FW: Results of "downloading compressed program images" request

[Richard Stallman]

    So when will the FSF start addressing the development of hardware?
    There is already a Verilog simulation system available under GPL or
    some other free software arrangement.  What is needed is a
    systhesizer, which is the tool that converts the HDL to a netlist of
    low level gates, somewhat like the code generation phase of a software 
    compiler, and a floorplanning tool, which essentially does the job of
    a linking loader for hardware.  

Most work on the GNU project is done by volunteers.  Circuit design is
a rather specialized application, so we won't be spending funds on it;
we have to wait for volunteers to do it.