Author: machdyne

In order to make our FPGA computers more useful, we are launching a multi-year project to create an open-source SOC and OS named ZEITLOS.

Zeitlos is a novel open-source single-user multitasking graphical Operating System developed in tandem with an open-source System-On-a-Chip that will help to transform our FPGA computers into practical tools for running timeless applications in a responsive graphical environment.

Zeitlos will target our FPGA computers as well as many popular development boards from other vendors. Everyone is invited to participate in the planning and design of Zeitlos which is taking place on our BBS.

 

More details will be made available on X, GitHub and at zeitlos.org in the coming months.

For quite a while now we’ve wanted to set up a forum for our customers to communicate and share ideas with each other. We tried a few different things but nothing felt quite right. We’re excited to announce a new experiment that we hope our community will find useful: Machdyne BBS.

While this format isn’t perfect, we like that it can be accessed over a timeless protocol (telnet) that’s already supported by our computers and that we should be able to keep operating in some form indefinitely.

If you’re a customer or if you’re interested in timeless computing, FPGA computing, or survival computing – the Machdyne BBS is available now via telnet:

$ telnet bbs.machdyne.com

 

One of the goals of Machdyne is to create computers and tools that will be useful long into the future, even, or especially if the future is some sort of computing dystopia, from the human perspective.

Survival computing is an extreme form of timeless computing that lets you compute, or interact with computers, when you have very limited access to modern technology or resources.

We are generally optimistic about the future so instead of an urgent necessity we usually view survival computing as more of a thought experiment where we don’t take for granted that inexpensive computation will always be available or that we will have access to plenty of electricity, or to the Internet.

There are also places on Earth today where computers are not readily available or access to them is limited due to lack of resources. People can benefit today from low-cost low-power computers even without the latest technology or the latest applications.

In the event that such a scenario were to become a reality for everyone, due to war, natural disaster, legislation, AI, or for a number of other reasons, it would be good if some preparations had been made in order to preserve access to computation and critical information.

We think that timeless computers will play an important role in survival computing by ensuring access to timeless applications thanks to the benefits of FPGA computing. In addition to timeless applications it will be important to be able to interface with other systems. For example, a customer shared with us this photo of Mozart and Werkzeug connected to an industrial control system.

Thinking about survival computing has led us to many projects, here are some ideas inspired by survival computing that we’re experimenting with:

• Stahl and Blaustahl are storage devices that can potentially retain data for centuries
• Notnagel is a battery-powered handheld FPGA computer with a built-in display
• Glasur is a stand-alone front-panel computer that can be powered by a solar panel
• Zeitreise is a minimalist battery-powered Linux-capable cyberdeck
• RAD5 is a stand-alone USB-powered hex editor and serial terminal
• Ark is an information distribution for offline computers
• Tidegrow is an open-source low-power automated hydroponics project

Whatever the future holds we find it interesting to think about the possibilities and to do what we can now to prepare for Things to Come.

Thanks for reading. You can follow us on X and GitHub for the latest updates.

Machdyne makes open-source FPGA computers. In this post we’ll explain what an FPGA computer is, what they can be used for, and why we’re bothering to make them.

An FPGA (field-programmable gate array) is a chip that contains an array of programmable logic blocks. Together, these logic blocks can be configured to act as various digital circuits. FPGAs often have thousands of logic blocks that allow them to act as complex circuits, such as a CPU and a chipset, also known as a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

FPGA computers can become completely different systems by simply updating their configuration memory with different “gateware”. For example, an FPGA computer could be configured as a 64-bit RISC-V SoC running Linux one minute, and a NES with an 8-bit 6502 CPU running Super Mario Bros the next minute.

Some use cases for FPGA computers include:

• General purpose computing.
• Timeless computing.
• Retro computing and retro gaming.
• Custom CPU and SoC development.

You might say – hey I can already do all of that on my regular computer. It’s true, and you can do general purpose computing much faster on your everyday computer than with an FPGA computer.

So why are we bothering to make FPGA computers? While we are interested in advancing all of the above use cases, our primary focus is on what we call timeless computing – the use of computers to run timeless applications. Our vision is to create a stable, secure, responsive computing environment for the most important timeless applications (reading, writing, math, education, organization, communication, automation, etc.)

You can think of this as a supplemental computer that you would only use for certain tasks, like writing a book or learning something new, but probably not for paying your taxes or browsing the web.

These computers will not replace your “daily driver” but they will provide a simple environment without many of the distractions and annoyances found with modern computers. And because they are simple, understandable and completely open-source, they have the potential to provide a level of privacy and security not possible with most modern computers.

In order to create such an environment we’re pursuing two simultaneous approaches for the gateware and software:

1. Kakao Linux – This is a Linux distribution that runs on top of a RISC-V SoC that is optimized for running Linux on our hardware. This works today and you can read about what’s already possible in our post on practical timeless computing.
2. Zucker Zeitlos SOC/OS – This is a custom RISC-V SoC and OS designed for our hardware. Over the coming years we intend to create a completely new computing experience, with a new graphical operating system and new applications developed in tandem with our SoC and specifically for our hardware. The result will be something like what computing might look like in a parallel universe where everything progressed in a slightly different, and maybe better way.

While our computer hardware is still evolving, it was all created with our long-term goals in mind, and we intend to support all of our hardware into the future. You can confidently buy any of our computers today knowing that they have the ability to gain new and improved functionality in the future. And because our hardware, software and the toolchains they use are open-source, you can modify our computers however you want and even create your own CPU, SoC and software.

Thanks for reading. We want the FPGA computer to be an elegant tool for a more civilized age that’s yet to come, and you’re invited to join us on the journey to bring them into existence. You can follow us on X and GitHub for the latest updates.