I'm definitely going to get one and then hope they can get OpenELEC (<a href="http://openelec.tv/">http://openelec.tv/</a> XBMC-focused distro) running on ARM. Even if not, I've had a few other random ideas in my head that require small cheap PCs, like a kitchen PC with calendar and recipe book mounted in or below a cupboard. Stupid stuff that I would never do with a full-sized PC that cost any significant amount of money, isn't all that useful, but would be fun to do anyway. <div>
<br></div><div>Also, they will not come with cases in the first batch, but in the article it says the ones released in '12 will be the same cost with a case included.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 9:43 AM, Bob Kline <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:bob.kline@gmail.com">bob.kline@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div class="h5">On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 9:32 AM, Michael Mol <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mikemol@gmail.com" target="_blank">mikemol@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div><div>On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 9:18 AM, Bob Kline <<a href="mailto:bob.kline@gmail.com" target="_blank">bob.kline@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 8:51 AM, Michael Mol <<a href="mailto:mikemol@gmail.com" target="_blank">mikemol@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
>> On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 8:34 AM, Bob Kline <<a href="mailto:bob.kline@gmail.com" target="_blank">bob.kline@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
>> > Re $25 and $35, and earlier item here<br>
>> > said there are two versions - the differences<br>
>> > escape me just now.<br>
>> ><br>
>> > Just playing devil's advocate, I'll ask<br>
>> > where's the beef? By the time you hang<br>
>> > enough stuff on the board to do anything<br>
>> > with it there won't be any cost saving to<br>
>> > speak of. One can get any number of<br>
>> > great motherboards for under $100 today.<br>
>> ><br>
>> > Just asking.....<br>
>><br>
>> Personally, I think the Raspberry Pi is way, way overhyped, but it<br>
>> does sound like a nice little board.<br>
>><br>
>> The beef is:<br>
>><br>
>> 1) It's very cheap for what it does.<br>
>> 2) It's special-purpose. The feature set suggests it's designed to<br>
>> make a quick, easy, hobbyist's HTPC. Hardware decoding of h.264 will<br>
>> make that seamless.<br>
>> 3) It's ARM-based, which means its performance-per-watt is going to<br>
>> kick any x86-based competitor to the nearest Freecycle group. Low<br>
>> power consumption is something you really, really want in an HTPC.<br>
>> 4) As a combination of (2) and (3), it's very small.<br>
>> (5) At $35, nobody's going to complain too much when technology shifts<br>
>> and the demands of an HTPC outgrow it. It's nearly disposable.<br>
>><br>
><br>
> That should all work just fine for hobbyists.<br>
> There are clearly all shades of gray of hardware<br>
> out there, going from embedded setups to<br>
> conventional motherboards. Years ago I used<br>
> to wire-wrap prototype boards.<br>
><br>
> I think some of the virtues above might be<br>
> fine for production boards - e.g., power<br>
> consumption - but even for a hobbyist the<br>
> cost savings overall will be in the noise compared<br>
> to the time involved.<br>
<br>
</div></div>That's why they're call them hobbyists; the time is spent having fun.<br>
<div><br>
> It is cheap as custom boards go.<br>
<br>
</div>It's not a custom board, it's designed for a particular market. (That<br>
happens to be reasonably large)<br>
<br> </blockquote></div></div><div>Re hobbyists, yowzer. It's what some</div><div>hope their workplace will be like, but for most</div><div>it won't. Retired people who have hobbies</div><div>get it all - except energy and stamina...</div>
<div><br></div><div>Re custom, that's a tricky call. But not</div><div>worth a long thread....</div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div><br></div><div> -- Bob</div><div> </div></font></span></div><div class="HOEnZb">
<div class="h5"><br>
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