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> OP links the Banana Pi M5, VIM1s, Odroid C4, Rock 3A, and the Orange Pi 5 4GB as potential alternatives, but the hardware is not the problem, it's the softwar

by tjoff 3y ago

> OP links the Banana Pi M5, VIM1s, Odroid C4, Rock 3A, and the Orange Pi 5 4GB as potential alternatives, but the hardware is not the problem, it's the software support and the community. I'm curious if you've found any SBCs out there that might be viable alternatives to the Raspberry Pi ecosystem. From the linked Ask HN. Hardware is irrelevant if the software isn't comparable. I'd like to be proven wrong but if nothing has changed in the last years there are no real alternatives to the Pi.

andrewstuart 3y ago
Depends on your use case. Ex lease mini desktop Dell/Hp/Lenovo Intel machines off eBay can be good, and first class Linux support, and cheaper than raspberry pi. Some applications can be replaced with a microcontroller like esp32 which has excellent software support. Many of the machines above have pretty average Linux support but it seems to be improving, depends on your application.
detaro 3y ago
If by "software support" you mean "people provide ready-made SD card images with project X already installed", then yes, no alternative to the Pi. If you mean "gives me a standard linux distro I can install software on that can talk to the network and maybe show a UI on a screen", pretty much anything works (and a lot of things people do with Pis are just that - running things like network-wide adblockers, 3D printer servers, small python scripts for whatever). If it's somewhere in between, it again depends. E.g. if I wanted a MIPI camera, I'd probably track down a RPi and use that unless I could find someone documenting a precise setup on something else.
- tjoff 3y ago
  If step 1 is to spend 30 hours researching the state of linux for each of the alternatives that makes them dead on arrival and a complete waste of time and money in my mind.
  - detaro 3y ago
    If it takes you 30 hours it is indeed a good deal to pay scalper-prices for an RPi instead.
    - tjoff 3y ago
      Probably much quicker for most people, and then they end up having to debug it to death. And yes, that includes pretty much any alternative mentioned here.
- yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
  What I mean is "is this thing either running mainline linux or supported well enough that I'll still be getting kernel updates in 5 years".

by tjoff 3y ago

andrewstuart 3y ago

Depends on your use case. Ex lease mini desktop Dell/Hp/Lenovo Intel machines off eBay can be good, and first class Linux support, and cheaper than raspberry pi. Some applications can be replaced with a microcontroller like esp32 which has excellent software support. Many of the machines above have pretty average Linux support but it seems to be improving, depends on your application.

detaro 3y ago

If by "software support" you mean "people provide ready-made SD card images with project X already installed", then yes, no alternative to the Pi. If you mean "gives me a standard linux distro I can install software on that can talk to the network and maybe show a UI on a screen", pretty much anything works (and a lot of things people do with Pis are just that - running things like network-wide adblockers, 3D printer servers, small python scripts for whatever). If it's somewhere in between, it again depends. E.g. if I wanted a MIPI camera, I'd probably track down a RPi and use that unless I could find someone documenting a precise setup on something else.

tjoff 3y ago
If step 1 is to spend 30 hours researching the state of linux for each of the alternatives that makes them dead on arrival and a complete waste of time and money in my mind.
- detaro 3y ago
  If it takes you 30 hours it is indeed a good deal to pay scalper-prices for an RPi instead.
  - tjoff 3y ago
    Probably much quicker for most people, and then they end up having to debug it to death. And yes, that includes pretty much any alternative mentioned here.
yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
What I mean is "is this thing either running mainline linux or supported well enough that I'll still be getting kernel updates in 5 years".