3 ms·

Except by that point you're dealing with a full laptop with proprietary drivers and, well, Windows itself. There's a reason a Pi took off as the SBC of choice:

Except by that point you're dealing with a full laptop with proprietary drivers and, well, Windows itself. There's a reason a Pi took off as the SBC of choice: How open it is and what it still can do without adding things to it. If you're only looking at price tag when it comes to adding an SSD and a hat to compute module, the compute module concept was never for you in the first place.

michrassena 6y ago
I have three Raspberry Pi computers. The third, a Pi Zero came in the mail today. So I'm sold on the strong points of the system. My point wasn't about the laptop having Windows, just that there was a "Windows tax" on the inexpensive laptop and it still offered a better price / performance value. I bought a laptop a couple of years ago for $250. It has a display, two kinds of USB ports, HDMI, Ethernet, a keyboard, trackpad and a battery. I'm sure I could run Linux on it if I needed to. It's not fast, but it's faster than any tricked out Raspberry Pi. If we envision the Raspberry Pi as a learning tool, it's almost too good. It's really too powerful and too complex. As a general purpose computer it still falls short of what I consider a good use of my free time. Don't get me wrong, it's fantastic that there is such a wide market for add-ons for the Pi, for an aftermarket of small players with neat ideas. I have to pry myself away from the sites where they sell this stuff. But this project is just a little too expensive to make it worthwhile for me. I'd like to see a Pi+M2 kit for $100, which likely there will be in time.
imtringued 6y ago
For lots of low income people Linux on ARM is a down grade and the stuff that only "desperately poor" people would even consider. Having a "proper" laptop with a "proper" OS will decrease the perceived difference between yourself and other non poor people.

michrassena 6y ago

I have three Raspberry Pi computers. The third, a Pi Zero came in the mail today. So I'm sold on the strong points of the system. My point wasn't about the laptop having Windows, just that there was a "Windows tax" on the inexpensive laptop and it still offered a better price / performance value. I bought a laptop a couple of years ago for $250. It has a display, two kinds of USB ports, HDMI, Ethernet, a keyboard, trackpad and a battery. I'm sure I could run Linux on it if I needed to. It's not fast, but it's faster than any tricked out Raspberry Pi. If we envision the Raspberry Pi as a learning tool, it's almost too good. It's really too powerful and too complex. As a general purpose computer it still falls short of what I consider a good use of my free time. Don't get me wrong, it's fantastic that there is such a wide market for add-ons for the Pi, for an aftermarket of small players with neat ideas. I have to pry myself away from the sites where they sell this stuff. But this project is just a little too expensive to make it worthwhile for me. I'd like to see a Pi+M2 kit for $100, which likely there will be in time.

imtringued 6y ago

For lots of low income people Linux on ARM is a down grade and the stuff that only "desperately poor" people would even consider. Having a "proper" laptop with a "proper" OS will decrease the perceived difference between yourself and other non poor people.