Genetic Recombination

In April 2007, we wrote Just Enough Computing. At 690.9 MIPS/Watt, the 5200B provided a high level of integration and efficiency. The system-on-a-chip was developed for the embedded market. Featured on the $99 EFIKA and extended with ATI/AMD graphic support to the Open Client, many developers and users found the performance just enough to satisfy a host of computing tasks. Development around the platform continues. Progessive support from openSUSE 11.1, CruxPPC and MorphOS 2.2 has been released over the last month. AROS support is imminent. The platform has shipped to over 80 countries.

In the meanwhile, others understood 'just enough' was a good idea.

While the netbook has given the industry a sales boost, in the grand scheme of things this evolution does not bode well for the heavyweights. Said another way: near-term the Atom is a positive for Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), but long-term cannibalization of core notebook processor sales is likely to be inevitable. Intel's powers of intimidation and inspiration are both likely to diminish as the average margin per processor decreases and the competition grows.

Last week information about the next Intel Atom emerged. The faster CPU and graphic chipset bundle will need more power and be more expensive. DigiTimes reported a 30-40% increase in pricing over the current version. Board developers still need a northbridge. It appears Intel is following the same old playbook. We don't think it will work as well this time. It is just too much -- too much cost, too many components and it still needs too much power.

Freescale's entry into the netbook space brings embedded and mobile microprocessor integration skills to a market where increased efficiency and lower cost are sorely needed. A $199 netbook with eight hours of battery life will certainly challenge the incumbents. If we find therein a solid and familiar graphic core from ATI/AMD (Freescale Licenses AMD Graphics Technology...), we will be very pleased. After all, we developed the only non-x86 platform ever certified by ATI/AMD.

Finally, our Ready for IBM Technology is also ready for ARM. The ARM9 Reference Design and GNU/Linux support we developed for Toshiba has been in distribution for months. The Toshiba board features Aura. Aura is System Enablement.

We should be able to pull all these pieces together in a unique way to bring a great product to market. A new Developer Program will begin soon, so please stay tuned...

Update: here is the new i.MX515 Cortex A8 Netbook Processor that the Freescale Press Release references -- just in case you missed it.

The Community is the Computer - a Super Computer. Go Zig!

R&B