The 'Raspberry Pi' thread - Page 2

elvis · 29th August 2011, 3:46 PM

Well that should snuff out a few of the "it's too slow for educational use" arguments that first appeared when this thing was announced.

Hell, I could do quite a bit with a cluster of these things and that sort of power per unit!

BlueRaven · 29th August 2011, 4:59 PM

Hmm, a read of the FAQs indicates that there will be no support for WINE or any other x86 software, so forget the "casual gaming" comment... but still an interesting demo in terms of available processing grunt.

stmok · 29th August 2011, 5:03 PM

*digs around*

Quote:

Provisional specification

700MHz ARM11
128MB or 256MB of SDRAM
OpenGL ES 2.0
1080p30 H.264 high-profile decode
Composite and HDMI video output
USB 2.0
SD/MMC/SDIO memory card slot
General-purpose I/O
Optional integrated 2-port USB hub and 10/100 Ethernet controller
Open software (Ubuntu, Iceweasel, KOffice, Python)

Broadcom BCM2835 processor...But the company hasn't published anything about its specs.

Demo is running on Debian. They hope to support Ubuntu on launch day.

Goose1981 · 29th August 2011, 5:09 PM

Interesting concept.

I'd love to grab a couple just to play around with.

iMomOx3 · 29th August 2011, 6:14 PM

Do want. New media player here I come!

Gecko · 29th August 2011, 7:16 PM

These look very nice - I'm definitely going to pick up a few when they come out.

These would be a great building block for a lot of electronics - cheaper than an Arduino, with a lot more power

SLATYE · 29th August 2011, 9:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gecko

These look very nice - I'm definitely going to pick up a few when they come out.

These would be a great building block for a lot of electronics - cheaper than an Arduino, with a lot more power

It's not really for the same purpose as an Arduino.

The Arduino is meant for direct hardware interfacing, so it's got ADCs/timers/GPIO/SPI/I2C. This is much more like an ultra-cheap Gumstix - stacks more processing power, but really designed for higher-level work.

It'll be interesting to see what the 'high-end' one (with 256MB RAM and LAN) costs. Hopefully not too much more than the base model.

Edit: just found it. $35 for the high-end one, $25 for the low-end one.

Edit 2: those of you who are looking to use this as a HTPC might want to check out the Roku. The Roku 2 XS has the same processor as the Raspberry Pi. It's much more expensive ($100), but in return for that you get WiFi, Bluetooth, 256MB flash (so you can store a basic OS without needing a SD card), Bluetooth, a power supply (couldn't see if the Raspberry Pi includes that), a nice case (couldn't see if the Raspberry Pi includes that), and a fancy motion-sensing remote control.

BlueRaven · 29th August 2011, 10:48 PM

As a dedicated device, the Roku is definitely a more polished product (looking at getting one of these now, thanks SLATYE), but I'll probably still buy an R.Pi to experiment with. Apparently it does provide some GPIO, and I can see lots of possibilities arising from a combination of R.Pi for UI/comms and a micro for low-level interfacing.

For the record, there will be no case available at launch, but they are looking at producing an add-on case later on. Not sure about power, there is some discussion of power supplied via USB, and the FAQ states that the unit would run fine from 4 x AA's. Power at load is around 1 watt, but I'm not sure if that's for the basic version or the 'B' spec with the ethernet controller and extra RAM.

SLATYE · 30th August 2011, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by <BlueRaven>

As a dedicated device, the Roku is definitely a more polished product (looking at getting one of these now, thanks SLATYE), but I'll probably still buy an R.Pi to experiment with.

that's the best thing about the Raspberry Pi. It's so cheap that buying one (or two, or twenty) for experimenting isn't a problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by <BlueRaven>

Apparently it does provide some GPIO, and I can see lots of possibilities arising from a combination of R.Pi for UI/comms and a micro for low-level interfacing.

What we've found with the Gumstix boards is that the GPIO is really more of a "GPI". The outputs aren't at a high enough voltage (1.8V) to talk to many devices without level converters, and they can't provide enough current (a few milliamps) to run many peripherals.

The system I'm using right now has a pico-ITX Atom board talking to an ATxmega. The Atom can handle plenty of processing; the Xmega provides ADCs, DACs, 20mA/pin current, eight timers, and plenty of communications ports (serial/I2C/SPI).

Quote:

Originally Posted by <BlueRaven>

For the record, there will be no case available at launch, but they are looking at producing an add-on case later on. Not sure about power, there is some discussion of power supplied via USB, and the FAQ states that the unit would run fine from 4 x AA's. Power at load is around 1 watt, but I'm not sure if that's for the basic version or the 'B' spec with the ethernet controller and extra RAM.

Power over ethernet would also be a logical option for the 'B' spec one.

Power over USB seems a bit odd. The 'A' spec one only has a single USB port anyway; if you use that to provide power then there's nothing to plug peripherals into.

BlueRaven · 30th August 2011, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLATYE

Power over USB seems a bit odd. The 'A' spec one only has a single USB port anyway; if you use that to provide power then there's nothing to plug peripherals into.

Yeah, I got that wrong... The USB is a host and of course you can't supply power to an upstream port. I'm guessing that the production design will keep the good old barrel socket for a DC plugpack or similar, as seen on the alpha board. POE is apparently a much-requested feature and they are looking at it implementing it in future versions.

It sounds like this little thing might do exactly what you're already doing with PicoITX but in a smaller form factor? Dunno if that would be of benefit, but again... cheap and fun to play with!

Shouldn't be too hard to integrate it with a suitable micro that can provide appropriate drive levels and sink a decent amount of current, all in a very small enclosure.

EDIT: Found this x86 Atom board while looking around for more info on this topic. Doubtlessly much more expensive, but very cool too. Interesting times for SFF/embedded systems....

Gecko · 30th August 2011, 8:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLATYE

It's not really for the same purpose as an Arduino.

100% agree, but it is closer to the kind of electronics that I like to play with

They have said that the Pi will have some GPIO ports on there, but will need level conversion etc to work (fine by me).

foxmulder881 · 30th August 2011, 9:55 AM

Any images of this? I can't view the video as I don't use Flash anymore.

cleary · 30th August 2011, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxmulder881

Any images of this? I can't view the video as I don't use Flash anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/html5

then try opening the video on youtube

s3kemo · 30th August 2011, 3:09 PM

I'd say I found a nice little web server but these are not released yet

Anyone know of anything similar that's currently available for < $100? Needs to run a flavour of linux... can't be too gutless, php and mysql are on the cards.

t3h · 30th August 2011, 3:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by <BlueRaven>

Hmm, a read of the FAQs indicates that there will be no support for WINE or any other x86 software, so forget the "casual gaming" comment... but still an interesting demo in terms of available processing grunt.

Wine will still likely be able to work if you use qemu-system to emulate x86 on top of the ARM device, however this approach will likely be way too slow for games.

As far as "other x86 software" goes, nearly all Linux stuff is opensource and can simply use an ARM compiled version.

29th August 2011, 3:46 PM	#16
elvis Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Brisbane Posts: 19,937	Well that should snuff out a few of the "it's too slow for educational use" arguments that first appeared when this thing was announced. Hell, I could do quite a bit with a cluster of these things and that sort of power per unit! __________________ Child's Play Charity

29th August 2011, 4:59 PM	#17
BlueRaven Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sydney 2068 Posts: 2,071	Hmm, a read of the FAQs indicates that there will be no support for WINE or any other x86 software, so forget the "casual gaming" comment... but still an interesting demo in terms of available processing grunt. __________________ When you're in over your head, the first thing to do is close your mouth. - Anonymous GOOD TRADES WITH: chrispychipS, s3kemo, Graham.Abbott, TerminalVeloCD, dayvud7, gnasher666, Bomber01, Echo Man, Mikio, MorgzMods, Guts, RoryK, Benno1988, Spirit76, Creekin, kazen, Lothar_Wolf, zzgundam, Nobita88

29th August 2011, 10:48 PM	#23
BlueRaven Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sydney 2068 Posts: 2,071	As a dedicated device, the Roku is definitely a more polished product (looking at getting one of these now, thanks SLATYE), but I'll probably still buy an R.Pi to experiment with. Apparently it does provide some GPIO, and I can see lots of possibilities arising from a combination of R.Pi for UI/comms and a micro for low-level interfacing. For the record, there will be no case available at launch, but they are looking at producing an add-on case later on. Not sure about power, there is some discussion of power supplied via USB, and the FAQ states that the unit would run fine from 4 x AA's. Power at load is around 1 watt, but I'm not sure if that's for the basic version or the 'B' spec with the ethernet controller and extra RAM. __________________ When you're in over your head, the first thing to do is close your mouth. - Anonymous GOOD TRADES WITH: chrispychipS, s3kemo, Graham.Abbott, TerminalVeloCD, dayvud7, gnasher666, Bomber01, Echo Man, Mikio, MorgzMods, Guts, RoryK, Benno1988, Spirit76, Creekin, kazen, Lothar_Wolf, zzgundam, Nobita88 Last edited by BlueRaven; 29th August 2011 at 10:52 PM.

29th August 2011, 7:16 PM	#21
Gecko Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney Posts: 2,722	These look very nice - I'm definitely going to pick up a few when they come out. These would be a great building block for a lot of electronics - cheaper than an Arduino, with a lot more power

30th August 2011, 9:55 AM	#27
foxmulder881 Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Gold Coast, QLD OS:R.Hat Posts: 5,845	Any images of this? I can't view the video as I don't use Flash anymore.

30th August 2011, 3:09 PM	#29
s3kemo (Taking a Break) Join Date: May 2003 Location: in a house Posts: 5,929	I'd say I found a nice little web server but these are not released yet Anyone know of anything similar that's currently available for < $100? Needs to run a flavour of linux... can't be too gutless, php and mysql are on the cards.