This probably belongs in the Amiga section, but I figure more people will read it here. Feel free to move if you feel it's necessary.
Someone recently sent me a link to a low-cost Spartan 3 (an FPGA) dev board and it revived an idea I had for a hobby project. No idea whether or not I'll attempt it (or if I could complete it if I tried), but I think it's a fun idea to dream about.
Basically it would be a Coldfire V4e based computer with a mostly AGA compatible chipset and modern connectivity (PCI, USB, Ethernet). The AGA-like stuff would be implemented on FPGA and would support the classic modes and sound formats, but would also have updated modes for things like 24-bit color and 16-bit 5.1(6) channel sound. Nothing too fancy like 3D acceleration or a sound DSP, though I suppose with a PCI card and appropriate drivers you could get those as well. If there's room left over, a 68K soft-core might be added for a compatibility mode.
Ideally it would be able to run Amiga OS 3.X (ROMs and install disks would probably have to be provided by the user) with the help of that trap-based 68K emulation library and a new 680XX.library and AROS (obviously the Amiga port would have to be revived).
Personally, I think this would be really cool. It would retain the classic hardware that helped make the Amiga so cool, but would also bring the machine forward enough to be useful for lightweight computer tasks. Obviously it would be a rather foolish commercial venture, but I see this as more of a hobby project than anything.
So I guess the question is, in the unlikely event that I actually do this, would anyone buy one and how cheap would it have to be.
Someone recently sent me a link to a low-cost Spartan 3 (an FPGA) dev board and it revived an idea I had for a hobby project. No idea whether or not I'll attempt it (or if I could complete it if I tried), but I think it's a fun idea to dream about.
Basically it would be a Coldfire V4e based computer with a mostly AGA compatible chipset and modern connectivity (PCI, USB, Ethernet). The AGA-like stuff would be implemented on FPGA and would support the classic modes and sound formats, but would also have updated modes for things like 24-bit color and 16-bit 5.1(6) channel sound. Nothing too fancy like 3D acceleration or a sound DSP, though I suppose with a PCI card and appropriate drivers you could get those as well. If there's room left over, a 68K soft-core might be added for a compatibility mode.
Ideally it would be able to run Amiga OS 3.X (ROMs and install disks would probably have to be provided by the user) with the help of that trap-based 68K emulation library and a new 680XX.library and AROS (obviously the Amiga port would have to be revived).
Personally, I think this would be really cool. It would retain the classic hardware that helped make the Amiga so cool, but would also bring the machine forward enough to be useful for lightweight computer tasks. Obviously it would be a rather foolish commercial venture, but I see this as more of a hobby project than anything.
So I guess the question is, in the unlikely event that I actually do this, would anyone buy one and how cheap would it have to be.