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Cool, inspiring video... — Parallax Forums

Cool, inspiring video...

Kevin WoodKevin Wood Posts: 1,266
edited 2010-04-05 23:13 in General Discussion
I was surfing reddit and came across mention of a youtube video that I thought others might enjoy...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyWIJFLbJZ0

Comments

  • Martin HodgeMartin Hodge Posts: 1,246
    edited 2010-04-03 15:34
    Everything seems to be Arduino these days. I wonder if Parallax is feeling any pressure on their Basic Stamp line because of these.
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2010-04-03 15:54
    Martin Hodge said...
    Everything seems to be Arduino these days. I wonder if Parallax is feeling any pressure on their Basic Stamp line because of these.


    Edit: Negative Ardunio comment retracted...

    Admittedly it's a cool project, but .....

    OBC

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    Are you Propeller Powered? PropellerPowered.com
    Visit the: PROPELLERPOWERED SIG forum kindly hosted by Savage Circuits.

    Post Edited (Oldbitcollector) : 4/3/2010 6:19:12 PM GMT
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2010-04-03 16:08
    Arduino is for those with low expectations from a microcontroller. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
    If you don't know anything then you have to start with a beginner's kit.· If you are willing to teach in quick and easy steps then people will come.
    ·
  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2010-04-03 17:18
    Let's not start a bashing session. All microcontrollers are good for what they were designed for. Try native ethernet and CAN bus along with analog input with a stamp, it won't work and was not designed to. Does that make it a chip for losers? I think not!

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    - Stephen
  • Martin HodgeMartin Hodge Posts: 1,246
    edited 2010-04-03 18:01
    Of course just because something is popular doesn't necessarily mean it's "the best" or even "better than" (VHS!) The fact that Ardies are popular is undeniable. I wasn't trying to start a comparison war, just commenting on an interesting market trend.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2010-04-03 18:07
    Martin Hodge said...
    Of course just because something is popular doesn't necessarily mean it's "the best" or even "better than" (VHS!) The fact that Ardies are popular is undeniable. I wasn't trying to start a comparison war, just commenting on an interesting market trend.
    I had a gold bar and for years jewelry shops weren't interested in buying it.· My stepmother bought it when it was around $200 an ounce.· You can have something valuable but it is only good if you can use it.· Now everyone wants to buy my gold because of the price of oil, the stockmarket crash, the economy.

    You can have a great processor but if you don't teach people how to use it then it is only good for what people can use it for.
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2010-04-03 18:11
    @Chuckz:

    I get the impression that you feel the Propeller doesn't have enough training materials?
    I'm reading between the lines here.. But I'd love to engage the discussion if that's your perception.

    I didn't mean to start a processor war, just grow weary of all the attention the ardunio seems to
    gather for a system doesn't doesn't do a whole lot (IMHO) Sorry about that. In truth, the posted
    project is in fact inspiring. I just like to see the "home team" win a little more often. [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    OBC

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Are you Propeller Powered? PropellerPowered.com
    Visit the: PROPELLERPOWERED SIG forum kindly hosted by Savage Circuits.
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2010-04-03 22:14
    Just thought I'd mention that the person who made this project uses the prop too; his name is Owen.

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    Pi aren't squared, pi are round. Cornbread are squared!
  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2010-04-03 23:58
    Hey! That IS Owen's project! He is on this forum (Sci Nemo) and he told us about this project in one of our live chats. I am friends with Owen and I can assure you he is a Propeller fan, but chose the Arduino because he thought that it was appropriate for the project. He also built a Propeller based Wiki reader. Check it out. He needs to join this thread......

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    Don't click on this.....

    Use the Propeller icon!! Propeller.gif

    You had better not start ANOTHER PropII thread.
  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2010-04-04 00:41
    I'm glad the war never started smile.gif I am one to use whatever processor works for me and I sure have not gotten good with any of them because I'm always buying the "latest and greatest" just because. I have a project now that uses a propeller in a propmodule (because it has cogs and is small in size) to talk to an xbee that talks to its counterpart inside that will talk to an mbed (cortex m3) that will talk to the network and probably a stamp or arduino mini for an LCD/OLED readout. I think you should use whatever will best fit your project rather than make your project fit your parts.

    ( steps down from soapbox and walks away without a backward glance.)

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    - Stephen
  • Robert TRobert T Posts: 71
    edited 2010-04-05 12:16
    I have boards by both (Parallax and Arduino). I like them both for different reasons. Its hard to beat 8 cogs though!

    I am continually amazed at what people can accomplish with these boards. They are affordable, easy to program and easy to interface. Without them (Parallax, Arduino, etc) many of these projects would never be done.
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2010-04-05 16:42
    I noted in one thread that someone was defending the Arduino as having the ultimate means of connecting peripheral devices. These 'Shields" would add functionality by simply connecting a board to a header. My thoughts were, yeah, isn't that an AppMod (Think Board of Education)? So the concept was being portrayed as new, but really is old.

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    Chris Savage

    Parallax Engineering
    ·
  • SciNemoSciNemo Posts: 91
    edited 2010-04-05 23:03
    Hello there. It is my project [noparse]:)[/noparse] Thank you for the recognition. Microcontrolled just told me about this thread.

    About the Arduino usage, I know people cringe at it, but it isn't nearly as bad as it is made out to be. I use it extensively for rapid prototypes, but I always move to a more appropriate platform for the final project.

    I've gotten so much of a response in the last few days, and I am currently on spring break, so I have kept working on it almost continuously ( slept under computer desk last night :\ ). The latest version uses an Attiny13 microcontroller programmed in AVR assembly. The whole apparatus fits inside the calculator, including the touch screen (which now sits on top of the regular LCD inside the case), and I managed to keep the linkport working as originally intended as well, because the Attiny can detect activity on the port and shut itself down rapidly enough to prevent comm errors ( thanks to interrupt magic [noparse]:D[/noparse] ).

    Many people have questioned the usefulness of adding a touch screen to the calculator. I don't really think in terms of usefulness, but in this case I am doing it because a few of my friends thought it was a neat idea and encouraged me to pursue it. One friend is a pixel artist, who is extremely passionate about what he does, and loved the idea of having a device that he would be able to freely carry around in school to sketch stuff out on and make short animations with. For that I have been working on a sort of photoshop for the calculator, with all the features I could think of fitting into it. It is an extremely limiting platform, but that's the fun; the feeling of climbing a mountain that no one else has attempted before is something that gives me plenty of motivation.

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    Not the fish.
    www.hackniac.com
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2010-04-05 23:13
    SciNemo,

    Thanks for joining us. As per my statements on my website ( www.savagecircuits.com ) I am not against other microcontrollers. I have always believed to each his own. I just stop once in awhile to chuckle at how the ones who are passionate about their microcontroller go about defending it, as mentioned above.

    When I first started programming in 1982 it was CPUs, not microcontrollers that I was working on. First the VIC-20 and Apple II and then later I sampled other platforms like the Coco (I forget which version) with it's 6809 and the Mac with its 68000. At the time there were many others interested in the 8080 and 8085 who balked at my choice of CPUs, but later I worked with the 8085 and finally the Z80, which ended up being my favorite hobbyist CPU.

    In microcontrollers I stick with what I know, tending not to want to learn every platform out there anymore, however I do respect those that do some interesting things with what they know. Congrats on the calculator interface.· P.S. - Love the Avatar.

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    Chris Savage

    Parallax Engineering
    ·
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