[Sugar-devel] XO Gen 1.5

[Tomeu Vizoso]

On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 08:32, Bryan Berry <bryan at olenepal.org> wrote:
> Let's remind ourselves there are about a million XO-1's in the hands of
> kids right now and those kids should have those same XO's for the next
> 3-5 years. I really hope we continue to keep those kids in mind.

I was joking, even if all those kids would magically get a XO 1.5, we
should keep bringing resource usage down. Even more, we want Sugar to
run better and better on devices lower powered than the XO-1.

Regards,

Tomeu

> On Fri, 2009-04-17 at 22:41 +0200, Tomeu Vizoso wrote:
>> [forwarding to IAEP and sugar-devel]
>>
>> Awesome news, now we don't need to worry about performance any more :p
>>
>> Good luck with the remaining work,
>>
>> Tomeu
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 17, 2009 at 21:24, John Watlington <wad at laptop.org> wrote:
>> >
>> > OLPC is excited to announce that a refresh of the XO-1 laptop is in
>> > progress.  In our continued effort to maintain a low price point, OLPC
>> > is refreshing the hardware to take advantage of the latest component
>> > technologies.  This refresh (Gen 1.5) is separate from the Gen 2.0
>> > project, and will continue using the same industrial design and
>> > batteries as Gen 1.  The design goal is to provide an overall update
>> > of the system within the same ID and external appearance.
>> >
>> > In order to maximize compatibility with existing software, this
>> > refresh will continue with an x86 processor, using a chipset from
>> > VIA.  The memory will be increased to 1 GB of DDR2 SDRAM, and the
>> > built-in storage will be 4 GB of NAND Flash with an option for 8 GB
>> > (installed at manufacture).
>> >
>> > The processor will be a VIA C7-M [1], with plans on using one whose
>> > clock ranges from 400 MHz (1.5 W) to 1GHz (5 W).  The clock may be
>> > throttled back automatically if necessary to meet thermal constraints.
>> >
>> > The enabling chipset is hot off the fab line, the VX855 [2].  This
>> > single chip provides the memory interface, a 3D graphics engine, an HD
>> > video decoder, USB, SDIO, and other system interface and management
>> > functions, in a low power and small footprint package.   One change
>> > induced by the chipset change is a move from AC'97 to HD Audio.
>> > This brings higher sampling rates and allows an upgrade to a stereo
>> > external microphone (and DC sensor) input.
>> >
>> > The CaFE chip is being retired, and replaced with an external Flash
>> > management controller, possibly one of the low cost SSD controllers
>> > currently being tested.  The camera will now be tied directly to the
>> > VX855's video capture port.
>> >
>> > The network interface will be upgraded to an 88W8686, which will halve
>> > its power dissipation and move it to an SDIO interface (further
>> > dropping the power consumption).   The current goal is to locate it
>> > in a removable module, allowing its replacement for repair.   It will
>> > remain powered while the laptop suspends, waking the laptop if a
>> > packet addressed to it arrives.   It is likely that early production
>> > models will not directly support 802.11s (i.e. forwarding mesh packets
>> > while the interface is asleep), but we are working with Marvell on
>> > several different 802.11s solutions.
>> >
>> > Gen 1.5 will continue with the existing display, although OLPC is
>> > working with PixelQi to try to improve the brightness and efficiency
>> > of the screen.   The DCON is retained (even though the VX855 includes
>> > much of its functionality) as it provides the low power interface and
>> > the timing controller functions for the existing display.
>> >
>> > Overall, the target is to match the Gen 1 XO-1 in power consumption
>> > while making aggressive suspend easier, and in price (while changing
>> > to components which are more likely to decrease in price).   It is
>> > likely that both goals can be met.
>> >
>> > We also expect the Gen 1.5 machines to ship with an OLPC 8.2.x
>> > software release, modified to support Gen 1.5's new hardware but
>> > otherwise unchanged from the current production software release and
>> > compatible with our current software in the field.  Gen 1.5 machines
>> > will be deployed in environments already populated by Gen 1 machines,
>> > so seamless software interoperability is an important goal.
>> >
>> > Early versions of the hardware (bare board) should be available for
>> > driver development at the end of May.   A larger number of prototype
>> > laptops (several hundred) for software development and testing will
>> > become available around the end of August.   The OLPC contributors
>> > program will be the preferred way of requesting a Gen 1.5 machine for
>> > testing your software for compatibility or development.  We hope to
>> > use the contributors program to ensure Gen 1.5 support for the wide
>> > variety of application and OS solutions created for Gen 1.0.
>> >
>> > We're excited to be finally able to make this news public.  While
>> > members of the technical team have been working on this for several
>> > months, it was not until last week that we could with any certainty
>> > say that we were going to refresh the hardware and what that refresh
>> > was likely to be.  We're now committed to this project and look
>> > forward to working with you to make it happen.
>> >
>> > ---John, Ed, and the OLPC Tech team.
>> >
>> > ========
>> >
>> > [1] http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/processors/c7-m_ulv/
>> > [2] http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets/v-series/vx855
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
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>> > Devel at lists.laptop.org
>> > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel
>> >
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> --
> Bryan W. Berry
> Technology Director
> OLE Nepal, http://www.olenepal.org
>
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