Sun’s plan for open-source chips bears fruit

Open Source chips? Sounds better than it might taste I imagine. OK, on a serious note, this open source concept does make a lot of sense.

A start-up called Simply RISC has built a single-core variant of Sun Microsystems’ UltraSparc T1, an indication of interest in Sun’s plan to encourage others to adopt and modify open-source designs for the processor.
The UltraSparc T1 “Niagara” has eight processing engines, called “cores,” but Simply RISC’s variant, called the “S1 Core,” has only one. It’s designed for embedded computing applications such as those in handheld computers, set-top boxes or digital cameras, the company said on its Web site Friday.
The company consists of former STMicroelectronics engineers working in Catania, Italy, and in Bristol, England. It has shipped its first S1 Core chip, code-named Sirocco…. Source: News.com