Take care all

That was a fast hour....

Max - I saw that comment. The problem with the OS wars is that they take on the character of a religious war. The supporters of onesire or the other tend to get very hot about anything negative said about their choice.

OK -- I suppose I have to get back to work (sob sob) ... see you all next week ... hope you have a GREAT weekend

@Crusty and Jesmo: Good Grief -- talsk about "hen-pecked" -- we need to send you both a box of band-aids :-)

See ya, Jezzmo!

anyway Ive got to run, laters all

@Duane: For some reason I'm not getting the automated messages when someone posts a comment to the Prog Logic Designline site -- I jus tbounced over there -- I've responded to some comments - -one guy really took umbrage with what I said

Washing up calling Bye all

Talking of which i am going to go shortly 

Yes sounds like my cooking, my better half is cross with me for working instead of taking her shopping

@Max I think Max Wall cracked that one.

@Jezmo: tell him he only gets a hat if you get all APP people on there ;-)

Dany, why didn't I think of that? (Go teach your grandmother to suck eggs :-)

@Jesmo: You think youve got problems Max my dinners about to catch fire

That reminds me of a lady I was dating many years ago -- she had two young daughters -- one day when I was visiting the 7-year old said she was going to the next doo rneighbors to play with her friends -- her mom said "But how will you know when your supper's ready?" and the kid immediately replied (without any prompting from me) "I'll smell it burning!"

tell him he only gets a hat if you get all APP people on there ;-)

@Jezmo: So max have you sorted out who is doing your bit of design west yet?

There's a big meeting ths iafternoon between the conference orghanizer (who wants an APP Propellor Beanie hat) and me to hammer out the talks for my track -- keep your fingers crossed

You think youve got problems Max my dinners about to catch fire

I think Bob demonstrated about as much understanding of their customer base as does Win8.

@Jezmo -- I know, I know -- I'm so far behind on posting blogs -- there just aren;t enough hours in th eday (sob sob)

So max have you sorted out who is doing your bit of design west yet?

@Duane: Ha, Microsoft Bob ... now I really am LOL

Hehe... It's interesting to watch Youtube videos on Win8.  Famous bloggers get their parents to try to use it...  Looks like trying to solve a blacksmith's puzzle.

The Windows 8 floperating system

ohh ah that blog by brian would go well with my  AXI blog wouldnt it max :-)

I am running Win7/64, but also run WinXP and Win98 in virtual machines.  I still occasionally work on FPGA designs implemented on the Xilinx 4000 series, the tools for which only run under Win98.

Anyone remember Microsoft Bob?

@Max still using 2000 and XP

@Duane: I was amazed by the elegance of the Python examples Jan's been posting on APP

My bestest pc is still running windows XP

Max - re Windows 8: I responded to your EE-Times post on that subject last night and again this morning. I'm not a fan.

My wife bought herself a new PC that came loaded with Windows 8 ... WHAT A PAIN IN THE REAR END!!! (Click Here to see my blog on it)

Max - I don't have a lot of experience in Pythin, but from what I've done, it can be pretty useful. Open CV (a vision librabry) has been ported to link up with Python and that holds a lot of promise for robotics use.

Well its that sort of thing crusty but minus the hammer

Re:FPGA-synthesis-in-the-cloud...  Sounds great!  But I suspect it currently doesn't make it run much faster, since the tool-makers haven't yet made decent use of multi-core.

I have a 6-core (12 virtual) workstation, and compiling a large Virtex design was only occupying about 6-7% of my total processing power.  Seems like such a waste.

so yeah the bitminer is this pipelined design which kind of fits but it struggles so it would be good to test it on the cloud app

@JezmoSSL I used to do that with a large hammer and slog up and down the track when working for London Underground Research Lab

Has anyone played with Windows 8 yet?

I am we wont be using blinking variables either ;-0

All Hail The Mighty Hamster!!!

I've ordered a book on Python -- I've decided I really need to know more about it (Python Essential Reference (4th Edition) by David Beazley )

Hi Hamster

no hes this guy who wants me to go and work for him to do some team leadery type things doing of all things rail soundness testing using sophistimicated DSP 

@Jezmo: they love me ;-)

Did they tell you that they loved you?

Max - That sounds like an interesting idea. My code doesn't take anywhere near that long, but I'm still at a very primitive level.

@Jesmo: ive been talking to people who want to pay me money to do things

Be careful -- make sure you know what sort of "things" they are talking about before you say "yes" (and don't bend over :-)

I dont have a link yet its not ready for public pelease there is some python code which cnnects it to the bit thingy server i need to test

Re Jesmo's project -- a week or so ago I was contacted by some company tha tis putting the tools from the FPGA vendors "in the cloud" -- the idea is that instead of taking 3 hours to run place-and-rout on your own workstation, you can upload the design to run in just a few minutes on their honking big servers in the cloud -- I'm trying to remember who they were -- maybe I can get them to give APP bloggers free access in return for blogging about how well it works...

Althought you could read that the wrong way ;-)

they love me ;-)

Yeah well ive been talking to people who want to pay me money to do things

@Jezzmo, Do you have a link?  Sounds interesting.

I haven't played much chess in a long time. Some while my kids were learning it and a lot when I was much younger. My friends and I staged a 48 hour " chess-a-thon"as a fund raiser for a couple of years but I think that burnt me out on the game.

Ah Ha! The "Late Mr Jezmo"

@Rfindley: The funny thing is that everyone thinks I shoudl be great at chess -- but I'm rubbish. I know all the moves, of course, but an 11-year old can thrash me into the ground (I speak from experiance because my next-door neighbor beat me when he was 11 a coupe.l of years ago)

late again

Ive finally found an application which uses the zynq to the max, its some code for a pipelined bitminer thingy it takes about three hours to build and takes 80% of the luts and only just goes through P+R

FYI Brian Bailey's blog just went live on the site -- don't forget to peruse and ponder it and make a comment or two

@Max, re:chess..  I agree, I find Warren's blogs very interesting... but not being much of a chess person, I'll have to sit back and watch for a while before I have much to comment about :-)

@Crusty: Max are there any Universities offering retired people a grounding in FPGA usage? For me South of England would be good? The University of the Third Age just looked dumb when questioned about this.

It won't be long before you will be able to give such a course with all you are learuning here on All Programmable Planet!!!

Max - I like that approach as well. It makes a lot of sense to me.

I'm really enjoying Warren's Chess-Playing FPGA series... the idea of having each "square" on the board acting as it's own independent entity is making me look at things from a completely different direction

Rfindley - I may not bring up a graphic interface at all on mine; at least not right away. I want the Zedboard to be the communications and processing hub. I'll collect data from the sensros, process it and turn it into commands for motors and servos. I'm thinking the Linux web server part might be a way to remotely interface to it.

@Max are there any Universities offering retired people a grounding in FPGA usage? For me South of England would be good? The University of the Third Age just looked dumb when questioned about this.

@Crusty: Maybe some folks don;t understand that "her indoors" is an English expression meaning one's wife (another good one is the Cocknet Rhyming Slang expression "The Trouble and Strife" ... which rhymes with wife ... so you might say something like "I have to get back to the trouble and strife"

@Duane, re:Linux/Zynq.... I think I'll proceed with Linux on my Zynq board, and either use Qt or DirectFB for graphics.  My blogs will need a good user interface.

@Myplanet: My mom and little bro' live in England, so I have to get their presents pusrchased and sent off early

@ Max as long as her in doors does not have a number of jobs for me to do I will be there. I still am finding it hard making the changeover though I now have the project to do.

I am starting on making a replacement drive for my Apple IIe so FPGA to the rescue

Good, we have yet to start

Max - I had planned on attending the clas but as it turns out, I'm in meetings at class time on Monday, Teuesday and Wednesday of next week.

@myplanet: so how is the xmas season going on

Pretty good from my point of view -- I've already got all my presents bought for my wife and son and mother and friemds ... no pressure :-)

Hi Cruisty -- I say that you have signed up for my FPGA Training Course next week -- it will be great to see you there -- it will also be great if everyone can do their best to "spread the word"

so how is the xmas season going on

Hi Myplanet -- things are incredibly busy -- I'm literally runningh at full-speed throughout the day -- I eat lunch at my desk (I'm munching on a sandwich as we speak)

@Max, (re:cap-net) very cool!  I hope I'm able to attend Design West!

Max - That is too cool!

The session wil lstart with each person having a hat and a "network of one" -- they will learn how to program them in Python. The last thing they will do is to upload the Cap-Net application -- then they wil lbe part of Cap_Net (it comes woith a "Free Membership to APP" [grin]) -- so there will be 200 people walking wround with wireless mesh propeller beanies on their heads by the end of the day

Hi Max, so how is the things from ur end

Hi all, Crusty on line

Hi Myplanet

Originally it was jus tgoing to be a couple of hats -- like about 6 -- but now they are doing a series of hands-on training sessions on the show floow -- and they are using the hats as the "development boards/systems"

Hi there

Hi Everybody

The bes tthing you can do with a photo of me is photoshop me out of it :-)

Some people are naturally photogenic .. and then there's me

Rfindley - I recall reading somplace about an Android port for the Zedboard, but haven't tried itb yet.

@Max, re:"Great news"... don't keep us in suspense!

I hav eGREAT news about that Cap-Net thing for Design West (the wireless mesh in propellor Beanies)

Rfindley - I did that once for a family Christmas photo. I had forgotten a tripod so I took one picture and had someone else take a picture with me in it and photoshopped me in. I use Gimp, which is free open souorce. I suppose I shoudl use "Photoshop" as a generic verb

@Duane, I'm not sure they have Android support on the Zedboard yet.  If they do, I'd love to know... but I haven't found it.

@Duane, It's also amazing what you can learn from makeup artists on Youtube regarding photoshop.  It's always been a struggle to get a family photo that everyone likes (everyone always hates how they look).  I Photoshopped my last family photo, and everyone loved it (Thank you Adobe!!)

I'm mediocre at Linux, but I've been modifying up the boot image and trying to do more with the web server. I haven't tried Android out on it yet.

Talk about multitasking -- I have emails coming in on two other computers -- I just (like 2 seconds ago) finished working on Brian Bailey's latest blog -- which shoudl appear on the side in about 10 or 15 minures...

I'm too young for all of this excitement...

One of the programmers working for me has a photography side business. The things he can do with with photoshop are simply amazing

@Duane, re Zynq:  The ZC702 is pretty exciting.  I've been playing around with Linux and Android.  Was a little disappointed initially with Android.. it's kind of sluggish.  But it's only a first-pass port of the OS, so I'm sure there's lots of optimization yet to be done.  Would also like to see a newer version.  It's only v2.x, whereas android is up to v4.2 now (I think)

There's a technique in photoshop called frequency separation that allows you to keep the dirty texture of the sign while modifying the color.  It's used in professional portrait photography.

Rfindley - how is the Zedboard treating you?

@Rfindley: "...does that mean we got approval for the high-powered laser?"

Let's just add the laser and ask for forgivness later

rfindley - I don't know but along with the laser, we could put in a stearable RF device to inject static into the sound system of folks that play their musc too loud.

I'm not sure if it was photoshopped -- it looks really good -- I think it was just a lucky shot

I hadn't noticed that aboout the sign. It's a fun image regardless.

@Duane, re: "Attack beanie"... does that mean we got approval for the high-powered laser?

I was going to ask what you thought about that image

We can re-name our beannie caps to FPGA attack beannie caps.

I'm pretty sure the sign in the "thought-provoking image of the day" (or whatever it's called :-) ) was photoshopped.  The bird on the sign is a 100% silhouette match of the real bird.

Hola Robin -- how goes things?

What's new with you this week?

Hi Duane -- Oooh, I like the sound of "FPGA Warrior" -- it makes me feel all "tuff" and "stuff"

Hola, como estas?

Good morning fellow FPGA warriors

Our weekly chat will commence at 12:00 p.m. my time (Central USA Time), which is 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, and 6:00 p.m. UTC/GMT (you'll have to work out your local time from these clues -- or you can use this Time Zone Converter).

As always, we will be following our usual practice of leaping from topic to topic with the agility of young, fearless mountain goats, so make sure you're wearing appropriate clothing!