Greetings Peter, greetings to all readers.

Peter via Dng - 20.11.25, 18:38:49 CET:

> From:    Martin Steigerwald <martin@???>
> Date:    Thu, 20 Nov 2025 14:59:35 +0100

>
> > But we still have no really good completely open and free software
> > based hardware platforms.
>
> For hardware based on software, you mean a FPGA based computer?
> The FPGA is formatted via software to implement hardware function.

Not really. I meant free software based firmware and openly designed
hardware which schematics available under a free license. I did not know
how to word this in an unambiguous and brief way.

> Some aspects of efficiency, simplicity and security were addrressed
> from the ground up in the Ph.D. thesis of Pieter Muller.
> https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/entities/publication/c19d0d61-88
> d0-4364-8d0b-931fc24e68a1

Interesting. May look into it. I have an FPGA based machine. An Apollo
Standalone V4+ improved classic Amiga remake¹. The work of some geniuses.
However… the core is closed source software.

There are great FGPA machines in the retro computing area. Like the
MEGA65². The default MEGA65 core despite some part of original Commodore
ROM is even available under a free license.

But none of them is really intended to run Linux. While there is some kind
of Unix available for C-64 and I think so also for Mega 65, it would not
really run Linux as far as I am aware.

> Meanwhile invasion & hijacking of systems of banks, hospitals & etc.
> continues. Publication of the stories tends to be avoided.

Due to FGPA?

> Niklaus Wirth and Paul Reed presented a FPGA based machine.
> https://people.inf.ethz.ch/wirth/ProjectOberon/index.html

Heard of this before, but did not really understand it back then.

[1] https://www.apollo-computer.com/v4standalone.php

[2] https://mega65.org/

Best,
--
Martin