Path: csiph.com!optima2.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!news.glorb.com!Xl.tags.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca1.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!local2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2015 17:03:07 -0500 From: Robert Heller Organization: Deepwoods Software X-Newsreader: TkNews 3.0 (1.0.18.6) Subject: Re: Any single board computers ready for prime time? In-Reply-To: References: <8075bab7-5a1d-4d02-8ad0-04eb307a289d@googlegroups.com> Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc Originator: heller@sharky2.deepsoft.com Message-ID: Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2015 17:03:07 -0500 Lines: 117 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com X-Trace: sv3-8WdDtZl0vytf6Fr3n6ZtUr+wGXFRkoBHv8zmeBqE6NfI5MXUp6v1sNygs/V15r1mO88uCTSplNT0bGw!aMBkd2SIyO0k+BZsarJgyRs7L9vP8csrotI6QyPUekGOmV1UQBWGfrsEig8VRmEsGU1r+ruciYs= X-Complaints-To: abuse@giganews.com X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.40 X-Original-Bytes: 7304 Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:15088 At Mon, 20 Jul 2015 13:44:55 -0400 Michael Black wrote: > > On Mon, 20 Jul 2015, Robert Heller wrote: > > > At Mon, 20 Jul 2015 12:54:15 -0400 Michael Black wrote: > > > >> > >> On Mon, 20 Jul 2015, Steve Hayes wrote: > >> > >>> On Sun, 19 Jul 2015 18:21:59 -0500, Robert Heller > >>> wrote: > >>> > >>>> At 19 Jul 2015 21:14:05 GMT ray carter wrote: > >>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> On Sun, 19 Jul 2015 10:54:02 -0700, pureheart wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>>> Hi. > >>>>>> After reading up a bit on the Raspberry Pi, single board computer, I > >>>>>> wonder if anyone is using such a thing as their daily machine and how it > >>>>>> fares, if so. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> There end up to be a *lot* of SBC's out there, but specifically, I'm > >>>>>> thinking about some like: > >>>>>> Raspberry Pi 2 Banana pi Beaglebone Black Hummingboard > >>>>>> > >>>>>> One of these with a solid state drive (I assume that's what SATA means > >>>>>> in the specs of all these things....a drive connector....I'm way behind > >>>>>> on my acroynyms and still don't know what DPMI stands for w/o a look at > >>>>>> a search engine). > >>>>>> > >>>>>> Any comments? > >>>>>> > >>>>>> pH > >>>>> > >>>>> The main purpose of such devices, at least for most folks, is to provide > >>>>> a system with access to the I/O pins. > >>>> > >>>> Yes indeed. Devices like the Ardunio family and Raspberry Pi family are mostly > >>>> geared to home grown 'smart' devices, including robotics, interactive artwork, > >>>> and your classic 'better mousetrap', for all sorts of definations of > >>>> 'mousetrap'... They are being used in the classroom (at many levels!) to teach > >>>> electronics, robotics, automation, and computer programming. Modern desktop > >>>> computers are a long way from Kim-1s and S-100 machines (eg Altair 8800) and > >>>> have become closed machines suitable for boring stuff like word processing and > >>>> E-mail... These new SBCs are something of a return to those (fun) days, but > >>>> with a much more modern system and a more accessable development environment. > >>> > >>> I recall ads from computer magazines of 35 years ago for an "Anything > >>> Board" that sounds similar to the Raspberry Pi etc. > >>> > >> But those would have been running at 1 or 2MHz, had at best 64K of RAM (if > >> that much), probably had no video interface, likely only a monitor in ROM > >> (though depending, perhaps Microsoft BASIC in ROM), and lacked any long > >> term storage or operating system, and cost a good penny. > >> > >> The later Raspberry Pi (with the quad core CPU), is around fifty dollars, > >> runs a full Linux, has video out, at least 512megs of RAM (I think more) > >> and so on. Except better computers are out there, it would be an > >> extremely good computer for the money. > > > > A bare Raspberry Pi 2 Model B board is $35, Add about $15 for the micro SD > > card, $10 each for the case (optional) and power supply... > > > >> > >> The Raspberry Pi wsa intended as a programming platform, not a single > >> board computer. The company thought of it in terms of a "modern Commodore > >> 64", except it runs full Linux and thus can run quite a few prgramming > >> langauges. It was cheap because they could make it cheap, but good enough > >> to run a full Linux. Most of the uses we hear about came after it was > >> released, because it was a cheap single board computer. > > > > But it also has those nifty 40 I/O pins (Pi 2)... > > > I'm just pointing out the original purpose. > > I suspect those I/O pins are there because the cheap "microcontrollers" > (what are they called now when they have such massive CPU on board?) They are still microcontrollers, just wicked 'powerful' microcontrollers. > intended for cellphones and the like happened to have them. They are > using a microcontroller intended for specific purposes. I think if the IC > didn't have those controller pins, the Raspberry Pi would do without. I > admit it is useful thing, when I got my KIM-1 in 1979, one reason I > learned from it was because I could wire up some LEDs and other things to > the I/O connector and control them. OTOH, *MY* reading of the Raspberry Pi forums and looking at the available literature (I did a search of my library system's on-line catalog), I see *numerious* references to many of the same sort of 'projects' that the Ardunio is used for, but at a somewhat higher level. I really think that the Raspberry Pi was never really intended as a 'tiny' desktop computer (although, yes, it does work in that role, as it also does as a 'tiny' server as well). Note: MicroITX motherboards are getting to be *almost* as cheap as a Raspberry Pi (< $50), so the idea of a cheap, *very* small form factor desktop or server is on the horizon, but I don't see the Raspberry Pi and the like actually filling such a nitch to any broad extent. The Raspberry Pi is just a 'high end' microcomputer meant for experimentors to build interesting gadgets using the Linux platform. Unlike the Ardunio, which needs a 'host' development environment, the Raspberry Pi can be used both as a development platform AND an operating platform, *out of the box* -- the Ardunio does have the option of add-ons to provide mass storage and/or network interface, as well as video -- the Raspberry Pi has all of the built-in. > > Michael > -- Robert Heller -- 978-544-6933 Deepwoods Software -- Custom Software Services http://www.deepsoft.com/ -- Linux Administration Services heller@deepsoft.com -- Webhosting Services