Guys, we're blowing it... :(

Oldbitcollector (Jeff)

We have all become used to the extreme power of the Propeller,
while the rest of the world is in "shock and awe" every time someone makes
something with an accelerometer, Ethernet port, or for that matter LEDs.

hackaday.com/2008/09/25/web-server-on-a-business-card-part-2/

Didn't we do this here a year ago? Someone should have snapped the parts into
a demoboard and submitted it.

We keep missing out on golden opportunities to promote the better product.

OBC

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Check out: Introduction to the Proboard & Propeller Cookbook 1.4
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SRLM

Write it up and and send it to Nick McClick (with Gadget Gangster). Thats probably as good an outlet as any.

KeithE

Didn't ybox2 get some press?

www.ladyada.net/make/ybox2/

trodoss

@OBC, I think the 20Goto10 ANSI Art exhibit gave the Propeller some visiblity. I know it certianly got my attention.

There is quite a buzz around the Uzebox (a DIY game console based on the ATMega644), which both the Hydra and Andre LaMothe's xgstation (SX-based) pre-date.
belogic.com/uzebox/

You could implement the same type of system with even fewer parts if Propeller-based (no "R2R ladder" or AD725 necessary).

Post Edited (trodoss) : 9/26/2008 3:53:32 PM GMT

Harrison.

The Propeller community did beat that project. The ybox2 is a great example of a very well executed Propeller web server + network connected device design. It may be a tad bigger, but it's indeed much more powerful.

If we were trying to beat the 'business card' size then I have a 2x2 inch Propeller ethernet board I'm working on. I'm even documenting it, although it will be at least another 2 months before it will be released.

trodoss

With one of the taglines of the Propeller being "Simplify your design," could be an opportunity to take projects like the hackaday.com ones and present easier/smaller/cheaper/etc. re-designs of the same apps, featuring the versitility, speed, and compact-sized 8 cog Propeller. Not a "My chip is better than yours" kind of thing, but a showcase of what the Prop does best.·

I don't know how many times I have seen ATMega64/128/+ projects that could have been Propeller-based.

Post Edited (trodoss) : 9/26/2008 5:17:03 PM GMT

Nick McClick

I don't think the ybox2 was very well promoted. While there was a post on engadget, never anything on hackaday, slashdot, etc. They still managed to sell a few, though.

I wonder how many people are going to actually build this, though. Most hobbyists don't like soldering SMD, & what am I going to do with a tiny webserver? I think the ybox2 was much cooler, as it was really a web client.

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Concentrate on understanding the problem, not applying the tool

hippy

It would be good to get more Propeller projects out there, whip up some 'evangelistic support' for it, but there's always the problem of Unique Selling Point, the "Wow" factor that gets people interested and wanting to know more, ultimately hooked and buying into the Propeller.

So what's the elusive factor which gives others the "wow" the Propeller isn't always achieving, is it simply a case that Propeller projects aren't being punted out there ? What made this project so attractive it even got slash-dotted ?

Well, there's the small size - quite over-hyped IMO - but it is incredibly low cost, the Propeller plus Eeprom is four times the price of the PICmicro used. With everything else equal, which is the most impressive ?

Cost isn't the only factor and it isn't necessarily the most important. Producing projects which others cannot achieve with their choices makes for the "wow" IMO. It's not so much that the same can be done with a Propeller but selling it as so much better than any other choice. When the audience agrees, that's when you have success.

So just what can a Propeller do better, larger, smaller, faster, more economically greener, or just more impressively than any other choice ? Decide that, turn it into a project, show it to the world and watch the excitement follow.

schill

There are so many microcontroller/ethernet projects out there now that I don't find any of them particularly exciting. Don't get me wrong - I think the whole idea is cool and pretty useful if you have the right application. But they are all about the same.

The excitement over new ones comes mostly from people who haven't encountered them before. I think they've become pretty old hat to anyone who's been following this.

I've got an AVR based ethernet device that I built (based partially on someone else's stack code (and part of their circuit board, too)) in 2005 or so. It's nothing new. (The board is being used as an interface to my AV multiplexer, also AVR controlled (through a serial interface) - it's modular so I can change from ethernet to serial, etc).

(Sorry to mention AVRs here [noparse]:)[/noparse], but this project predates the prop. And, AVRs are my chip of choice over PICs for the small stuff).

The ybox2 seems like a nice, well-rounded device. The combination of ethernet and video without a whole lot of extra components is nice. I've got a couple of the boards sitting around (and the parts) but I haven't gotten around to having time to heat up the soldering iron for them.