<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 11:55 AM, John-Thomas Richards <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jtr@jrichards.org">jtr@jrichards.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div class="im">On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 08:34:09AM -0500, Bob Kline wrote:<br>
> > On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 8:11 AM, John-Thomas Richards<br>
> > <<a href="mailto:jtr@jrichards.org">jtr@jrichards.org</a>>wrote:<br>
> >> On Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 11:30:26PM -0500, Mike Williams wrote:<br>
> >> > <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/28/raspberry_pi/" target="_blank">http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/28/raspberry_pi/</a><br>
> >> ><br>
> >> > I want at least one of these critters.<br>
> >> ><br>
> >> > From the article, " Users can run Debian, Fedora and ArchLinux<br>
> >> > ARM GNU/Linux distributions on the Pi, although not Ubuntu at<br>
> >> > this<br>
> >><br>
> >> I am amazed that it can decode 1080p video. This thing is amazing.<br>
> >> I want one to put next to the television with a large USB drive<br>
> >> attached.<br>
> >><br>
> >> I read somewhere that the $25 price tag (though this article says<br>
> >> $35) is for the board itself. Even with a case this thing can't be<br>
> >> more than $40 or so. Even for $50 that's a great price for what it<br>
> >> can do.<br>
> >><br>
</div>[snip]<br>
<div class="im">> Re $25 and $35, and earlier item here said there are two versions -<br>
> the differences escape me just now.<br>
><br>
> Just playing devil's advocate, I'll ask where's the beef? By the time<br>
> you hang enough stuff on the board to do anything with it there won't<br>
> be any cost saving to speak of. One can get any number of great<br>
> motherboards for under $100 today.<br>
><br>
> Just asking.....<br>
<br>
</div>As Michael posted, this thing is designed for an HTPC. It is true that<br>
one can purchase a decent motherboard for under $100, but this thing is<br>
$25 (or $35). With this as the primary hardware, the *hard drive*<br>
becomes the most expensive component. One could build the *entire* HTPC<br>
for under $100 (a proper case, a wireless keyboard/mouse combo and an<br>
HDMI cable is all you need—particularly if your movies, etc., are stored<br>
on an existing network server).<br>
<br> </blockquote><div>To split hairs a bit, and play the other</div><div>side for a little while longer, you'll need</div><div>the $35 spread to do what you're suggesting,</div><div>or maybe a wireless connection. </div>
<div><br></div><div>As long as you stay in the hobby realm, where</div><div>you can assume people will put up with a lot,</div><div>put in endless time on something just out of </div><div>enjoyment, have the missing parts, do loose</div>
<div>accounting, and have a set of somewhat out</div><div>of the mainstream applications in mind, this</div><div>can work. You're suggesting that people </div><div>might have a server sitting around too, making</div>
<div>the applications all that much more specialized.</div><div>As I mentioned, special purpose</div><div>Linux boxes in LJ ads, for example, go for</div><div>$200 to $300 each, for something that to me</div><div>looks very similar. So in that restricted sense,</div>
<div>this thing is a bargain. But only if you</div><div>have a use for it. It won't teach you much</div><div>about Linux that any other PC can't. Buy a</div><div>junker, open it up, and play with the hardware,</div>
<div>and that will get to the core of the single </div><div>board appeal.</div><div><br></div><div>Big players get things like 100K piece discounts</div><div>on parts. Real volume. Little people buy used</div><div>stuff, or pay single piece prices. That's what </div>
<div>starts to make things non-economic very quickly.</div><div>A new hard drive just now might be expensive</div><div>because of the flooding in Singapore, but will</div><div>be expensive anyway for the reasons above.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I can see the "small is beautiful" appeal of</div><div>something like this. Apple has long had a</div><div>brick PC that runs the latest version of</div><div>its OS, is fanless, and has a DVD unit </div>
<div>built in. Being Apple, it's $600 or so. And</div><div>then you need a display, etc.</div><div><br></div><div>But again, everything from a dedicated</div><div>app using embedded Linux to Google,</div><div>which might have a PC farm of a million</div>
<div>PCs - they don't say exactly - and uses</div><div>Linux, indicates a broad range of Linux</div><div>applications. The differences have much</div><div>to do with packaging and prices. </div><div><br></div><div>What I mostly see here is something</div>
<div>compact and fanless, which could meet</div><div>some needs. For a hobbyist even the</div><div>needs are more likely to fringe rather</div><div>than anything with a broad appeal. </div><div><br></div><div>I have a few Internet "radios" around.</div>
<div>I don't know it for a fact, but they could</div><div>well be Linux based. Ethernet or wireless</div><div>access, a database that is automatically</div><div>refreshed, and of course digital tuning.</div><div>Nothing a PC can't do. But the unit is</div>
<div>packaged like a traditional radio. The</div><div>power supply and speakers are built in.</div><div>A radio-like case with a digital display.</div><div>It's a matter of packaging, convenience,</div><div>and cosmetics. One could build </div>
<div>something like this, and it would look</div><div>home made. Since a PC already does</div><div>this, where's the educational value in it?</div><div>For $125, where's the added value in </div><div>building it yourself? Or you could consider </div>
<div>building your own laptop and wasting a</div><div>ton of time and money.</div><div><br></div><div>Hey, I said I was playing the other side.</div><div>For perspective, I built my first "terminal"</div><div>from a kit, and wire-wrapped many </div>
<div>single board computers over the years.</div><div>The technology was new then. Oh, and</div><div>if wire wrapping makes you scratch your</div><div>head, you haven't been around long enough.</div><div><br></div><div>
-- Bob</div><div><br></div></div>
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