3 ms·

Show me one with an integrated serial adapter and I'll buy it. I know how to generally program things via UART, but really would prefer not having to bother wit

Show me one with an integrated serial adapter and I'll buy it. I know how to generally program things via UART, but really would prefer not having to bother with it. It's not a great development experience. Pine64 keep making these silly little mistakes limiting their products' appeal.

gjsman-1000 4y ago
Why not just get a serial adapter, or repurpose an Arduino as one?
- solarkraft 4y ago
  I don't want to bother. Manually creating a serial connection means it's more effort to hook up and the whole thing is larger, more fragile and less portable than necessary. Might just be me, but I value the ability to quickly get started without a lot of setup and debugging hardware before getting to the software aspect. I don't want to keep the thing fully set up on my desk, I'd like to put it in a bag and get it out whenever I feel like it. The WiFi capability may make this easier after the initial setup, but it's still an unnecessary hurdle.
packetlost 4y ago
As a Pine64 fan... yeah. I think their thinking is that the hard core devs who are needed to get these things off the ground are comfortable with UART and have the tools to program them externally, but IMO that really misses the mark when you need community-critical mass to get anywhere close to the popularity of something like Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Both of those companies/products make programming stupid easy for professionals and hobbyists alike, so they get a lot of attention and sales. The RP2040 is also superbly documented, unlike basically anything Pine64 has put out.
karmanyaahm 4y ago
The lack of USB serial is just a bug in the first batch https://gist.github.com/lupyuen/7a0c697b89abccda8e38b33dfe5ebaff https://gist.github.com/lupyuen/7a0c697b89abccda8e38b33dfe5e...
- solarkraft 4y ago
  Oh nice, thanks! I guess after the restock this won't be a problem since it'll be the second batch?

gjsman-1000 4y ago

Why not just get a serial adapter, or repurpose an Arduino as one?

solarkraft 4y ago
I don't want to bother. Manually creating a serial connection means it's more effort to hook up and the whole thing is larger, more fragile and less portable than necessary. Might just be me, but I value the ability to quickly get started without a lot of setup and debugging hardware before getting to the software aspect. I don't want to keep the thing fully set up on my desk, I'd like to put it in a bag and get it out whenever I feel like it. The WiFi capability may make this easier after the initial setup, but it's still an unnecessary hurdle.

packetlost 4y ago

As a Pine64 fan... yeah. I think their thinking is that the hard core devs who are needed to get these things off the ground are comfortable with UART and have the tools to program them externally, but IMO that really misses the mark when you need community-critical mass to get anywhere close to the popularity of something like Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Both of those companies/products make programming stupid easy for professionals and hobbyists alike, so they get a lot of attention and sales. The RP2040 is also superbly documented, unlike basically anything Pine64 has put out.

karmanyaahm 4y ago

The lack of USB serial is just a bug in the first batch https://gist.github.com/lupyuen/7a0c697b89abccda8e38b33dfe5ebaff https://gist.github.com/lupyuen/7a0c697b89abccda8e38b33dfe5e...

solarkraft 4y ago
Oh nice, thanks! I guess after the restock this won't be a problem since it'll be the second batch?