Hi everyone,
This is my first post here but I wanted to make you guys aware of this and hopefully apply some community pressure to Lattice to reverse this decision.
In short, Lattice has removed the free license for iCEcube2 (used for developing for the iCE40 line of FPGAs) and is now charging $471.31 for a one year license and $353.15 to renew each additional year:
https://alchitry.com/news/icecube2-no-longer-free/ This is probably chump change for a company that is using the iCE40 line in a shipping product, but it's a huge blow for the hobbyist and student community where iCE40 development boards were some of the most simple and affordable development boards you could get for learning about FPGAs.
Personally, I had just purchased Russell Merrick's book "Getting Started with FPGAs" and his nandland Go board for a family member who was interested in learning about FPGAs and digital design, only to find out that there's no way to follow the projects in the book and develop for the board using the official toolchain without paying $471.31 for an iCEcube2 license.
Unfortunately, it seems like Lattice has a history of this (
1,
2), so my hopes for them reversing this change are not high.
But I would ask that if you are willing, please send an email to
general_inquiries@latticesemi.com to express your disappointment about this decision and explain how this change destroys the ecosystem of beginner development boards and books based around the iCE40 line.
Perhaps if Lattice gets enough negative feedback they will reverse the decision or at least make an free license option available for students and individuals.
EDIT: I'm not sure when Lattice made this change as I never received a direct reply from them, but as of May 4, 2024, it appears like Lattice has added a "Makers Community" license option to
the iCEcube2 page which pretty much restores the free license option for everyone but established commercial companies:
iCEcube2 Makers Community
Lattice offers free licenses to hobbyists, enthusiasts, community educators & start-up companies. If this describes you, please contact us to register for a free iCEcube2 license with subject “New iCEcube2 License Request”.
This is exactly what I was asking for, so thank you for listening, Lattice!