Can Someone Explain the Video Drivers to Me?

1. It's a 64 bit CPU - so can handle large amounts of memory, I/O, etc
2. It runs unmodified FreeBSD (ie full Unix OS but without GPL requirements)
3. It implements the 64-bit MIPS R4000 instruction set - uses existing compiler/package infrastructure
4. It's in Bluespec rather than Verilog - makes it easier to work on and modify (if you have a Bluespec licence)
5. There's a big test suite (easier to modify without fear of breaking things)

We're at the opposite end of the scale - more Pentium than 4004...

Theo