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Yay, another cheap mini computer I could buy to eventually put it in the drawer to the others! More seriously, it's amazing to see Linux running on such small

by raimue 9y ago

Yay, another cheap mini computer I could buy to eventually put it in the drawer to the others! More seriously, it's amazing to see Linux running on such small devices. I wonder what its niche is, though. What can you solve with this PocketBeagle where an Arduino would not suffice, while causing less support overhead later? Keeping a Linux distribution/installation up-to-date and free of security holes requires regular maintenance, while a standalone microcontroller program has the minimal attack surface.

stuntkite 9y ago
Arduino is great for artists and hobbyists or just testing out something simple. It does this by having a great IDE and library collection that maintains awesome compatibility across the board. They can be a big problem if you intend to produce a final embedded product though. Nothing you build will translate. Something like the Beagle is going to give you a much better toolset to expand on as you grow. Also with the power in the PocketBeagle situations where you'd need near real time, like management of audio. Is actually available. Not that you can't get Arduino compatible systems that can provide the tooling (STM32 or Teensy), you need to really know where you're going to end up and your level of commitment. You are 100% right about the drawer thing though. I've got several drawers. But the thing with embedded is there isn't a magic bullet, so you gotta stock the drawer if you want to fiddle. Either that or KiCAD/Altium and plan your bespoke system from the get go. My tactic with hardware projects is to never pretend like it's going to be a money maker. It's always play. People loose fortunes on hardware. But man, I've got crap to build my own shitty LTE cell phone in a drawer right now. It'll be terrible and a fire hazard but the future we live in is awesome thanks to the inexpensive dev board proliferation.

by raimue 9y ago

stuntkite 9y ago

Arduino is great for artists and hobbyists or just testing out something simple. It does this by having a great IDE and library collection that maintains awesome compatibility across the board. They can be a big problem if you intend to produce a final embedded product though. Nothing you build will translate. Something like the Beagle is going to give you a much better toolset to expand on as you grow. Also with the power in the PocketBeagle situations where you'd need near real time, like management of audio. Is actually available. Not that you can't get Arduino compatible systems that can provide the tooling (STM32 or Teensy), you need to really know where you're going to end up and your level of commitment. You are 100% right about the drawer thing though. I've got several drawers. But the thing with embedded is there isn't a magic bullet, so you gotta stock the drawer if you want to fiddle. Either that or KiCAD/Altium and plan your bespoke system from the get go. My tactic with hardware projects is to never pretend like it's going to be a money maker. It's always play. People loose fortunes on hardware. But man, I've got crap to build my own shitty LTE cell phone in a drawer right now. It'll be terrible and a fire hazard but the future we live in is awesome thanks to the inexpensive dev board proliferation.