4 ms·

I'm not in any feasible target market for them anyway because I'm happy to pay significantly more for higher spec SBCs with mainline kernel support, avoiding pr

I'm not in any feasible target market for them anyway because I'm happy to pay significantly more for higher spec SBCs with mainline kernel support, avoiding proprietary boot loaders/threadx and long-obsolete SoCs. The current crop of RK3399 boards are a great example of that. But I do understand why the lower spec, lower price point devices appeal so much to hobbyists and makers. These people actually buy and use RPis in significant numbers, unlike the schoolchildren whom they keep aiming at and failing to reach. These people are the only reason for the RPi's success. The RPi folks would be better to acknowledge and take credit for the important part they've been playing in the maker and hobbyist movement and plan their future devices on that basis.

kingosticks 8y ago
On what basis do you think they are failing to reach school children?
- qhwudbebd 8y ago
  Anecdata rather than a rigorously conducted survey across UK schools. It was very much the consensus amongst my teacher friends when I kicked off a discussion on the topic whilst attempting to donate a handful of them. (I had a bunch spare from doing some speed testing on them.) Interestingly, they also felt the microbit had been much more successful and accessible, so I guess it's not a lost cause to create a product for that market.
  - kingosticks 8y ago
    The foundation do publish yearly reviews (not sure if they done a 2018 one yet) on their website with statistics they have gathered. But it's interesting the microbit was considered more successful in your group. Perhaps having the name of the BBC behind it gave it more weight. Or the fact they gave them away free to younger children.
    - qhwudbebd 8y ago
      I think maybe it's also a simpler device to understand end-to-end, a bit like 8-bit micros were when I was a kid?
      - kingosticks 8y ago
        I think this is it. It's a simpler device which is easier to get started with. At the cost of being able to do less with it but that's a good tradeoff, in primary school at least.

kingosticks 8y ago

On what basis do you think they are failing to reach school children?

qhwudbebd 8y ago
Anecdata rather than a rigorously conducted survey across UK schools. It was very much the consensus amongst my teacher friends when I kicked off a discussion on the topic whilst attempting to donate a handful of them. (I had a bunch spare from doing some speed testing on them.) Interestingly, they also felt the microbit had been much more successful and accessible, so I guess it's not a lost cause to create a product for that market.
- kingosticks 8y ago
  The foundation do publish yearly reviews (not sure if they done a 2018 one yet) on their website with statistics they have gathered. But it's interesting the microbit was considered more successful in your group. Perhaps having the name of the BBC behind it gave it more weight. Or the fact they gave them away free to younger children.
  - qhwudbebd 8y ago
    I think maybe it's also a simpler device to understand end-to-end, a bit like 8-bit micros were when I was a kid?
    - kingosticks 8y ago
      I think this is it. It's a simpler device which is easier to get started with. At the cost of being able to do less with it but that's a good tradeoff, in primary school at least.