Talos™ is Back: Talos™ II Now Available
Raptor Engineering is pleased to announce that Talos™ is back and better than ever! Read the full update.
The State of Owner-Controlled Computing as Talos™ Winds Down
As Talos™ winds down and development resources are being allocated to other projects, we explore the state of owner-controlled computing and what the failure to fund Talos™ means in the near future. Read the full update.
Campaign Extension
Thanks for everyone's support so far! As you may have noticed, the campaign is scheduled to end today. While over $440K has been pledged so far, we are only 12% toward our goal. Nonetheless, we have reasons to be optimistic and have worked with Crowd Supply to extend the campaign another 30 days. Read the full update.
Talos FPGA Functions and Responsibilities - Part 2
This is the second part of our series detailing the functions and responsibilities handled by the FPGAs on a Talos™ mainboard. In this update, we delve into the unique FlexVer™ trusted computing system used on the Talos™ mainboards. Read the full update.
Talos FPGA Functions and Responsibilities - Part 1
We have received a large number of inquiries regarding the open-toolchain FPGAs in use on Talos™, and their function within the Talos™ system. In this update, we begin to explore the functions and responsibilities handled by these FPGAs, and the associated technology used to secure the Talos™ systems. Read the full update.
A Word on Lockdown
Over the life of the Talos™ project, we've received a number of requests for a cheap, blob-free, mass-market board based on consumer devices, including calls to use Intel®, AMD Zen™, or even ARM® CPUs as the core of this new product. Read the full update.
Virtualization Performance Tests - Round One
In this update we explore the performance of virtualized Linux guests on an OpenPOWER Linux host with QEMU. Several tests are run, and all yield a somewhat surprising result -- virtual machines actually provide a performance boost compared to native execution when the host SMT is set to 1! We suspect this is due to native host scheduling problems, but this also implies that there is considerable untapped potential latent within these OpenPOWER machines. Read the full update.
New, Lower Pricing
We are pleased to announce a one-time lowering of the price of the Talos™ Secure Workstation and all derivative machines! Owner controlled hardware is extremely important, and we hope this lowering of the retail price will help more people afford a Talos™ system. Read the full update.
Free Worldwide Shipping!
We're happy to announce free worldwide shipping for all Talos™ pledge levels! Read the full update.
GPU Passthrough Demo
This video demonstrates effective use of virtual machines with direct GPU access to get the most out of your Talos™ machine. Read the full update.
Kernel Compilation Showdown
In this update we explore the relative performance of the Talos™ Secure Workstation and one of the most powerful libre-friendly, blob-free x86 machines available. Read the full update.
Storage Server
We are pleased to announce the newest member of our Talos™ system lineup, the Talos™ Storage Server (TALP8S050)! This pre-assembled 4U rack mount server includes a pre-installed CPU of your choice (purchased separately), 128 GB of DDR3 ECC RAM, LSI SAS controller, and two Western Digital 4 TB SAS drives. Read the full update.
Memory Benchmarks
In this update we explore the information presented in the memory bandwidth graphs, and explore the performance of POWER in more detail. Read the full update.
RISC-V and the History of POWER
We get asked a lot about why we aren't using RISC-V for Talos™. This update details our rationale and delves into the long history of POWER over the past several decades. Read the full update.
First 48 Hours
First, thank you to everyone who has shown support thus far for the Talos™ project, and those who have helped spread the word while patiently waiting for the campaign to launch. Your efforts have helped Talos™ reach this critical phase and we are looking forward to achieving full funding. However, the campaign has just begun, and there is a still long way to go! We have received a significant amount of feedback over the first 48 hours, and have noted several common themes which will be addressed below. Read the full update.