It looks like a very nice board.  Pity that those of us who run Linux can't play.

It seems so bizarre to me that a company whose main product is semiconductor devices (not software) deliberately reduces its customer base by playing favorites on operating systems.  It's just sheer blinkeredness and incompetence to not write development software in a portable manner so that people can use their chips regardless of which operating system they happen to use.

Vandana, if you're in contact with Cypress, you might like to pass this comment along to them.

Morgaine.

It wasn't done out of spite for other operating systems or anything so diabolical : )  We want to go cross platform, We know its important, but we have man-decades (maybe even man-centuries) of effort in our existing tools, built on a windows platform.  Is it perfect?  Of course not.  Its going to take a lot of work to redo the tools to make them cross platform like they should be.

I guess I just want you to know, we do hear you, and we are working to address it.  Or at least, I hear you : )

Thanks, as a full-time Linux user, that's to good to hear.  I'll second Morgaine's comment that the board does look very interesting but I'm unlikely to try it out until it's compatible with Linux.

Thanks Chris, it's good to know that someone is listening.

In case additional ammunition is needed to convince beancounters, it's worth pointing out that among the many millions of Linux desktop users, the proportion with technical backgrounds or interests is enormously higher than for Windows or Mac.  The Linux/Unix world grew largely through word of mouth within communities devoted to science, technology and higher education, and this has given it a very different demographic to operating systems with a user base in office and media consumption and/or general use.

This bias towards technical pursuits greatly offsets Linux's lower numbers for official "market share" in desktop operating systems, and makes catering to the needs of this community very much in the interest of SoC and board suppliers.  It really is strategic.

Morgaine.

While I agree that it's nice if tools support Linux as well as Windows I can't believe that its (currently) a show stopper for anyone seriously interested in PSOCs - it's not that expensive to buy a Windows license and dual boot if you only have one computer and there are so many occasions when you just have to use Windows to interact with third parties (customers, suppliers whatever) that running both OSes is just a fact of life.

Having said that it looks to me as if Microsoft is becoming less and less interested in what I call "Technical computing"  - so much so that I guess by the time we reach Windows 10 by far the majority of technical tools will run first on Linux with Windows as the poor relation - so it's definitely time for Cypress and others in the same boat to start work on that mountain of legacy code

MK

Michael Kellett wrote:

 

While I agree that it's nice if tools support Linux as well as Windows I can't believe that its (currently) a show stopper for anyone seriously interested in PSOCs - it's not that expensive to buy a Windows license and dual boot if you only have one computer and there are so many occasions when you just have to use Windows to interact with third parties (customers, suppliers whatever) that running both OSes is just a fact of life.

A fact of your life, perhaps, but I don't pretend to speak for you.  Please don't pretend to speak for those Linux users for whom your comment is totally inappropriate.  A very large number of them do not share your lack of commitment to open operating systems nor your willingness to use a to-them inferior commercial product as "a fact of life".  No, it's not "a fact of life".  That's just your personal worldview.

A comment like "it's not that expensive to buy a Windows license" is as inappropriate as trying to force a Windows user to run Linux, or an iPhone user to run Android, or any other combination.  People use whichever operating system suits them best, and having perfected their use and understanding of it, there could be nothing more ludicrous than asking them to dual boot into some other system.  No thank you, the extra maintenance and the security headaches would make that an extremely unwise choice, even when money is no barrier.

A product that isn't multiplatform and is incompatible with Linux most frequently just won't get purchased at all, and for very good reason.  It doesn't support the environment in which they are most comfortable, most productive, and most secure.

Morgaine.

Michael Kellett wrote:

 

While I agree that it's nice if tools support Linux as well as Windows I can't believe that its (currently) a show stopper for anyone seriously interested in PSOCs - it's not that expensive to buy a Windows license and dual boot if you only have one computer and there are so many occasions when you just have to use Windows to interact with third parties (customers, suppliers whatever) that running both OSes is just a fact of life.

A fact of your life, perhaps, but I don't pretend to speak for you.  Please don't pretend to speak for those Linux users for whom your comment is totally inappropriate.  A very large number of them do not share your lack of commitment to open operating systems nor your willingness to use a to-them inferior commercial product as "a fact of life".  No, it's not "a fact of life".  That's just your personal worldview.

A comment like "it's not that expensive to buy a Windows license" is as inappropriate as trying to force a Windows user to run Linux, or an iPhone user to run Android, or any other combination.  People use whichever operating system suits them best, and having perfected their use and understanding of it, there could be nothing more ludicrous than asking them to dual boot into some other system.  No thank you, the extra maintenance and the security headaches would make that an extremely unwise choice, even when money is no barrier.

A product that isn't multiplatform and is incompatible with Linux most frequently just won't get purchased at all, and for very good reason.  It doesn't support the environment in which they are most comfortable, most productive, and most secure.

Morgaine.

@Morgaine,

I note your response - your tone is such that I shall not respond.

MK

Michael Kellett wrote:

 

I note your response - your tone is such that I shall not respond.

Content is much more important than tone, and unfortunately the content of your message was very detrimental to the request for Linux compatibility being made in this thread.  It showed total lack of understanding and support for computer users whose sole operating system is Linux.  Your "it's not that expensive to buy a Windows license" was insensitive at best.

Since you were not able to put yourself in their shoes, deciding not to respond is clearly for the best, since any defence of your earlier advice would not help them at all.

Morgaine.