many.