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Raspberry PI $25 PC

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  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Bit of a bump, but I was just searching in case anyone had started a thread on this. I can't wait to get my hands on one of these. First lot shipping next month! That quake 3 timedemo is super impressive.

    Anyone else getting one? I think I'll get the "B" version - has a 10/100 port and 256M of ram.


  • Registered Users Posts: 416 ✭✭gouche


    Khannie wrote: »
    Bit of a bump, but I was just searching in case anyone had started a thread on this. I can't wait to get my hands on one of these. First lot shipping next month! That quake 3 timedemo is super impressive.

    Anyone else getting one? I think I'll get the "B" version - has a 10/100 port and 256M of ram.

    Would be quite interested in getting one to tinker with. Where you getting yours Khannie?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭Spacedog


    I'm all over this. very good idea, some old skool cheap computers kids can plug into their TVs and play about with without having to worry about deleting Mom and Dads life work by accident. Can be no bad thing.

    The design is open source hardware, but sadly the components they selected are too small to make it a viable maker project. still like the idea of playing a Q3 deathmatch with a few of these bad boys strung together.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,930 ✭✭✭Doge


    Spacedog wrote: »
    I'm all over this. very good idea, some old skool cheap computers kids can plug into their TVs and play about with without having to worry about deleting Mom and Dads life work by accident. Can be no bad thing.

    The design is open source hardware, but sadly the components they selected are too small to make it a viable maker project. still like the idea of playing a Q3 deathmatch with a few of these bad boys strung together.


    A PCB can always be made with pins for inputs and outputs that are connected directed to the pins on the processor.

    Things would get real interesting then.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    gouche wrote: »
    Would be quite interested in getting one to tinker with. Where you getting yours Khannie?

    They have a mailing list where they'll announce the first 10,000 units (some time in December). I'm hoping my trigger finger is fast enough. ;)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,506 ✭✭✭shizz


    Really hopw I get one of these. Which is going on sale? The smaller board in the picture or the bigger board? I remember hearing them refer to one as an alpha board. Is this the bigger one? I wouldn't mind one of them but I doubt they were on sale?


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Aside from the fact that it's a great idea for cash-constrained developing countries why would you get one if you have a pc or laptop already.....?

    you'd obviously need to get a keyboard, mouse, extra-long hdmi cable too... how will they connect through one usb cable (oh add usb hub then!)


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,930 ✭✭✭Doge


    glasso wrote: »
    Aside from the fact that it's a great idea for cash-constrained developing countries why would you get one if you have a pc or laptop already.....?

    you'd obviously need to get a keyboard, mouse, extra-long hdmi cable too... how will they connect through one usb cable (oh add usb hub then!)

    Its a great idea for any country imo.

    1. Extremely Low Power consumption - run your torrent/download clients overnight without worrying about running up your electricity bills

    2. Extremely Portable - You could throw it into your pocket, and head upto your friends house, and use it as a media centre on their TV.


    Most people already have all the peripherals you mentioned,
    and even if you do need to buy them, it won't set you back more than 40 quid.

    Once this chip is out there's nothing to stop it being sold in a small form factor case, which has additional USB ports, that also comes with the keyboard,mouse and video cables.

    Why should people in Developed countries throw big money at PC's most only use them to browse the Web and send a few e-mails?

    This would fit their needs perfectly, and allow them to use their existing TV or Flat Screen.

    The low price would also make it an ideal starter computer for kids,
    something that you wouldn't mind breaking as it is cheap to replace.

    You need to open up your eyes and see the possibilities!

    I have paid close to $25 before for a Microchip PIC microcontroller, that only runs at 40mhz and has 96K of RAM,
    which came with no board, just the chip itself.

    So this new chip will open up the world vastly for Electronic DIY projects, and some very exciting hardware could be made with it.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    I'm buying two. One for my youngfella. He'll get the "A" $25 version most likely, though I'm slightly concerned about 128MB of ram with modern browsers. I'll stick a usb wlan card in it and a mouse / keyboard and hook it up to the TV in his room via HDMI. He can then stream movies from the HTPC downstairs and facebook his friends without annoying me by stealing the laptop. I also wont be upset about power consumption if he leaves it on.

    The other one (the "B" $35 one) I will bring into work. I will use it for personal stuff (most likely checking personal email and occasional browsing). I'll do that by X forwarding over the network so it wont actually be hooked up to anything other than a micro USB for power and LAN for network access (X forwarding is a linux thing for you windows heads. It allows you to run an app on one machine that is displayed on another). If there is ever any problem, there's no problem. The hardware and all data on it is mine. It's mostly for fun / slightly for paranoia. :)

    edit: I do consider this a turning point for technology though. A useful (and in fact, fast) $25 computer is an amazing achievement. 100FPS at 1080p and 4xAA'd quake 3 for $25 is shockingly good.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    shizz wrote: »
    Really hopw I get one of these. Which is going on sale? The smaller board in the picture or the bigger board? I remember hearing them refer to one as an alpha board. Is this the bigger one? I wouldn't mind one of them but I doubt they were on sale?

    They're releasing the A and B versions at the same time, with a preference for B versions (as they expect more demand for them). Not sure about board size. The boards that they're initially selling are all alpha boards (or possibly beta, but they're pre-production anyway). They'll be on sale in the next month or so.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,506 ✭✭✭shizz


    Khannie wrote: »
    They're releasing the A and B versions at the same time, with a preference for B versions (as they expect more demand for them). Not sure about board size. The boards that they're initially selling are all alpha boards (or possibly beta, but they're pre-production anyway). They'll be on sale in the next month or so.

    ah yes I see. So the bigger board in that picture up there is the B board. I just subscribed to the mailing list. What do you reckon the chances are of getting one when it comes out?


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Hard to say really. I expect that the first units will go quickly. Possibly in hours.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,506 ✭✭✭shizz


    Khannie wrote: »
    Hard to say really. I expect that the first units will go quickly. Possibly in hours.

    Really hope I get one. How many units they planning do you know?

    Also I was wondering, would it be able to handle a bluetooth dongle, and then use that for bluetooth keyboard and the like? or is it just a matter of the drivers available for the linux distro? Probably a silly question haha


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,849 ✭✭✭Redisle


    Definitely going to buy one or two of these! Would be fantastic just to mess around with, could stick one to the back of the monitor as a spare PC running Debian and use http://synergy-foss.org/ or vnc to control it after switching monitor inputs. Could be nice to have a spare linux box like that running when forced to use Windows for games or other software.

    Another nice possible use would be to have one with a small secondary monitor and use it to run comms for games etc. Run teamspeak or similar through wine if needed. Could be very handy for home automation setups, creating a nice weather station.. the list goes on!

    One thing I would like to know is the maximum SD card supported. It was asked in the comments on the website but not yet answered, if the answer is full SDHC support then there is the possibility of a 32/64 Gb SD card making a very capable pocket media player.. just plug into any modern TV/projector and away you go. If the XBMC port is succesful just run that and use existing XBMC remotes to control the device over the network.. that would require ethernet / a wifi dongle but certainly a possibility. Seriously though if this thing gets XBMC it will be a massive success. The only possible issue there is that the video decoder seems to mention H264 only so not sure if it can do the other popular formats too.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,381 ✭✭✭✭Allyall


    I'll be definitely getting one of these. Already plenty of talk about limiting orders.

    Runs off 4 x AA batteries. :D

    Hopefully will be able to buy a few.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,506 ✭✭✭shizz


    Allyall wrote: »
    I'll be definitely getting one of these. Already plenty of talk about limiting orders.

    Runs off 4 x AA batteries. :D

    Hopefully will be able to buy a few.

    A lads stop this talk of buying a few I only want one :(


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    10,000 in the initial batch. Not sure what the initial split will be between the A and B models.

    I'd say a bluetooth dongle should work fine and actually it's a good idea. Might get one myself. It's a relatively old technology at this stage. Worth checking that the one you're interested in works in linux before you buy though. If it works in linux in general, I can't see ARM linux being an issue. They're basing the main OS release off ARM fedora AFAIK.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Redisle wrote: »
    The only possible issue there is that the video decoder seems to mention H264 only so not sure if it can do the other popular formats too.

    The other formats should be fine software decoded. They require a shed load less effort to decode (and in general, xvid / divx is generally pretty low res).


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,506 ✭✭✭shizz


    Khannie wrote: »
    10,000 in the initial batch. Not sure what the initial split will be between the A and B models.

    I'd say a bluetooth dongle should work fine and actually it's a good idea. Might get one myself. It's a relatively old technology at this stage. Worth checking that the one you're interested in works in linux before you buy though. If it works in linux in general, I can't see ARM linux being an issue. They're basing the main OS release off ARM fedora AFAIK.

    Yeah i just have an old bluetooth dongle lying around at home somewhere so thought it would be good.

    Fedora is redhat yeah? Any chance of a debian distro going on it?


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Yeah pretty sure there is an arm version of debian alright. The video I saw implied that they had an optimised version of fedora though. I'm sure there will be all sorts available within a few weeks of launch.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,506 ✭✭✭shizz


    Yeah I think I read somewhere that it's shipping with fedora? I really can't wait for this. Hope I get one haha


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,930 ✭✭✭Doge


    The sad thing is that this whole project is targeted at young people at school, to get them into programming as cheaply and efficiently as possible,

    but the reality is, that the majority of people buying it will be multimedia and entertainment lamers like ourselves!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,506 ✭✭✭shizz


    Well I plan on using it alot for audrino programming. Ive had one a while now and havent gotten around to fully using it yet at all.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    waveform wrote: »
    Tthe majority of people buying it will be multimedia and entertainment lamers like ourselves!

    Haha. :D

    Ah they said on the site they expect the initial 10,000 units to be bought by coders / geeks. I think after that market has satisfied its burning desire to own a device as cool as this it'll start hitting kids in schools. I predict a hefty rise in online Q3 multiplayer action. :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,506 ✭✭✭shizz


    Khannie wrote: »
    Haha. :D

    Ah they said on the site they expect the initial 10,000 units to be bought by coders / geeks. I think after that market has satisfied its burning desire to own a device as cool as this it'll start hitting kids in schools. I predict a hefty rise in online Q3 multiplayer action. :)

    Do you reckon it could handle any of the linux FPS? Like Open arena?


  • Registered Users Posts: 760 ✭✭✭mach1982


    This devise would perfect for something like the wifi pineapple from the guys at Hak5.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    shizz wrote: »
    Do you reckon it could handle any of the linux FPS? Like Open arena?

    Don't see why not. It's based on the q3 engine.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    So I decided to create some VM's see if 128M of ram is a reasonable amount to run a lightweight linux desktop (the same amount of RAM that the "A" board will come with).

    Turns out it is and it isn't.

    I tried to install lubuntu. That didn't work out so well. Then I tried puppy linux. That worked out reasonably well. It started using swap space when I fired up Opera but was still very responsive (like I wouldn't have noticed that it was using swap without actually checking). I think for light but functional browsing it should be fine. You wouldn't want to try to open up too many tabs with only 128MB of ram, but I'd say the 256MB version should be fine for most things with a lightweight distro installed.

    It's not a like for like comparison because my CPU (even virtualised) is significantly faster than the one the boards will ship with. Interesting none the less.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,506 ✭✭✭shizz


    Did you try xubuntu by any chance? Really liking this distro at the moment.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 8,930 ✭✭✭Doge


    Khannie wrote: »
    So I decided to create some VM's see if 128M of ram is a reasonable amount to run a lightweight linux desktop (the same amount of RAM that the "A" board will come with).

    Turns out it is and it isn't.

    I tried to install lubuntu. That didn't work out so well. Then I tried puppy linux. That worked out reasonably well. It started using swap space when I fired up Opera but was still very responsive (like I wouldn't have noticed that it was using swap without actually checking). I think for light but functional browsing it should be fine. You wouldn't want to try to open up too many tabs with only 128MB of ram, but I'd say the 256MB version should be fine for most things with a lightweight distro installed.

    It's not a like for like comparison because my CPU (even virtualised) is significantly faster than the one the boards will ship with. Interesting none the less.


    Nice little test!

    To give it a more accurate simulation you could use an SD card as the virtual drive to simulate the true read and write speeds,
    and also limit what % of your processor that your VM client can use (using a 3rd party app) , so it reflects something close to 700mhz!

    But then again your bus speeds and ram speeds are going to be different (possibly lower) on the Raspberry PI, and also the CPU archtiecture so there's no true accurate simulation that can be done.


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