ETH-Zurich: Digital Design and Computer Architecture; 227-0003-10L, Spring, 2025

ETH Zurich just dropped its Spring 2025 “Digital Design and Computer Architecture” course, and the internet is already turning it into a campus spectacle. It’s beginner‑friendly (no prerequisites!), lectures run Thu/Fri, labs are everywhere, and yes—you can watch the livestream. One commenter basically waved a big neon sign to Onur Mutlu’s YouTube channel, calling them “great,” and the crowd piled on with “free uni class, let’s go.” Overflow room? More like overflow brains.

The open‑source die‑hards are flexing hard: one fan shouted that ETH’s designs “pop up in lots of places,” and another dropped receipts—slides from DAC (Design Automation Conference) about ETH’s open‑source ASICs (custom chips) here. The vibe: ETH isn’t just teaching chips, they’re shipping them—openly—and everyone’s using them.

Then the classroom rivalry kicked off: a curious voice asked how this stacks up against NAND2Tetris (the cult‑favorite course that builds a simple computer from the ground up). The thread split between “ETH is more rigorous” and “NAND2Tetris is the perfect starter.” Meanwhile, someone brought up RumbleDB and its JSONiq language, praising it as a joy to use—turning the comments into a victory lap for ETH’s broader tech ecosystem. TL;DR: memes about “no sleep prerequisites,” YouTube fanfare, and open‑source swagger everywhere.