Xilinx Platform Studio Evaluation Trial Expired (included in Spartan 3E Starter Kit)

Hello, I bought a Spartan 3E Starter kit which included a XPS 8.1 Evaluation Software. Now it has expired and I cannot design for hardware arquitecture. Does anybody resolve it?? That is, is some method or crack for this??

Another possibility: Is there another platform (free) for designing with this FPGA??

Thanks.

Reply to
Pablo
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you don't need the XPS/EDK to get going, just download Webpack

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Dig out the examples from the xilinx web-site and use them as a framework for whatever you're building.
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Unless you're using some fancy stuff that needs the EDK/XPS. Ben

Reply to
Benjamin Todd

Yes, a crack for it is available from your Xilinx distributor, for a fee.

Reply to
Eric Smith

I disagree, tools should be free. You *still* have to buy their hardware.

Sort of like how apple was in the old days with their OS. They knew they got your money via the hardware, so they gave away the OS for free. There was no reason to screw the customers twice.

Chip dealers should do the same.

Reply to
ziggy

No, you don't have to. It's a free world. (As in speech.) The software can be used quite happily without the hardware. For example, you could design and implement entire prototype systems, simulate them, check timing, and so on, and then make the decision that your project is not viable and never buy any parts at all. Or your company might fold before you have a chance to bring the product to market.

Wow. When did charging money for goods or services become synonymous with screwing someone over?

You can design for the Spartan-3E without the EDK/XPS software - you can use the free Webpack version of ISE and write in VHDL/Verilog. That's a hell of a generous offer - players like Xilinx and Altera have invested millions in their mapping and place & route algorithms and all the other stuff that is required for the FPGA design back-end, and they give that away for free.

Even if you have to pay full price to get access to the very largest and latest devices, we're still not talking megabucks here - particularly compared to the rest of the EDA world. FPGA vendors do not price small development houses out of the market in the same way that ASIC vendors do.

EDK is an example of a "value add" product - you get accellerated design time for processor-based SoC platforms, a whole bunch of peripheral IP, and the MicroBlaze processor core as well.

Now, either you think that's worth paying for, or you go find some alternative way of doing it (like putting together a system out of OpenCores IP) that costs you less money. Your choice. Capitalism at work.

-Ben-

Reply to
Ben Jones

And big oil companies should give us automobiles for free. We certainly pay for the use of the car over and over and over!

Tools should be free only if there's no support for the tools and the development costs are minimal. Otherwise, wouldn't the cost for very few parts for the hobbyist be even further out of balance compared to large quantity purchases than they are already? People have to get paid.

Reply to
John_H

I would actually buy this if I just paid for it once. But having to pay $500 on a yearly basis just isn't feasible for me. I do this for a hobby and to keep at least some of my hardware knowledge. So, regretfully, I pass on the MicroBlaze and other IP.

~Dave~

Reply to
Dave

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