Life on the tundra is tough. In the winter it is very cold and windy and in the summer the mosquitoes are everywhere. Have you ever seen a glass of water tossed into the air and watched it drift away as ice fog before a drop hits the ground? It can be cold!
A funny fellow brought this tree to Kotzebue.
Last time one of us was there it was still the only tree.
The Finnish word tunturia means a barren land (which may have been derived from the earlier use of the word in Lapland -- perhaps a Finnish friend can conform this). The tundra has a delicate ecosystem. Small changes to the environment can produce dramatic consequences over time. In Alaska, roads made through the permafrost 50-60 years ago have thawed quicker in the spring. This has led to erosion and the formation of lakes that follow an unnatural path.
This post is actually about a different Tundra. Earlier this week they made this announcement:
Ottawa, Ontario – June 3, 2008 - Tundra Semiconductor Corporation (Tundra), (TSX:TUN External), a leader in System Interconnect, has terminated its product acquisition agreement, announced in August, 2007, with IBM Global Engineering Solutions (IBM), effective June 1, 2008. The acquired product was to be based on an IBM Power Architecture™ 90 nm processor core. IBM recently notified Tundra that the performance of the core is lower than previously stated. Since the IBM core cannot meet the stated performance, the product is now unsuitable for Tundra’s intended target applications and market. In November, 2007, Tundra also signed a license agreement with IBM to bring new 65nm Power Architecture solutions to market as part of Tundra’s smart System Interconnect (sSI) strategy and roadmap. As a result of the decision to terminate the product acquisition agreement, and based on Tundra’s review of the current IBM performance data for the 65nm core, Tundra has also made the decision to terminate that license agreement.
Tundra intends to actively pursue alternative means of executing against its sSI strategy to bring intelligent System Interconnect solutions to broader global markets.
We genuinely appreciated Tundra's effort to secure a Power Architecture license (Power Up!). Another SoC producer would have added vibrancy to the delicate ecosystem around Power. Note to Power.org: we need more than standards. We need users.
The MPC5123 Starter Kit is under development. There will be a MPC5121e Starter Kit too. The 5121e includes the MBX Lite graphic core. The 5123 does not.
It sure does get cold out on the tundra, but don't worry! We still have enough people and power to keep things going. We are almost there...
The Community is the Computer - a Super Computer. Go Zig!
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