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Author Topic: 25 dollar computer coming  (Read 34995 times)

Offline remus

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #30 on: June 06, 2011, 06:46:18 AM »
Hmm,

If the device came with more 4 USB ports + 1 ethernet port it would be better value I think.

Better to design in the ports than try to buy a hub later.

Imagine running a usb mouse and keyboard + ethernet + few other usb devices such as printer and external hard drive through ONE primary port....
Live long and prosper.

Offline caminati

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #31 on: June 08, 2011, 10:04:40 AM »
Some other updates, don't know if regarding events interesting/new to any ear:
Raspberry Pi prototype has now a page on wikipedia:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Raspberry_Pi

Since wikipedia is usually quite strict on admittance of a topic (notability, etc...), this is not likely to be a total hoax.
However, to get such a product to final users is a long and troublesome road...

On that very page, you will find a link to a podcast interview to a guy involved with the project.
Can't hear it right now, as I already said my machine is usb-centric and modular. Too modular, I still have to get some usb device for sounds =)

Offline Download

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Thanks for the helpful information
« Reply #32 on: June 15, 2011, 06:48:00 AM »
Thanks for the helpful information

Offline mpayne

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #33 on: June 30, 2011, 08:45:31 PM »
Good idea to email the developer. Seems to me that they are porting this to become a bigger type of mobile gadget as it is running on something from that end of the field.  It would be interesting how the developer and manufacturers would react to such a suggestion, though as what has been raised earlier, it is not that friendly to start with tinycore if you are just new to linux.

Offline vinceASPECT

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #34 on: July 02, 2011, 11:08:33 AM »
Hell

fascinating device....really because of it's price. 


i feel Debian or Angstrom linux are best for this. TCL does not have an arm build does it?

WHen you consider a USB to NIC adapter is 50 cents new on ebay.com.....and also a cd quality
USB sound card is 50 cents new on ebay. You can see how easy this device is to get going. A 4 port usb hub is 99 cents.

I have all these devices running on a hub here. (this laptop is only USB 1.1 socket)
That single socket carries "5 meg bit DSL" and a "USB CD sound card" and "keyboard" and "mouse"
and "webcam."

So you can get this tiny PC up and running for 29.99 dollars.

HDMI already carries sound, so you could get sound in that alternative manner.

But if you were using the composite video signal, then SOUND could come from a USB soundcard.

I don't think people realize the potential of this device. Image young kids skyping around the globe
meeting new friends. Going on web video talkers. Learning from wikipedia. Using online web tools that
require no install or CPU power.  (there are lots of them...music production tools, graphics tools...google documents)

http://www.aviary.com/tools

It also plugs into a conventional TV....the TV does not need to have HDMI....this device outputs
a composite video signal also. That signal just needs the correct cable to plug into the
sockets on a standard TV.

A keyboard new is about 3 dollars. Mice are a dollar.

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Ethernet-Network-Adapter-NIC-RJ45-Card-10-100-A1-/280635453633?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41572d30c1

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-0-3D-AUDIO-SOUND-CARD-ADAPTER-VIRTUAL-5-1-ch-/110522675143?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bbaa2fc7

I just think Angstrom or Debian is better for it.

love to see it be released and come out.

Vince.




Offline vinceASPECT

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #35 on: July 02, 2011, 02:41:45 PM »
Yes.

I forgot to mention the earlier "USB soundcards" do not require drivers for linux. They work
out of the box. I have one working here with Tinycore and they seem to work with all
other linux distros.

well, i know that technology is a funny old industry. But would a developer go
as far as David has if he were not going to release this device for sale to the general
public.  (i don't know, but i can imagine developing an entire PC on a thumb drive is no
simple matter)

Vince.

Offline TheNewbie

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #36 on: July 14, 2011, 04:37:03 PM »
I'd love it if they came out with a $40 model that had 512 MB of RAM, and a 1GHz processor, because quite honestly, 256 MB + 700 MHz doesn't seem like enough to handle basic, everyday tasks. Plus, where does it list its *internal* storage specs? It'd be a bit stupid to ship it without storage of any kind, yet it doesn't seem to mention anything except *external* storage...

It's basically a smartphone with a USB/ethernet port, with the display, input, and classical "phone" bits stripped off. Technically speaking, you can find smartphones nowadays that have dual core 1 - 1.4 GHz and 1 GB of RAM, and a Tegra 2 or similar GPU. Of course, the price of those smartphones are at least 10x that of the Raspberry Pi computer...

Offline vinceASPECT

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #37 on: July 21, 2011, 11:42:56 AM »
Hi,

uh the storage is a 16 gig micro SD card slot.  (think so)

700 mhz on ARM is equivalent to about 1 ghz + in intel terms.

Angstrom or DEbian will run fine with this cpu and 256 ddr ram. More than
fine really. Angstrom  Linux will fly with those specs.

Ubuntu will be ok if they use a cutdown fast version. Lubuntu or the many
others.

V.

Offline curaga

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #38 on: July 21, 2011, 12:16:46 PM »
Quote
700 mhz on ARM is equivalent to about 1 ghz + in intel terms.

More like 150-200 Mhz. It couldn't hold a candle to an Atom, and atoms suck.
The only barriers that can stop you are the ones you create yourself.

Offline netnomad

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #39 on: July 21, 2011, 01:44:06 PM »
i agree vinceASPECT that the specs are fine for debian or tinycore.
in my direct neighborhood, we plan some cute projects with this hardware...
i think that 700mhz on arm is sufficient...
the ram could be more, i would prefer 1GB of ram...

the main thing is that this platform reaches the market to a reasonable prize...
Eben Upton, Director of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, eben.upton@gmail.com,
the project-leader, confirmed me yesterday that it should be available at the end of this year:
"The devices should be available to the general public later in the year."

please support this device and
please don't whine and grumble around that it could be better or different.

i think it makes no sense to compare this tiny hardware with over-equipped hardware or mainframes...
on atom- or 1ghz-platforms, you can squeeze out so much vital power for almost any challenge...
... so there is much to do on a 700mhz arm!
especially  tinycore proves how much we can do with limited resources, so we have to take the chance...
i'm pretty excited and some more folks, too.

all interested folks should inform and support the foundation, perhaps write an email, too.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2011, 02:04:46 PM by netnomad »

Offline curaga

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #40 on: July 22, 2011, 02:14:14 AM »
Oh, I'm not saying this isn't useful. Just shouldn't have too high expectations; I've personally run a 800Mhz single core Cortex-A8, it is not as good as some were saying, and it's much better than the one used in the raspberry pi (both in Mhz and in generation).
The only barriers that can stop you are the ones you create yourself.

Offline vinceASPECT

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #41 on: July 22, 2011, 08:46:07 PM »
Quote
700 mhz on ARM is equivalent to about 1 ghz + in intel terms.

More like 150-200 Mhz. It couldn't hold a candle to an Atom, and atoms suck.

really?....i was led to believe that arm were good...and faster than intel at
lower mGhz ratings.

Offline Rich

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #42 on: July 23, 2011, 04:21:34 AM »
Hi vinceASPECT
Quote
700 mhz on ARM is equivalent to about 1 ghz + in intel terms.
That sounds like the kind of meaningless dribble a marketing department would spout when trying
to push a product. You are basically comparing a RISC processor to a CISC processor without
stating what the measurement is based on. If you use a benchmark that measures MIPs, then it is
quite possible that the ARM chip will produce higher numbers, however, that does not make it the
faster processor. It just means it can execute more instructions per second but does not tell you
how much work is actually done. While there are many benchmarks out there, most, if not all, will not
give you meaningful results for two basic reasons.

1. Certain tests will favor one processor or the other depending on any special capabilities it may have.
2. A benchmark is not the actual end application you will be running.

A blanket statement that processor A is faster than processor B can not be taken at face value since
it is application specific. The only honest measure of speed is to code the end program for each
processor taking advantage of any special instructions they may have, utilizing any built in hardware
support, making optimum use of any caching capability, and timing how long it takes to execute. Even
with all of this, the end result will still be dependent on the design of the board the processor is
mounted on and the hardware it is connected to.
While far from being a complete treatment of this subject, the bottom line is that a generic statement
that one processor is faster than another is not meaningful.

Offline SvOlli

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #43 on: July 23, 2011, 05:18:53 AM »
Quote
700 mhz on ARM is equivalent to about 1 ghz + in intel terms.

More like 150-200 Mhz. It couldn't hold a candle to an Atom, and atoms suck.
It depends on the ARM implementation used: the processor of the PandaBoard runs at 1GHz and is more than 20% faster than an 1.6GHz Atom. Most ARMs miss a hardware floating point unit, which drops performace drastically when used in a general purpose environment. The SheevaPlug is a good example for this. It performs well as a server, but sucks if you need floating point, being 10 times slower than the PandaBoard, though running at 1.2GHz.

You guys here hold apples vs oranges and ask "which one's bigger?" where it depends on the fruit itself, rather than the sort of the fruit. Any general comparison of the archtectures is bullshit, there's not even such a thing as a rough guess.

The 25 Bucks System reminds me a lot of the BeagleBoard, sharing the same big problems: not enough interfaces. To have a system that's of generic use, you'll need a network interface, 1x or 2x usb for keyboard/mouse, mass storage connector (additional usb or sata, onboard flash will not hold a complete full featured desktop) and a way to connect a monitor. Connecting hids, mass storage and network all via an usb hubs sucks in both performance and usablity. Believe me, I've been there, it was like back in the C64 days: annoying wires everywhere.

So here's my recommendation: hand of that 25$ thing. You'll hack it for a week and then drop it for it's disadvantages. If you wanna go for an ARM system go out and by a PandaBoard. Yes, it costs about 5 time as much (counting $10 for the costs for usb-hub and usb network stick), but leaves you with a system you wanna use. Own experience.

Offline curaga

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Re: 25 dollar computer coming
« Reply #44 on: July 23, 2011, 05:25:42 AM »
The Pandaboard has a dualcore Cortex-A9, just about latest tech. Yes, I'd expect that one to beat an Atom ;)

Note that my "it" referred to the raspberry cpu, not arm in general.
The only barriers that can stop you are the ones you create yourself.