Talos Secure Workstation

[devv]

Hey folks,

Some time ago, someone here mentioned Talos Secure Workstation from Raptor Engineering (https://www.raptorengineering.com/TALOS/prerelease.php) which I found interesting.

At some point I've subscribed to their early interest mailing list, and I seemed to have gotten to conclusion that the project was on hold due to lack of demand.
However, a note on their IRC channel came up saying that the project was being resumed and that further news would follow shortly.

In that context, today I've received the following notice of their progress and project changes:

"We are pleased to announce that Talos™ is now on Crowd Supply, and we are preparing to run a full funding campaign starting early October. Your interest in Talos™ has made this possible!

At this time we request that you visit the Crowd Supply prelaunch page here and re-register your support:

https://www.crowdsupply.com/raptorcs/talos

The Talos™ mailing list at Raptor Engineering will be archived after this message, and you will receive no further updates from this list during the campaign. Therefore, it is important that you sign up at Crowd Supply to continue receiving campaign updates for Talos™.

Raptor Engineering is also on Twitter and GNU Social!

https://twitter.com/RaptorEng
https://social.raptorengineering.io/raptoreng

Follow us for updates on Talos™, OpenPOWER™, coreboot, and related topics.

If you know others who may be interested in the Talos™ Secure Workstation, please refer them to the main Talos™ page and the Crowd Supply prelaunch link. Thank you for your interest!

- --

This message is being sent because you requested notifications regarding Talos™ pre-orders.
Additional information regarding Talos™ may be found here: https://www.raptorengineering.com/TALOS/prerelease.php
We are on IRC! Join freenode channel #talos-workstation

Questions or comments? Simply reply to this message.

Written correspondence may be directed to:
Raptor Engineering, LLC
P.O. Box 1216
Belvidere, IL 61008
United States of America"

[ClassicHasClass]

Already signed up. A couple of untimely car repairs have diminished my budget a little, but I'm still planning to get one.

[vishnu]

I'm signed up for that bad-daddy!

My main Linux workstation is a Tyan s2668 from late 2003...

[commodorejohn]

It is pretty cool, but A. all my spare change is pledged towards the new Minimoog reissue, and B. my daily drivers are always laptops. Wish to hell there were better options for non-x86 in that arena than overpriced MIPS netbooks and fuggin' Chromebooks (give me a God-damn proper trackpad with discrete buttons, consarn you!)

[Shiunbird]

I'm hoping for something good out of the PPC Notebook project. I've been contributing with translations.

[devv]

The email announcing the campaign start arrived:

"The Talos campaign is now live on Crowd Supply!

Hello,

This is your friendly reminder that the Talos Secure Workstation campaign is now live on Crowd Supply. Talos is the world's first ATX-compatible, workstation-class mainboard for the IBM POWER8 processor. Pledge today and help spread the word on this great project!

Visit the Talos Campaign:
(https://www.crowdsupply.com/raptorcs/ta ... -112377121)"

[ClassicHasClass]

That $18,000 configuration is a bit steep. You get 256GB, the video card, hard disks, RAID controller and chassis, but that doesn't seem like $18K worth.

I backed the mainboard plus the 8-core 190W part (note that this is a separate crowd supply item: see link on the Talos page), since that has the best turbo frequency and I intend to use this primarily as a workstation. Those together were $5340 and I'll get the case, RAM, spinning rust and video card separately. I think I can do all that for under $8000.

[tingo]

I knew it wasn't going to be cheap. But USD 4100.- for the mainboard? Too rich for my blood.
I'm not sure that this campaign is going to fly.

[ClassicHasClass]

I think they need something slotted in there between the bare board and the Warren Buffett's gold plated fanny $18K version.

That said, if you support their goals, why not donate a few bucks? They'll take your $10. Let us freak early adopters smoothe the kinks out for ya.

[vishnu]

I think they need something slotted in there between the bare board and the Warren Buffett's gold plated fanny $18K version

They do have one now, for $8,750, the "desktop edition," maybe it's a recent addition to that page or you just didn't notice it due to the $18K sticker shock?

[tingo]

The Desktop Edition is a recent addition.

[ClassicHasClass]

See? They read this site. Or my blog. Or both.

[Shiunbird]

I'm going to donate surely, but I'm going through a divorce, so I can't afford the beast yet. =)

[ClassicHasClass]

Ouch.

[vishnu]

Ouch.

Though it's rare, divorce can be blissful, Mr. Newlywed. And if that sounds like the voice of experience....