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A comment on Can MIPS Leapfrog RISC-V?. Parent comment

Re:Can MIPS Leapfrog RISC-V? by erk__ on Friday March 22, 2019 @10:40AM (#19462921)
Maybe a bit like the OpenPOWER project?
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Re:Can MIPS Leapfrog RISC-V? by dragontamer on Friday March 22, 2019 @11:41AM (#19463615)
Yeah, but its a bad example. Because OpenPOWER doesn't need an open-source chip to function. POWER9 is still owned and controlled by IBM.

OpenPOWER is basically a set of documents and specifications that is analogous to IBM's original "PC" specification. This is good for sure, but it doesn't mean that POWER9 is open source like RISC-V is.

If anything, I think OpenPOWER is a good example of why an open-source chip is unnecessary. It shows that a group of companies can work together and build a major platform without the need of open sourcing the chip. I'm unsure what RISC-V gains above and beyond the OpenPOWER consortium.

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