4 ms·

The default intent, and thus the default configuration, is to have a device that a kid can accidentally nuke without any lasting consequences. That's the whole

The default intent, and thus the default configuration, is to have a device that a kid can accidentally nuke without any lasting consequences. That's the whole founding principle of the thing. Lose that and you've lost the Raspberry Pi as a concept.

PragmaticPulp 6y ago
eMMC isn't mutually exclusive with having an SD card slot. Even if they removed the SD slot, you would still reflash the board over USB. That's how it's done with the Raspberry Pi Compute Module. With some software development it could be even easier than fiddling with SD cards. In education environments, microSD cards tend to disappear a lot. Having one less moving piece to lose would be a win.
- stan_rogers 6y ago
  And having flashed cards ready to hand over is a win. "Factory reset" in the time it takes to swap a card. Your point? The Pi (apart from the CM) is for kids. It happens to be useful to other people as well, but that is not, was not, and never will be the aim of the Foundation.
- gbraad 6y ago
  Misplaced cards happen, but it does allow easier sharing of the boards.
- nikisweeting 6y ago
  It is when they have to build the thing for <$25 though.
ekianjo 6y ago
> is to have a device that a kid can accidentally nuke To be honest the large majority of RPi users I have ever met are only adults. Are there a lot of kids who are using it out there?
- gbraad 6y ago
  We would like the RPi more for education, but the cost is still a factor. Due to cost, the school need to buy these, as by itself the RPi is useless; It needed a keyboard, mouse, screen, etc. Students bring their own SD card, since else they are easily misplaced (stolen). This also means boards can be used by any student. A lot of effort and cost, so we went with the microbit. The kids can easily own them, use a tablet to program them, and for the kids that are older, they can go for the rPi to expand this setup and learn more advanced stuff. By we do not use this as an entry. Kids that do robotics have a better time with them. So yes, maybe mostly used by adults. The idea of SD cards was a good one. But several flaws held it back; like the non-5v tolerant GPIO. Lost several boards due to misuse... And they ain't cheap if they need to be replaced often.
- lsiebert 6y ago
  Do adults meet a lot of kids without adults present though? This seems like a bit of observer bias.
  - gbraad 6y ago
    Yep. Kids don't tend to blog. Maybe brag, but still in a different scenario ;-)
- evilDagmar 6y ago
  Actually, yes. They're even good in a classroom because even if a kid screws one up, it's not hard to teach a public school teacher how to re-image an SD card. You dont hear about it as often because for reasons, the kids aren't exactly encouraged to reach out to adults on the internet. Dogs on the internet and all that.
  - slovette 6y ago
    You sir, must have never played the IT guy to this teacher you speak of in our public school system. I challenge the “easy” assertion with great confidence. /meant humorously but also seriously serious.

PragmaticPulp 6y ago

eMMC isn't mutually exclusive with having an SD card slot. Even if they removed the SD slot, you would still reflash the board over USB. That's how it's done with the Raspberry Pi Compute Module. With some software development it could be even easier than fiddling with SD cards. In education environments, microSD cards tend to disappear a lot. Having one less moving piece to lose would be a win.

stan_rogers 6y ago
And having flashed cards ready to hand over is a win. "Factory reset" in the time it takes to swap a card. Your point? The Pi (apart from the CM) is for kids. It happens to be useful to other people as well, but that is not, was not, and never will be the aim of the Foundation.
gbraad 6y ago
Misplaced cards happen, but it does allow easier sharing of the boards.
nikisweeting 6y ago
It is when they have to build the thing for <$25 though.

ekianjo 6y ago

> is to have a device that a kid can accidentally nuke To be honest the large majority of RPi users I have ever met are only adults. Are there a lot of kids who are using it out there?

gbraad 6y ago
We would like the RPi more for education, but the cost is still a factor. Due to cost, the school need to buy these, as by itself the RPi is useless; It needed a keyboard, mouse, screen, etc. Students bring their own SD card, since else they are easily misplaced (stolen). This also means boards can be used by any student. A lot of effort and cost, so we went with the microbit. The kids can easily own them, use a tablet to program them, and for the kids that are older, they can go for the rPi to expand this setup and learn more advanced stuff. By we do not use this as an entry. Kids that do robotics have a better time with them. So yes, maybe mostly used by adults. The idea of SD cards was a good one. But several flaws held it back; like the non-5v tolerant GPIO. Lost several boards due to misuse... And they ain't cheap if they need to be replaced often.
lsiebert 6y ago
Do adults meet a lot of kids without adults present though? This seems like a bit of observer bias.
- gbraad 6y ago
  Yep. Kids don't tend to blog. Maybe brag, but still in a different scenario ;-)
evilDagmar 6y ago
Actually, yes. They're even good in a classroom because even if a kid screws one up, it's not hard to teach a public school teacher how to re-image an SD card. You dont hear about it as often because for reasons, the kids aren't exactly encouraged to reach out to adults on the internet. Dogs on the internet and all that.
- slovette 6y ago
  You sir, must have never played the IT guy to this teacher you speak of in our public school system. I challenge the “easy” assertion with great confidence. /meant humorously but also seriously serious.