The XMOS Experience - what do you think?

All the latest news and announcements from XCore and XMOS.
User avatar
jason
XCore Expert
Posts: 577
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:15 pm
Contact:

The XMOS Experience - what do you think?

Post by jason »

There are many new users on XCore now, some of which are new to XMOS technology, and others are XMOS veterans! It is great to see everyone working together and helping each other out. We have a really special community here.

We are also curious to find out what your experience with XMOS has been like so far? We know BDring has had great fun with his CNC laser device (thanks for the engraving!) :-)

If you had just 4 words to describe XMOS, what would they be? Or maybe one sentence why you use XMOS processors in your projects. Doesn't have to be long!

We would love to hear your thoughts :-)


User avatar
lilltroll
XCore Expert
Posts: 956
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:53 am
Location: Sweden, Eskilstuna

Post by lilltroll »

Deterministic If you see it as a DSC (MCU with DSP instruction set) = No interupts and not suddenly starved out of time when 2 or 3 port communiaction happend in the same time.

Low starting cost
You can try out both hardware and software for a very small amount of money. You are not forced to pay 5000$ in a HW+SW kit to finally find out that you cannot use it for your project.

Open IDE, Since all the tools in the IDE are for free, it's very easy to start using the powerful tools to decrease the development time. From a buisness perspective I often find companies a little bit 'stupid' with the license costs - and I guess I understand why.

The sales group sells a large development project to a customer payed by manhour worked by the programmers. BUT the programmer only gets the basic IDE toolbox, since the delvelopment company wouldn't get paid for a higher internal software cost, but on the otherhand they are able to get more money if the project takes a longer time - and sadly the end customer cannot afford to abort the project when it is 60% finished and also 3 times more expensive compared to the initail estimate of the totalt cost.

Companies starting to compete with low prictags per hour, and say " Good pry, only for you my friend - but only if you take it payed by hour - you know electronic development very very very expensive"

Well, it's an open market. Next time the end customer starts a new project they will be more attracted to have a guaranteed maximum pricetag.

Finnaly I wish for more documentaions for the newbees some day.
Like - XMOS for dummies - with a lot of examples. I find the written documentaion very good but compact - and hard to understand if you havn't the background from computer science. But Wiki helps a lot to explain the mening of the new nomenclature.
Probably not the most confused programmer anymore on the XCORE forum.
User avatar
shawn
XCore Addict
Posts: 238
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:15 am

Post by shawn »

Semantical Deterministic Syntatic MIMD
SDSM~software defined silicon machine
8-)
lurcher
Member
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:53 pm
Contact:

Post by lurcher »

Unfortunately, my four words would be "Waiting for a reply". I have a project that I hope to start with, I have purchased and received a XS1-L1, but until I 1. get hold of the Windows USB Driver, and (more importantly) 2. get access to at least the low level USB source its going nowhere. I have asked the question, and all I have got back so far is a question about where in the UK I am (the web site suggests contacting the local rep, but there isn't one listed for the UK).

I think the device could be ideal, I have a couple of companies interested in licensing the result, but its stalled at the moment with regards to XMOS, so I am having to consider other solutions :-(
User avatar
leon_heller
XCore Expert
Posts: 546
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:41 pm
Location: St. Leonards-on-Sea, E. Sussex, UK.
Contact:

Post by leon_heller »

At least one other person has obtained the code for the USB 2.0 Audio Reference design, he mentioned it on the XLinkers forum. You might be better off requesting that. Or, are you after the XTAG-2 code?

Leon
User avatar
lilltroll
XCore Expert
Posts: 956
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:53 am
Location: Sweden, Eskilstuna

Post by lilltroll »

Regarding part 1.

If it is the XTAG2. https://www.xmos.com/system/files/xtag2-win7.zip

If it is the Windows driver for Audio 2.0, contact: http://www.thesycon.de/eng/home.shtml who made the driver (or contact me to get the e-mail to a person involved in the driver at theSycon, or a forward of the pdf of the license costs.)

But I can agree with the problem to get fast response via xmos.com
Sometimes I am myself if they forward the inque to the trash directly.
The efficient way to get help is to write something bad in one of the forums - then Jason has to refeer to xmos.com and suddenly they answer. Well from my perspective - thats not customer satisfaction. And the value of the money XMOS spends on marketing must be 'destroyed' that way.
And in the real world it is simple. If you have a project with a paying customer - you also have deadlines - you will contact other hardware providers as well - and the provider who helps you solve your questions will have the deal.

The web-store seems to work good. I never had a problem with any delivery yet.
Probably not the most confused programmer anymore on the XCORE forum.
User avatar
leon_heller
XCore Expert
Posts: 546
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:41 pm
Location: St. Leonards-on-Sea, E. Sussex, UK.
Contact:

Post by leon_heller »

Those Windows 7 drivers don't include any code for the XMOS chip.

Leon
lurcher
Member
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:53 pm
Contact:

Post by lurcher »

Yep, my first goal is the XMOS code, so I can hopefully convert the board to use Full Speed USB 1, then the need for the v2 driver becomes less important. Assuming the USB base code allows a big enough buffer, and given the code I can't see why it won't, USB 1 will give me 96/24 2 chan, which is fine for what I need at the moment.

I didn't want to post negative feelings on the forum, as it seems that the XMOS folk have a clue, and realize the benefit of getting support from the ground up. Hopefully the slow response is due to having more things to do than people to do them.
User avatar
shawn
XCore Addict
Posts: 238
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:15 am

Post by shawn »

It would be real cool if XMOS could offer free and or sell support via something like 1800SOSXMOS.
Phone's are an efficient tool we soon forget. It's fast and to the point and should pay for itself. CSCSCS...
custumer: service, support, satisfaction... Sometime's people don't have said time for community result.
Especially when they just get started on there own, and want to have fun ASAP, they paid for it, after all.
There's a lot of smart cat's on this site, and a lot of info to organize, with ever more polling in.... I'm sure
as time progresses the sources and binarys, tuturals, etc, will become more fleshed out and intuative.
User avatar
shawn
XCore Addict
Posts: 238
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:15 am

Post by shawn »

Hi,
It's me again. Looks like for some experinced support isn't far away.
http://xcore.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f= ... lit=ticket
Thanks you Jason...

PS back to theme,

The XMOS Experience - what do you think?
Post Reply