Hi!
I want to apologize for my last post. I got crazy and mean. I will not make that mistake again.
This topic concerns how I think you can design a simple and quite fast computer from scratch.
These are the items you will need:
1) A modern fast single-cored CPU of plain Von-Neumann architecture. This CPU may be of 32X16-bit organization (or it may even be of 16X8-bit organiztion if you don't foresee too complicated programs and huge memory utilization).
2) A SSD-drive is preferred for maximum speed. While speed is not that prioritized but simplicity is, you could use an ordinary USB-memory as the drive (it might even be more simple if you use a SD-memory instead. I do not know the complication difference of this).
3) While speed is secondary at this level, I am thinking that RAM may be omitted. But I am not certain of this. My CPU testboard uses a PROM as the "drive" and a RAM for f.i the Stack. It would be interesting to know if you can use the USB-memory for both.
4) The CD-ROM may be omitted. The only time a CD-ROM is really needed is while installing the OS for the first time. But this may be done from a USB-memory instead (I have a vision that you could buy arbitrary OSes at certain on-line cubicles/cafees).
5) Audio is generated by a simple D/A-converter and nothing more.
6) Graphics is generated using old-school VGA (which I do not know so much about, but it sounds simple enough).
7) Auxilery ports are USB-ports only. Say at least four (two out of those being the keyboard and the mouse respectively). But I do not know how these actually works. Other than they consist of 4 pins. Two for supply and two for serial data in/out. I have much to learn here. But I imagine that you can hardwire the protocol for at least the keyboard and mouse (and the drive). But when it comes to an AUX-input I don't know how to take care of this.
An ordinary Ethernet interface (there's no "ordinary" here for me either)
From the above you could understand that no mechanical devices whatsoever are used. This might make the computer last longer and even be faster than normal.
I also think that the computer should be command-based in a monocrome text-interface like MS-DOS or Unix. Starting a graphics program only when needed i.e for CAD-programs. A browser might actually consist of only reading the plain text on the different sites and presenting the links as plain text wlile being able to send those links as an input to a command, f.i "Display" and thereby display the picture.
I know most of this isn't new because Unix and Linux already excist but you will learn even better if you build it yourself.
What do you think?
How much of a dinasour am i?
Best regards, Roger
PS
This is my passion!
