Open Graphics Project founder Timothy Miller recently noted on the project's mailing list that they are set to announce that their first hardware, the OGD1, is ready for pre-order. "The OGD1 design has actually been finished for a couple of months now," he began, explaining that they've been setting up a way to process pre-orders for the first 100 boards. The board will retail at $1,500, with a $100 discount offered for the first 100 pre-orders. "These are pre-orders, not orders, Timothy continued, "that means the lead time is unpredictable. We don't have a stock. We will purchase a stock based on the number of pre-orders we get. Also, this means that if we never get a large enough number of pre-orders, we will be unable to fulfill them; all pre-orders would be canceled, and no one would be charged anything." He then explained that though the OGD1 could function as a graphics card, it is instead offered as a competitively priced FPGA development kit, "we need to make it clear what OGD1 is and why buying one is an important step for Free Software," adding:

"OGD1 is for hardware hackers. This isn't just about graphics. If all you wanted was a graphics card that worked with Free Software, we've had that for a long time with Matrox, for some time with Intel, and most recently and significantly with ATI. Where our graphics pipeline will be competitive is in embedded systems. As for long-term goals of this project, there are many different types of peripherals for which we do not have good Free Software support; for instance, wifi. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. OGD1 is for hardware hackers. It's for the community of people who want to tinker with their own hardware ideas, students who want to learn, and professionals who need a prototyping platform. And of course full schematics and design details for OGD1 are offered under the GPL."

From: Timothy Normand Miller
Date: Apr 11, 2008 6:34 PM
Subject: Announcement: Finally ready to announce OGD1 pre-orders

The OGD1 design has actually been finished for a couple of months now.
  In that time, we've been chasing a chick-and-egg problem.  We can
 take all the orders we want, but there's as much as an 8-week lead
 time between when we place our order for 100 boards and when we get
 them so that we can test and then ship them.  It would be
 inappropriate to charge our own customers until we ship to them.  That
 leaves us with a $60000 bill to pay before we have any revenue, and
 that's too much for Andy, Howard, and I to float on our own.  We
 didn't want to make a formal announcement for pre-orders until we
 solved this problem.

 We have now solved the problem and are ready to take pre-orders.

 Traversal's web site is almost ready, and the OHF is working on their
 part, so to get things started, I thought we should discuss marketing
 strategy on the mailing list.  We need to make multiple simultaneous,
 high-profile announcements and word them so as to strongly encourage
 Free Software and Open Hardware enthusiasts to place a pre-order for
 an OGD1 board.  This involves web sites, articles, ads (where we can
 place them for free), and lots of informative materials on what OGD1
 is and what they can expect to get out of it.

 This is a major milestone for open hardware and free software.  We
 need to make it count.  I believe that it is important for the health
 of the FOSS community that we maintain momentum on these efforts.
 Selling OGD1 and then reinvesting that profit into more open hardware
 designs will have a snowball effect on the ability of computer and
 electronics hackers everywhere to be able to use, study, modify, and
 share the hardware they buy.


 Here are some facts about this pre-order situation:

 - We have a quote from the fabricator for 100 boards, so we need to
 get 100 pre-orders.  In fact, fewer would cover the cost (there is a
 profit margin), but there's a risk of people canceling orders while
 they're waiting.  Also, we can place a smaller order, but that will
 increase the per-unit cost to us, which will affect at least our
 developer discount price.  There's also the risk of people placing
 bogus pre-orders, and the solution to that is to place holds (not
 charges) on each of the credit card orders just before we go ahead
 with the fabrication; if we meet the minimum threshold, we do it.

 - The retail price is $1500, but the first 100 pre-orders will get a
 $100 discount.  For deeper discounts, you can put in a request with
 the OHF.  There are two discount levels, $1000 and $700 (depending on
 your level of involvement in the OGP), but we are placing strict
 limits on them.  (If we can get all 100 pre-orders, the deepest
 discount will probably go down to $600.)

 - These are pre-orders, not orders.  That means the lead time is
 unpredictable.  We don't have a stock.  We will purchase a stock based
 on the number of pre-orders we get.  Also, this means that if we never
 get a large enough number of pre-orders, we will be unable to fulfill
 them; all pre-orders would be canceled, and no one would be charged
 anything.

 - There are issues with regard to international sales that we have yet
 to work out.  On the other hand, if we get most of our orders
 internationally, we'll be highly motivated to learn what we need to
 know to handle it properly.  We know people who know this.  We just
 don't know it ourselves yet.

 - The HDL code that we want to pre-program into OGD1 isn't finished.
 It's likely that we'll have it finished before we get 100 pre-orders,
 but there is a chance that it won't be.  We need to he honest about
 this without scaring people off.  Basically, what you're ordering is a
 "blank" FPGA board that you can program to do what you want.  If you
 don't know how to program it, you can't get it to do anything.

 - We often get inquiries about the use of OGD1 as a graphics card.  It
 can easily-enough function as a graphics card, but for most such uses,
 it is badly over-priced.  On the other hand, OGD1 is very
 competitively priced as an FPGA development kit.  We need to make it
 clear what OGD1 is and why buying one is an important step for Free
 Software.

 - OGD1 is for hardware hackers.  This isn't just about graphics.  If
 all you wanted was a graphics card that worked with Free Software,
 we've had that for a long time with Matrox, for some time with Intel,
 and most recently and significantly with ATI.  Where our graphics
 pipeline will be competitive is in embedded systems.  As for long-term
 goals of this project, there are many different types of peripherals
 for which we do not have good Free Software support; for instance,
 wifi.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  OGD1 is for
 hardware hackers.  It's for the community of people who want to tinker
 with their own hardware ideas, students who want to learn, and
 professionals who need a prototyping platform.  And of course full
 schematics and design details for OGD1 are offered under the GPL.

 - Some technical stuff:  The TV chip still has not been tested.  It's
 probably just fine, but we don't know for sure.  The Hirose connector
 will be populated.  The IDC connector (the 100-way connector at the
 far edge) will not be.  There are other minor details.

 - Other things that will come out in the ensuing discussion here.


 So, to partially reiterate, here's what we need to produce:

 - Articles and interviews
 - Ads
 - An electronic brochure
 - Web pages with detailed information
 - Publicity info about OGP, OHF, etc.
 - A convincing argument that will make every FOSS enthusiast want to
 buy an OGD1 board.


 Richard Stallman and the FSF are still interested in helping us with
 the publicity.  We need to provide him with appropriate materials.
 For some of this, we already have things that can be modified to
 include updated info.


 Where shall we start?



 --
 Timothy Normand Miller
 http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~millerti
 Open Graphics Project