On 05/03/2012 10:44, BartC wrote:
"Clive George" wrote in message
o.uk...
On 05/03/2012 00:55, BartC wrote:


"Bob Eager" wrote in message
...
Since the Raspberry Pi will be with us soon-ish (well, about six
weeks I
am told, for mine) does anyone have any interesting ideas about what
they
might do with it/them?

I'm not quite sure what the purpose of this machine is. Low cost? Once
you've added a monitor, keyboard, mouse, memory (and a PSU?), it won't
be far from the cost of a netbook. (Edit: just seen that it plugs into a
TV. Still, you need a spare TV...)

How about for applications where you don't need a monitor, keyboard,
mouse, extra memory? Think automation, control, robots, etc.

Sure. But then maybe they don't need 1080p mpeg decoding support, and

Part of the exercise here seems to be getting an adequate platform
standardised, and low enough in price. Not sure using a lower price SoC
would have made it much cheaper, but it would have had a big negative
impact on its high end graphics capabilities and hence potential uses.

they could have saved a few quid of licensing to these Broadcom people
or whoever supplies that technology. And I would have thought there are
enough control boards out there for this sort of stuff (where you use a
normal PC for developing the software then just download it).

True, but there is an element of you will want to use what you have and
what you are familiar with...

I understand this is mainly for kids but are there really many children
now without access to a computer?

In answer to the first bit, I don't think it is "mainly for kids"... and
to the second, yes a fair number don't have their own.

And what's special about it that it took six years to develop? (I used
to build prototype computer boards in a week or so.)

The cost is probably what's special about it. There's a lot of work in
there, probably a significant amount being negotiation rather than
simply technical.

Maybe.

It has gone through a number of iterations of concept as well it seems.


--
Cheers,

John.

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