folks, hi,

apologies for the wide distribution of this message, reasons will become clear: please do subscribe to arm-netbooks@lists.phcomp.co.uk and respond there (subscription required) rather than to all these lists.

the short version of the story is that Rhombus Tech (a CIC company - not a not-for-profit or a Ltd Company) is now taking preorder committments - pledges - to buy EOMA-PCMCIA-compliant CPU cards using a low-cost but feature-rich ARM Cortex A8 CPU called the Allwinner A10.

http://http://rhombus-tech.net//allwinner_a10/orders/

some bullet-points:

* this initiative is similar to the openpandora, the openmoko, ben nanonote etc. except that the lessons have been learned from these projects, to keep it very very simple, low-risk and modular, but still functional and useful (to Software Libre Developers) as a module. the goal is also different in that the plan is to leverage mass-volume pricing and opportunities, to the direct benefit of the Software (Libre) Community. more info on http://rhombus-tech.net main page.

* the A10 has (at least) HDMI, SATA-II, 10/100 Ethernet, takes up to 1gb of 800mhz DDR3 RAM, has a superb 32-bit-wide 8-way concurrent DMA-driven NAND Flash interface, MALI 400MP 3D Graphics, does 2160p (2x 1080p) Video, has 4 SD 3.0 Ultra-High-Speed interfaces, 2x 24-pin RGB/TTL LCD interfaces, IDE (PATA)... i'm repeating what's on the rhombus tech web site so will stop here (link below)

* the price of the allwinner CPU is so low in mass-volume ($USD 7) that in mass-volume (100k pricing) a PCB that is comparable to the raspberrypi would only be $USD 15 instead of $25, yet the A10 would be 3x faster processing speed (the rbpi's CPU is only a 700mhz ARM11 yet is more expensive).

* the CPU card will be able to operate as a stand-alone (USB-OTG powered) computer, with HDMI output, boot from Micro-SD, and stereo headphones/mic, yet due to EOMA-PCMCIA compliance it will plug into a wide range of future devices.

* unlike the beagleboard, origen, IMX53QSB etc. this is not a SoC-fabless-semiconductor-company-driven or a Linaro-driven initiative, it is a commercial initiative with an absolute top priority focus on GPL compliance and involving Software (Libre) Developers every step of the way, hence the reason for using a CIC not a Ltd Company.

* GPL Kernel Source code has been obtained from allwinner: RHT has the full support of allwinner's Board of Directors, and the Reference Platform source code is available on alioth.debian.org.

* as the primary focus of this initiative is, at this stage, to invite Software (Libre) Developers to be involved, it has not been widely announced. this is therefore the 1st reason why these lists are specifically being contacted.

* as the CPU cards are designed to be in legacy PCMCIA form-factor, motherboards and devices such as tablets, laptops, plug computers, NAS boxes, IPTVs, are all possible, including embedded and other industrial purposes.

the only other thing is that we are actively seeking "Admins" for the Rhombus Tech web site, from a wide range of different communities. the responsibilities are very small - they're a bit like those of slashdot meta-moderation. primarily we need people to be able to vet sponsorship for receipt of developer boards, using the profits raised by the CIC, for the direct strategic benefit of the Software (Libre) Community. this is similar in effect to the beagleboard sponsorship programme, but unlike the beagleboard sponsorship programme, if sufficient profits are raised by the CIC it will be possible for Admins to decide to donate boards taking up the entire years' remaining profits in one go, to worthwhile causes.

clearly, to find such people it is necessary to reach an appropriate audience, hence the 2nd reason why this message is going specifically to ARM lists in each of the major gnu/linux distros. there are at present 4 people who have agreed to be Admins, including phil hands, alain williams, wookey and james vasile, each in "unofficial" capacities with no relation to any other duties or roles that they fulfil. ideally we could do with one or two more from each of the other gnu/linux distros.

lastly: there *is* the possibility of adapting something like the beaglebone, which would, if the AM3357 was used, mean that the resultant hardware could potentially be FSF-Hardware-Endorsed: if this is something of interest to you please do speak up (on the arm-netbook@lists.phcomp.co.uk list) or likewise if you would prefer any other "Open Schematics" board such as IMX53QSB, pandaboard etc. to be adapted please do say so.

ok i'll leave it at that. it's worth repeating - discussion please contact me either privately, directly, or subscribe to arm-netbook@lists.phcomp.co.uk, list instructions below.

many thanks.

links here:

EOMA-PCMCIA spec: http://www.elinux.org/Embedded_Open_Modular_Architecture/PCMCIA allwinner page: http://http://rhombus-tech.net//allwinner_a10/ preorders page: http://http://rhombus-tech.net//allwinner_a10/orders/ accidental slashdot article: http://goo.gl/M7YQH rhombus-tech web site: http://rhombus-tech.net arm-netbooks: http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/arm-netbook beaglebone idea: http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/pipermail/arm-netbook/2011-December/001155.html am335x page: http://rhombus-tech.net/am335x