3 ms·

Linux board makers learn how to specialize

37 points by eaguyhn 8y ago

chris_st 8y ago
> 122 boards...If there has been a slowdown, Benchoff nailed the reason: poor documentation. I think that this speaks to a problem in the software development world as well. There are N! new AWS services, several times that new things from other groups, and... hardly any tutorials and cookbooks, for those of us who need a bit more help than just references. The problem, I think, is that the people who are competent enough to figure something out, and then capable enough to explain it well, are spread pretty thin due to all these riches. SO, if you're one of those incredibly awesome people who do such thinks, THANKS! I know I really need it.
- wolfgke 8y ago
  > The problem, I think, is that the people who are competent enough to figure something out, and then capable enough to explain it well, are spread pretty thin due to all these riches. > SO, if you're one of those incredibly awesome people who do such thinks, THANKS! I know I really need it. I don't think that these people are that thinly spread. But who is willing to pay for all the documentation? Doing this for free has often a huge opportunity cost.
  - halfastack 8y ago
    > But who is willing to pay for all the documentation? Anybody who wishes to be successful. RPI would not be as successful had it not been for the ton of materials on it online, be it by the manufacturer, or the tinkerers. Any newcomers wanting to de-throne RPI must differentiate themselves; good documentation is simply expected at this point.
  - chris_st 8y ago
    > I don't think that these people are that thinly spread. There are an awful lot, it's true. However, there are a lot of projects (including a great many AWS services) that just don't have anything but reference material. A big part of this is how quickly new things come out. > But who is willing to pay for all the documentation? It's interesting to see people like Wes Bos make a living off of doing excellent tutorials... so, evidently, some people at least are willing to pay.
Havoc 8y ago
Slightly wary of SBCs now. Switched from a rasp 3B+ to a Asus Tinkerboard and learned a tough lesson on the importance of eco-system. It's more struggleboard than tinkerboard. Hours of hassles trying to get hardware acceleration to work etc. All worked out in the end (threw Android & Kodi on it).
- rahulrav 8y ago
  I use the Tinkerboard S and I absolutely love it. It’s so much faster and the dedicated EMMC storage helps a lot. Try it. The ecosystem is much better than it used to be.
  - Havoc 8y ago
    >Try it. I essentially have. If you compare the specs of the S vs non-S you'll see they basically didn't change anything. Same CPU, GPU, memory, clockspeed etc. It's not terrible but I had somewhat naively assumed it would be a rasp-like experience but more powerful.

37 points by eaguyhn 8y ago

> 122 boards...If there has been a slowdown, Benchoff nailed the reason: poor documentation. I think that this speaks to a problem in the software development world as well. There are N! new AWS services, several times that new things from other groups, and... hardly any tutorials and cookbooks, for those of us who need a bit more help than just references. The problem, I think, is that the people who are competent enough to figure something out, and then capable enough to explain it well, are spread pretty thin due to all these riches. SO, if you're one of those incredibly awesome people who do such thinks, THANKS! I know I really need it.

wolfgke 8y ago
> The problem, I think, is that the people who are competent enough to figure something out, and then capable enough to explain it well, are spread pretty thin due to all these riches. > SO, if you're one of those incredibly awesome people who do such thinks, THANKS! I know I really need it. I don't think that these people are that thinly spread. But who is willing to pay for all the documentation? Doing this for free has often a huge opportunity cost.
- halfastack 8y ago
  > But who is willing to pay for all the documentation? Anybody who wishes to be successful. RPI would not be as successful had it not been for the ton of materials on it online, be it by the manufacturer, or the tinkerers. Any newcomers wanting to de-throne RPI must differentiate themselves; good documentation is simply expected at this point.
- chris_st 8y ago
  > I don't think that these people are that thinly spread. There are an awful lot, it's true. However, there are a lot of projects (including a great many AWS services) that just don't have anything but reference material. A big part of this is how quickly new things come out. > But who is willing to pay for all the documentation? It's interesting to see people like Wes Bos make a living off of doing excellent tutorials... so, evidently, some people at least are willing to pay.

Havoc 8y ago

Slightly wary of SBCs now. Switched from a rasp 3B+ to a Asus Tinkerboard and learned a tough lesson on the importance of eco-system. It's more struggleboard than tinkerboard. Hours of hassles trying to get hardware acceleration to work etc. All worked out in the end (threw Android & Kodi on it).

rahulrav 8y ago
I use the Tinkerboard S and I absolutely love it. It’s so much faster and the dedicated EMMC storage helps a lot. Try it. The ecosystem is much better than it used to be.
- Havoc 8y ago
  >Try it. I essentially have. If you compare the specs of the S vs non-S you'll see they basically didn't change anything. Same CPU, GPU, memory, clockspeed etc. It's not terrible but I had somewhat naively assumed it would be a rasp-like experience but more powerful.