3 ms·

To me it feels like the Raspberry Pi Foundation hasn't met its objective of making computers accessible and affordable to everyone (especially children in disad

To me it feels like the Raspberry Pi Foundation hasn't met its objective of making computers accessible and affordable to everyone (especially children in disadvantaged areas). Each iteration is so expensive and previous iterations don't lose value or are made cheaper. It's more prudent to spend a bit more for a mini-pc. In South Africa, the average child from a disadvantaged background has no chance of buying a Pi. Arduino on the other hand, open sources the hardware, meaning very cheap but less powerful SBCs from companies in China (and elsewhere). They should be doing the same as they have the ecosystem and resources to mass produce very cheap boards, but the Pi is prohibitively expensive, and it looks like they cater to companies first and prioritise making a profit.

esskay 3y ago
The true cost of a Pi these days can end up being more than a low-end mini pc once you add in all the extras you need to make it work. Power supply, sd card, etc. For education you'll need to throw in keyboard, mouse, speakers, possibly a microphone, monitor, cables, etc. You can easly get to $150 without a monitor when going with a pi vs a lower cost second hand mini pc which is more powerful and upgradable, and can run linux or windows. They've priced themselves out of the education market.
- oliwarner 3y ago
  The true price of what? The latest Raspberry Pi 5 with 8gb RAM? What about a Raspberry Pi 1b, a W2 or a Pico? These are all devices that are great for learning computing. Kids can learn on a cheap £20 kit plugged into a TV. So what if it's used? So what if it's a few years old? The drive, the purpose of these educational projects is to get kids onto them. Doesn't have to be the latest, by any means.
- monkeydust 3y ago
  Right, which is were I suspect margins are highest and the area they will need to be successful in to keep shareholders happy each quarter. Huge fan but I just hope this tech IPO that the LSE has been looking for doesn't turn out to be a total dud. Guess there will be some AI angle in the investor road shows!
arp242 3y ago
A rpi was never "useful enough" to really be a replacement for desktop computers, and it was never "cheap enough" for purely a teaching tool. Cheap second-hand laptops were always a better option IMO. Arduino makes completely different types of computers.

esskay 3y ago

The true cost of a Pi these days can end up being more than a low-end mini pc once you add in all the extras you need to make it work. Power supply, sd card, etc. For education you'll need to throw in keyboard, mouse, speakers, possibly a microphone, monitor, cables, etc. You can easly get to $150 without a monitor when going with a pi vs a lower cost second hand mini pc which is more powerful and upgradable, and can run linux or windows. They've priced themselves out of the education market.

oliwarner 3y ago
The true price of what? The latest Raspberry Pi 5 with 8gb RAM? What about a Raspberry Pi 1b, a W2 or a Pico? These are all devices that are great for learning computing. Kids can learn on a cheap £20 kit plugged into a TV. So what if it's used? So what if it's a few years old? The drive, the purpose of these educational projects is to get kids onto them. Doesn't have to be the latest, by any means.
monkeydust 3y ago
Right, which is were I suspect margins are highest and the area they will need to be successful in to keep shareholders happy each quarter. Huge fan but I just hope this tech IPO that the LSE has been looking for doesn't turn out to be a total dud. Guess there will be some AI angle in the investor road shows!

arp242 3y ago

A rpi was never "useful enough" to really be a replacement for desktop computers, and it was never "cheap enough" for purely a teaching tool. Cheap second-hand laptops were always a better option IMO. Arduino makes completely different types of computers.