• Last Updated:
  • Jun 1st, 2015 11:43 am
Tags:
None
Deal Addict
Sep 24, 2010
1921 posts
214 upvotes
This is very interesting. I have to order around 100 units of PC 104 & this would have a very good choice. For me its more about size rather than price. NEMA enclousre cost around 200 $. I tried ordering to test it but there is nothing available. People are selling at ebay but at a price that it does not justifies.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Mar 22, 2007
29332 posts
10712 upvotes
Hamilton
xbrav wrote: Mine shipped from RS UK, no issues there minus my $12 import fee. I'm also on the waiting list for my one from Newark / Element14.

As for cases, I love the one we prototyped at Solarbotics in Calgary. Seriously looks amazing:
[IMG]http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4fjq ... 1_1280.jpg[/IMG]
HHHHNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG. I think i Just creamed a bit.
hated on but respected.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 21, 2002
12014 posts
4368 upvotes
Winnipeg
loading raspbmc right now takes awhile formating the sd card,but its a pretty simple procedure sinces its all automated, will get back when its completed.
Deal Fanatic
Nov 17, 2004
7311 posts
1672 upvotes
Toronto
I think the steam behind raspberry pi will run out soon, the cpu is just too slow while the GPU is decent. It looks like the ARM SOC is targeted towards media players and not towards general purpose usage. You can pickup a no name ARM cortex tablet for $100 dollars now, probably in the near future that will be $75 or maybe even $50. The alluring thing about pi is that there are GPIO pins for; UART, I2C, and SPI.

Raspberry pi feels really unfocused, it seems like they went to dumpster diving at broadcom and built a system around a CPU that nobody wanted.

In their introduction they say "We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn programming", if they really wanted that they would select a capable CPU at a sake of GPU power. As it stands right now, I can see people wanting this as a cheaper HTPC option, but that is catering to the affluent that have a media library and not to the poor that just want to google, email, and skype.
I workout to get big so I can pickup bricks and ****.
Sr. Member
Jun 26, 2004
514 posts
177 upvotes
toalan wrote: I think the steam behind raspberry pi will run out soon, the cpu is just too slow while the GPU is decent. It looks like the ARM SOC is targeted towards media players and not towards general purpose usage. You can pickup a no name ARM cortex tablet for $100 dollars now, probably in the near future that will be $75 or maybe even $50. The alluring thing about pi is that there are GPIO pins for; UART, I2C, and SPI.

Raspberry pi feels really unfocused, it seems like they went to dumpster diving at broadcom and built a system around a CPU that nobody wanted.

In their introduction they say "We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn programming", if they really wanted that they would select a capable CPU at a sake of GPU power. As it stands right now, I can see people wanting this as a cheaper HTPC option, but that is catering to the affluent that have a media library and not to the poor that just want to google, email, and skype.
There's 2 major problems that I can see here.

I think the device itself still does what they (the foundation) expected it to. The problem is, they filled people win unrealistic expectations. Look at the demos they showed: playing HD media and 3D gaming (Quake 3) were their top demos.

I also agree 100% with your dumpster diving analogy. At first they wanted the unit to be entirely produced in the UK. That's why I assume they chose Broadcom and their rather poor (for general usage) SOC. Instead of being a decent all-purpose, low cost computer, the Pi seems to be a niche product that doesn't actually fulfill the needs of the original intended audience.

While its not a direct comparison, look at some of the newer ARM SOC machines around. The Android stick thing costs $70 in bulk, (at least) doubles the Pi in raw CPU power, double the RAM, includes 4gb of storage and wifi. So for the price of 2 Pis, you have a machine that is twice as good spec wise, smaller footprint AND adds features that the Pi lacks. Seems like there were some bad decisions made during the design and component sourcing phases of this project.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 21, 2002
12014 posts
4368 upvotes
Winnipeg
mikeo007 wrote: There's 2 major problems that I can see here.

I think the device itself still does what they (the foundation) expected it to. The problem is, they filled people win unrealistic expectations. Look at the demos they showed: playing HD media and 3D gaming (Quake 3) were their top demos.

I also agree 100% with your dumpster diving analogy. At first they wanted the unit to be entirely produced in the UK. That's why I assume they chose Broadcom and their rather poor (for general usage) SOC. Instead of being a decent all-purpose, low cost computer, the Pi seems to be a niche product that doesn't actually fulfill the needs of the original intended audience.

While its not a direct comparison, look at some of the newer ARM SOC machines around. The Android stick thing costs $70 in bulk, (at least) doubles the Pi in raw CPU power, double the RAM, includes 4gb of storage and wifi. So for the price of 2 Pis, you have a machine that is twice as good spec wise, smaller footprint AND adds features that the Pi lacks. Seems like there were some bad decisions made during the design and component sourcing phases of this project.

remember this is an open source device hence why its getting alot of interest. So for example in the case of xbmc its getting a community of support. The only other arm even close is allwinner a10, and its still not deconstructed or has the full gpl license open yet. some dev's are working on it but have said the majority of a working port with it will come from whats learned from raspberry.
Sr. Member
Jun 26, 2004
514 posts
177 upvotes
lead wrote: remember this is an open source device hence why its getting alot of interest. So for example in the case of xbmc its getting a community of support. The only other arm even close is allwinner a10, and its still not deconstructed or has the full gpl license open yet. some dev's are working on it but have said the majority of a working port with it will come from whats learned from raspberry.

True, but some parts of RasPi aren't even open source. GPU for instance.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 21, 2002
12014 posts
4368 upvotes
Winnipeg
mikeo007 wrote: True, but some parts of RasPi aren't even open source. GPU for instance.

yes but in the last decade xbmc has ports to only pc/mac, atv/ios and of course its origin from the orginal xbox. Now for Arm based its the first thats pretty significant. There's always demand for port to this and that but never anything more than talk. If you have been playing with xbmc since the beginning its rather a big thing to finally see a new platform, it clearly doesn't happen often.
Sr. Member
Jun 26, 2004
514 posts
177 upvotes
lead wrote: yes but in the last decade xbmc has ports to only pc/mac, atv/ios and of course its origin from the orginal xbox. Now for Arm based its the first thats pretty significant. There's always demand for port to this and that but never anything more than talk. If you have been playing with xbmc since the beginning its rather a big thing to finally see a new platform, it clearly doesn't happen often.

XBMC is nice, even if it's not what the Pi was originally intended for.

There's no arguing that the RasPi has had a major influence on porting XBMC to the ARM platform. But in the end, it's just going to be a stepping stone. Like you said, a lot of progress being made with the Allwinner A10 is due to the Pi. What will happen once the A10 is able to stand on its own? The Pi just doesn't have any lasting power; it's outclassed in every way by the various A10 platforms. It could have been THE platform for XBMC and other ports. Instead, it's just being used as a means to an end.

I really wanted this thing to do well. I wanted to see the RasPi as a major game changer in the PC market. Instead, I'm afraid it may just end up being a footnote.
Deal Addict
Jul 4, 2011
1467 posts
82 upvotes
Toronto
mikeo007 wrote: I really wanted this thing to do well. I wanted to see the RasPi as a major game changer in the PC market. Instead, I'm afraid it may just end up being a footnote.

Think of it like the origins of netbooks. The OLPC project created low-cost laptops to bring technology to poor countries. Other companies saw this as a potentially new market and companies started creating their own netbooks.

You can think of the OLPC project as somewhat of a game changer as it created a new market for low-cost laptops. Then there are the Mini PC's / nettops such as the ZBOX which are "desktop" equivalents of low-cost laptops.

With the Raspberry Pi, similar products are coming out now, such as the MK802 which is an Android 4.0 Mini PC.
Sr. Member
Aug 21, 2011
854 posts
232 upvotes
The problem isn't so much the raspberry pi, but the people looking at it. It's not a replacement for modern desktops, its not some specialized tv media player, it's not what a lot of people seem to think it is. It does basic computing just fine and works well for projects where an arduino or similar are far too weak. Needless to say, those android mini-pcs don't (as far as I know, mostly all don't) have an I/O pin header, aren't as open software wise (not locked to android) and don't have an ethernet port (maybe 1 or two do though). The raspberry pi isn't bad, its just far too over hyped for things that it isn't great at (games and media playback for example).
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 21, 2002
12014 posts
4368 upvotes
Winnipeg
mikeo007 wrote: XBMC is nice, even if it's not what the Pi was originally intended for.

There's no arguing that the RasPi has had a major influence on porting XBMC to the ARM platform. But in the end, it's just going to be a stepping stone. Like you said, a lot of progress being made with the Allwinner A10 is due to the Pi. What will happen once the A10 is able to stand on its own? The Pi just doesn't have any lasting power; it's outclassed in every way by the various A10 platforms. It could have been THE platform for XBMC and other ports. Instead, it's just being used as a means to an end.

I really wanted this thing to do well. I wanted to see the RasPi as a major game changer in the PC market. Instead, I'm afraid it may just end up being a footnote.

if you have been keeping up with the allwinner a10, its argueably the next port but its been really looked at by one dev since the end of may. So it could take a while and as been memtioned in the usual suspects it'll come down to whats learned from the pi and its arm. Check stm and his pi it seems to be going well but his crystalbuntu/xbmc was always better than openelec's/xbmc for atv.
Deal Fanatic
Oct 13, 2002
6877 posts
1032 upvotes
Calgary
how good are the latest xbmc builds for raspi for you guys that have one? does ff/rw work yet?
Sr. Member
Jun 26, 2004
514 posts
177 upvotes
596722 wrote: The problem isn't so much the raspberry pi, but the people looking at it. It's not a replacement for modern desktops, its not some specialized tv media player, it's not what a lot of people seem to think it is. It does basic computing just fine and works well for projects where an arduino or similar are far too weak. Needless to say, those android mini-pcs don't (as far as I know, mostly all don't) have an I/O pin header, aren't as open software wise (not locked to android) and don't have an ethernet port (maybe 1 or two do though). The raspberry pi isn't bad, its just far too over hyped for things that it isn't great at (games and media playback for example).

Yes I agree, but again, this is the RasPi foundation's fault. They set people's expectations way too high with the demos that they touted. The GPIO pins are definitely an advantage that the Pi has over some others out there, but they're a very niche feature.

The ethernet port is another thing that reminds me of how limited the applications of the Pi are. Everything runs through a single USB bus, ethernet included. This basically makes the Pi unusable as any sort of NAS solution.
markj wrote: how good are the latest xbmc builds for raspi for you guys that have one? does ff/rw work yet?

Are you referring to Engadget's review? I don't know exactly where they got that from, but I've had no real trouble with FF/RW. At least not to the extent that Engadget's review claims.
Deal Addict
Aug 31, 2003
3493 posts
38 upvotes
Mississauga
This thing caught my interest too, but the main thing that caught my eye was the fact that the Broadcom SoC used in this product has an ARM11, which is kinda old right now. It's saving grace for XBMC, I think is it has a H/W H.264 decoder (not entirely sure).

In any case, I think for what it was made for, it is sufficient, for the price ($35 USD), I was seriously considering getting one.
MAIN:5950X|X570S Toma|64GB|7800XT|KC3000 2TB|4TB WD Black|Creative SB XFi|BD-RW| 1440p144|1440p75 - Both 27"
HT:G5400T|8GB DDR4
SERVER:5600G|32GB DDR4|512GB|2x12TB
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 21, 2002
12014 posts
4368 upvotes
Winnipeg
mikeo007 wrote: Yes I agree, but again, this is the RasPi foundation's fault. They set people's expectations way too high with the demos that they touted. The GPIO pins are definitely an advantage that the Pi has over some others out there, but they're a very niche feature.

The ethernet port is another thing that reminds me of how limited the applications of the Pi are. Everything runs through a single USB bus, ethernet included. This basically makes the Pi unusable as any sort of NAS solution.



Are you referring to Engadget's review? I don't know exactly where they got that from, but I've had no real trouble with FF/RW. At least not to the extent that Engadget's review claims.

with a 100mb ethernet port was their ever any idea of a nas to begin with? or with simplistic spi based usb 2.0? with those 2 specs always known was there ever any doubt the usb was for anything other than input devices and the ethernet to acess the network as a client at best. we've seen the limitations in the dockstar with usb 2.0 regardless of a gigabit ethernet port and spi usb with camera/tablet/android devices. The usb 2.0 specs on this device are even lower at about 100ma per slot as of now. shared of one host controller across sd/usb/ethernet. Some people maybe disappointed. I'm impressed as hell!! the usb as of now is hitting 7 megs a sec with 3 devices, at argueabley less than 3.3 volts!!! but everything is so, so raw dev right now, even a debian platform. xbmc on raspberry reminds me of xbmc when it began dev on the xbox way back before many of you even know where it originated. Except of course the skins and gui lol.

Ok lets talk rasp, although it will work as low as a 350ma usb mini, 750 recommended, ocing of sorts and tweaking will be available to help level out peripheral support in the future and power will be needed I'd use 1.0amp 1.5amp maybe even a 2.0 amp mini usb charger to power the raspberry.

So question whose xbmc are people using?
raspbmc?
openelec rasp?
xbmc/debain from raspberry?
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 21, 2002
12014 posts
4368 upvotes
Winnipeg
x86asm wrote: This thing caught my interest too, but the main thing that caught my eye was the fact that the Broadcom SoC used in this product has an ARM11, which is kinda old right now. It's saving grace for XBMC, I think is it has a H/W H.264 decoder (not entirely sure).

In any case, I think for what it was made for, it is sufficient, for the price ($35 USD), I was seriously considering getting one.

remember its non profit. It was chosen because parts/time were available at the lowest cost. xbmc dev agreed to help for it because they want help push the learning tool. We did this! what can you do kinda thing! its all about interest and learning.

Quite impressive endeavour all in all, no marketing yet makes the news globally theirs a thread at rfd and linux/debian/xbmc forums etc etc. Without 1 Ad or commercial!! I find that quite impressive for the people who put their time and effort into it.
Sr. Member
Jun 26, 2004
514 posts
177 upvotes
lead wrote: remember its non profit. It was chosen because parts/time were available at the lowest cost. xbmc dev agreed to help for it because they want help push the learning tool. We did this! what can you do kinda thing! its all about interest and learning.

Quite impressive endeavour all in all, no marketing yet makes the news globally theirs a thread at rfd and linux/debian/xbmc forums etc etc. Without 1 Ad or commercial!! I find that quite impressive for the people who put their time and effort into it.
The Allwinner SOC is cheaper than the Broadcom used in the Pi. As I said earlier, part of the reason for choosing that chip was to stay away from Chinese parts. Unfortunately, that never materialized and thy ended up having to use Chinese parts and assembly anyway.
Deal Fanatic
Oct 13, 2002
6877 posts
1032 upvotes
Calgary
mikeo007 wrote:
Are you referring to Engadget's review? I don't know exactly where they got that from, but I've had no real trouble with FF/RW. At least not to the extent that Engadget's review claims.

so you dont notice the UI slow downs and other stuff they mention in the engadget review? they must have been using an early build or something was not configured right...
Sr. Member
Jun 26, 2004
514 posts
177 upvotes
markj wrote: so you dont notice the UI slow downs and other stuff they mention in the engadget review? they must have been using an early build or something was not configured right...

No, the UI is sluggish for sure. But it doesn't outright crash when trying to scrub a video.

Top