Raspberry Pi in production!
Leon
Posts: 7,620
It looks like the Raspberry Pi has gone into production:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17190918
It was featured on the BBC1 lunchtime news.
I've put my name down on the RS web site, so that I get notified when they are available.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17190918
It was featured on the BBC1 lunchtime news.
I've put my name down on the RS web site, so that I get notified when they are available.
Comments
Can't wait to get started on my Propeller-Pi combo.
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/generalDisplay.html?id=raspberrypi&cm_mmc=UK-PPC-0212-_-02_Raspberry_PI-_-Raspberry_PI-_-Raspberry_Pi
The BeagleBone actually has a better spec. processor and is more suitable for hardware hacking, but is more expensive. I've got a couple of capes (similar to Arduino shields) partly designed.
"Today's kids aren't interested (in coding). The world has moved on what makes their applications work or what is inside the black box is as interesting as the washing machine or vacuum cleaner. I've long thought that there is a bubble of tech; people of my age are more techie than their children."
Obviously that isn't universally true, but there is an undeniable tendency in that direction. Only after two years of EE at a major university did my oldest son finally conclude for himself that microprocessors were fascinating. Until then they were just something dad did to put food on the table.
I understand the sentiment, but then I've always found what goes on in the washing machine absorbing too ! - My 11 year old gets up at 6 in the morning to work his wa through a Python programming course that he begged me to get him for christmas. Honestly it's not the subject that's the problem - 30 years ago I was cool 'cos I'd got a commodore 64 and could run lemmings.
Now it's seen as geeky - kids still find it exciting if given a chance. I work in IT,I'm a governor of my kids local primary school, and I help run a local beaver scout pack - I know that a great way to get a group of kids (though sadly it works best with boys) is to hand out some bits of wire some LED's and a few AA batteries and have them making circuits. The problem is that they have spoon fed entertainment and need to be given the opportunity to find the genuine delight of making it happen yourself.
Amongst the 10 year olds I know - scrap heap challenge and mythbusters is hugely popular just need to bring back "Robot wars" to get them interested in micro processors.
I used to know Simon, but haven't seen him for years.
Raspberry Pi is a marvel of system integration that still seems to be searching for its niche. Is it truly "for the children?" I'm not sure. But I hope it turns out to be a tremendous hit, anyway.
I think the point is the potential to actually do both - which is why that expansion header is so important.
That will allow the IO work, to be done, but with a GUI that $4.30 part can only dream of.
This is a development platform, but it will make things interesting if enough users start SHIPPING boards in products... that could shake up the business model ?
If the final widget invented turns out to not need a RaspPi, it will be because a Microcontroller can handle it.
I think the first IO Boards uses a small AVR, so uC will never be far away.
Remember the effect Turbo Pascal had ? - this could be similar to that.
Time to quickly check the Size of all those Prop binaries, and I think most are now in C ? (moved from some in ASM & Delphi ?) - so hosted on RaspPi could be possible...?
Hosting Prop dev tools is definately possible. I already have HomeSpun running under mono on a small ARM board (The IGEP from ISEE). Also Roy's Spin compiler in C works there. The propgcc compiler should also be doable.
Strangely enough a few years back when my son was 12 he got interested in creating games with some game creation softwares on Windows. I realized that was the moment he might be receptive to some introduction to programming, he had a desire/need for it even if he did not know it.
I showed him Python. I was amazed how his eyes lit up with enthusiasm for it.
It will likely make us a good prop portable dev platform though. Pitty they sold out so quick! Noticed Farnell wants A$50 @=US$55 here...
Hehe - Yes, we can see how 'not for profit' only reaches so far....
I don't see a Rasberry Pi value proposition with closed Broadcom docs.
Still at $50+ dollars it's a heck of a deal. I can buy three for the price of a Beagle board.
As it is it will be a month to six weeks before the next shipment of Raspberries comes in. So we're in for a wait.
Yes I noticed that too. The Australian newspaper breathlessly reports today:
COMPUTER distributor RS Components has released what it says is the world's cheapest computer -- a tiny credit card-sized machine costing $U25 and called the Raspberry Pi.
and when you go to RS it says
Register here to express an interest in Raspberry Pi .... Price $50.40
Yes, that is a very significant blind spot - but there are other silicon choices, and more are sure to arrive, so hopefully that will not be a fatal flaw to the idea.
eg Nuvoton do stacked Silicon, in easy to use TQFP128, claims video to 1024 x 768 resolution. 24 bit, but I think not HDMI out.
They're trying to foist it off on schools as some sort of device that can be used to teach kids to program...
'If they screw up, all you need to do is replace the SD-card with a clean one'..
They still need to know the pitfalls of programming in a Linux environment, though.
They'd be just as well off with running a virtual machine on a normal PC for that.
I believe that the FIGnicion and similar 'simple' SBCs, and the PropII, when it arrives will be much better choices as you don't have to worry about a large and cumbersome OS in the background.
As an embedded platform in multimedia applications, it may be useful, but time will tell.
One of my jobs was computer parts wholesale.. I had a school that promised they would give me all of their business if I could produce a box of 100 replacement mouse balls. Do you have any idea what it's like to contact mouse manufacturers and ask for something like this..
Several calls later, and much laughter I had a box of balls shipped to them. Deal made..
The kids love to adopt items which can be easily had...
OBC
SD-cards: Great idea keeping the OS on the card, makes it easy to replace.
Linux: It's a bad choice OS wise for teaching kids about computers. It's right up there with Windows 7. It's big, it's complicated, it's overkill. Good for CS majors but not kiddies. The Raspberry IMO needs a simpler OS like those found in computers built in the late 80's. Ones that easily understandable by a single person. The RISCOS used on the early ARM machines would be a improvement. Even a DOS variant would be welcome.
Small-computers like the Fignition are for a lack of a better word are too limited or too quirky. The Fignition is programmed in Forth, a almost extinct programming language. Good luck on getting teachers up to speed on this language. Really if someone wanted to go this way, just get a FPGA Amiga board. Just make sure you have Python and Basic to make a go of it.
I have found this
http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/BCM2835-ARM-Peripherals.pdf
but it excludes info on the GPU/Display, and now they have a $$ flow deal done with RS/Element14, it is not clear when/if they will release PCB schematic & Layout files.
That helps. Thanks.
I think "foist" is a bit hard. They have a vision and a mission to encourage
youngsters to get into programming. They are a charity. There does not seem to
be anything under hand about it.
and rod1963
Not really. I introduced my 12 year old some to programming with Python on
Linux. No operating system hardship involved in that approach.
Clunky, complicated and unnecessary.
rod1963
I don't follow you. On the one hand you argue against Linux or other big
complex OS. Fair enough, I think getting down to the hardware, as on a Prop say,
is a great idea. But then you suggest using Python or BASIC which get you far
away from the hardware or even OS. At which point it makes little difference
what machine/OS you are using.
When I was introduced to programming at school it was with a modem connection
to a mainframe far away. We learned BASIC and machine code without ever knowing
anything about the OS, can't even tell you what it was.
OBC
Cheap and scarce with a waiting list, or a little more expensive and readily available?
No case, no power supply. if this was in a (mandatory) educational environment, imagine what a paperclip or staple could intentionally do?
I guess what I'm saying is that it isn't really a mass-market device. I would think for the bright kids that can get it and use it, it would be great. As a kid, I always had problems convincing the parents to give money to "strangers on the internet" for stuff like this. At middle school and high school, I always had problems bringing stuff home that were school property.
Keep in mind that RaspPi is a charity with a specific charter. Their announcement dovetails with the charter, but I'm quite certain 95+% of the initial orders aren't going to schools or kids. I would imagine that since the charity receives a kickback for each unit sold, they don't much care who buys them. If it's for schoolage kids, that's great, but that doesn't alter the royalty the charity receives on each official unit.
It's true Linux is hardly the stuff for young kids, but then again nothing's stopping someone from creating a more friendly shell, and offering the software preloaded on an SD card.
The Arduino was originally designed for, and sold to, students at a design school in Italy. I'd bet dollars to donuts that while some Italian art students are buying Arduino boards, the vast majority are being sold for other applications.
-- Gordon