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Sincere Question: Can someone please explain the significance? Edit: Thanks for the responses. May be I should have explored the site more instead of just read

Sincere Question: Can someone please explain the significance? Edit: Thanks for the responses. May be I should have explored the site more instead of just reading the article. http://www.raspberrypi.org/about http://www.raspberrypi.org/about

e1ven 14y ago
One of the reasons the Raspberry Pi is really cool is it's helping to make it easier for people to get into hardware hacking. It's fun, and it's cheap enough you don't need to worry about break it. While it's not quite as simple as a arduino, for those of us who like Linux anyway, it makes it almost trivial to wire into all sorts of projects - Wireless Helicopters, Door badges, tiny webservers, etc. It's a great piece of kit, and a nice introduction into the embedded HW world.
- blhack 14y ago
  No, it is not helping people get into hardware hacking. There is no more "hardware hacking" going on here than there is on my macbook. Arduino AVR is helping people get into hardware. Raspberry pi is helping people build cheap netflix settop boxes. edit: maybe I'm jaded. We've got about 4 totally idle raspis at our hackerspace that have been donated by people who have no idea what to do with them, but bought them anyway. Yet, our stack of arduinos get use constantly.
  - highsecurity 14y ago
    Well considering the pi can't run Netflix I would have to disagree with you. There are tons of hardware projects using the pi. I know of a few people locally that just got a pi and basic electronics kit to learn with. Arduino arduino arduino
  - gokhan 14y ago
    MK808's might be a better alternative for that, with built-in wifi and male hdmi dongle type design. My son (6) got his pi as his first computer, we built a lego case for it and he gets excited everytime he connects peripherals. It may not be hw hacking for us, but it is for little folks.
    - blhack 14y ago
      See, that is really cool, and that is what the pi is for. It's not "hardware hacking" though, and there is nothing wrong with that.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    People are absolutely using Raspberry Pis where they would normally use arduinos: For just a taste: http://hackaday.com/category/raspberry-pi-2/ http://hackaday.com/category/raspberry-pi-2/ The HDMI port on mine has never been touched. I'm using it right now to control my roomba though its SCI interface. An uno with a wifi shield costs way more than a Raspberry Pi with a usb wifi dongle. Unless you need more GPIO pins or lower power consumption, Pis just make more sense.
    - blhack 14y ago
      Well then they're idiots. The raspi consumes ~500ma of current even when it's idle.
      - marshray 14y ago
        The project he linked to doesn't look like 500ma would matter much. Next time you spend $25 for an ATmega32, remember what you called those other people.
        blhack 14y ago
        Totes $25 for an ATmega32: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/ATMEGA328-PU/ATMEGA328-PU-ND/2271026 http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/ATMEGA328-PU/ATMEGA... Try and pop the ARM chip off of your raspi and see how it works out.
        marshray 14y ago
        $24 ATmega32 http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Mega-MEGA-2560-Board/dp/B004A7H3DG/ http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Mega-MEGA-2560-Board/dp/B004A7... For ARM, I prefer to solder my own LQFP at about $7. http://twitpic.com/btvkmd http://twitpic.com/btvkmd You're right though, someday I'd love to be able to transplant BGA packages.
        CamperBob2 14y ago
        You're right though, someday I'd love to be able to transplant BGA packages. It can be done. Surface tension is a wonderful thing.
  - CamperBob2 14y ago
    Raspberry pi is helping people build cheap netflix settop boxes. That's hardware hacking. In reality, those of us who don't bring a pickaxe and a carbide lamp to work are just "systems integrators" anyway. Attitudes and titles don't pay the bills.
    - deelowe 14y ago
      Wha? There's a difference between SWE, EE/CE, and IT. The community around the pi is more for the IT crowd. I see very few using the gpio pins for anything, though that does seem to be getting marginally better. Most of the value in the pi is the video decoder. So, that's the types of projects it gets used for.
      - flurie 14y ago
        FWIW, I and many of my friends (who admittedly deal primarily with hardware) find the gpio a big draw. The machine is cheaper and more useful than an arduino after you've thrown in an ethernet shield. I got one to serve as a doorbell router.
        deelowe 14y ago
        Yeah. I'd like to get one for this reason too, but I'm also eyeing the new arm devices that are starting to show up.
  - koralatov 14y ago
    Raspberry pi is helping people build cheap netflix settop boxes. ... edit: maybe I'm jaded. We've got about 4 totally idle raspis at our hackerspace that have been donated by people who have no idea what to do with them, but bought them anyway. I'd agree with that, based on my own personal experience. Of the several people I know who have them, half have no clue what to do with it, and the other half are using them as tiny media centres. There's definitely not much hardware hacking going on. And I can understand it, to be honest. I can't think of a good use for one that isn't already covered ably by some other computer I have. Media centre? Xbox plus external hard-disk does the job. Small *nix box? Better off using my MacBook -- it's got everything built-in. The best idea I came up with was a mini backup server connected to my router that pulls power from its spare USB port, but even then, it's easier just to plug in an external HD once in a while, or dump things onto one of the SD cards I have in rotation.
vasco 14y ago
It's a milestone. It represents the success of the platform and reaffirms the strong community and large userbase.
- fnordfnordfnord 14y ago
  It also re-affirms the business model of creating a super-cheap yet capable development platform, and then not attempting to extract max profit from it.
  - koralatov 14y ago
    I'm not really sure you could call that a `business model': the Raspberry Pi Foundation is a charity, so by definition they aren't out to make a profit. I'm not sure the Raspberry Pi would even exist in the first place if a for-profit company was responsible for making it. It certainly wouldn't be so cheap, and as a result, unlikely to be so successful.
numbsafari 14y ago
In a world where devices are getting smaller and smaller, and hobbyist PC computers are going the way of hobbyist automobiles, the RPi offers a cool choice of open hardware you can really play with. This is a milestone I wish they had hit sooner by trying to solve their supply chain problems. On a personal note, I don't want a replaceable battery or hackable ROM on my phone. I want that thing locked down tight, and small as possible. I'd rather "hack" a $35 board than a $600 phone.
- sushantsharma 14y ago
  Thanks for the responses.

e1ven 14y ago

One of the reasons the Raspberry Pi is really cool is it's helping to make it easier for people to get into hardware hacking. It's fun, and it's cheap enough you don't need to worry about break it. While it's not quite as simple as a arduino, for those of us who like Linux anyway, it makes it almost trivial to wire into all sorts of projects - Wireless Helicopters, Door badges, tiny webservers, etc. It's a great piece of kit, and a nice introduction into the embedded HW world.

blhack 14y ago
No, it is not helping people get into hardware hacking. There is no more "hardware hacking" going on here than there is on my macbook. Arduino AVR is helping people get into hardware. Raspberry pi is helping people build cheap netflix settop boxes. edit: maybe I'm jaded. We've got about 4 totally idle raspis at our hackerspace that have been donated by people who have no idea what to do with them, but bought them anyway. Yet, our stack of arduinos get use constantly.
- highsecurity 14y ago
  Well considering the pi can't run Netflix I would have to disagree with you. There are tons of hardware projects using the pi. I know of a few people locally that just got a pi and basic electronics kit to learn with. Arduino arduino arduino
- gokhan 14y ago
  MK808's might be a better alternative for that, with built-in wifi and male hdmi dongle type design. My son (6) got his pi as his first computer, we built a lego case for it and he gets excited everytime he connects peripherals. It may not be hw hacking for us, but it is for little folks.
  - blhack 14y ago
    See, that is really cool, and that is what the pi is for. It's not "hardware hacking" though, and there is nothing wrong with that.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  People are absolutely using Raspberry Pis where they would normally use arduinos: For just a taste: http://hackaday.com/category/raspberry-pi-2/ http://hackaday.com/category/raspberry-pi-2/ The HDMI port on mine has never been touched. I'm using it right now to control my roomba though its SCI interface. An uno with a wifi shield costs way more than a Raspberry Pi with a usb wifi dongle. Unless you need more GPIO pins or lower power consumption, Pis just make more sense.
  - blhack 14y ago
    Well then they're idiots. The raspi consumes ~500ma of current even when it's idle.
    - marshray 14y ago
      The project he linked to doesn't look like 500ma would matter much. Next time you spend $25 for an ATmega32, remember what you called those other people.
      - blhack 14y ago
        Totes $25 for an ATmega32: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/ATMEGA328-PU/ATMEGA328-PU-ND/2271026 http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/ATMEGA328-PU/ATMEGA... Try and pop the ARM chip off of your raspi and see how it works out.
        marshray 14y ago
        $24 ATmega32 http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Mega-MEGA-2560-Board/dp/B004A7H3DG/ http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Mega-MEGA-2560-Board/dp/B004A7... For ARM, I prefer to solder my own LQFP at about $7. http://twitpic.com/btvkmd http://twitpic.com/btvkmd You're right though, someday I'd love to be able to transplant BGA packages.
        CamperBob2 14y ago
        You're right though, someday I'd love to be able to transplant BGA packages. It can be done. Surface tension is a wonderful thing.
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  Raspberry pi is helping people build cheap netflix settop boxes. That's hardware hacking. In reality, those of us who don't bring a pickaxe and a carbide lamp to work are just "systems integrators" anyway. Attitudes and titles don't pay the bills.
  - deelowe 14y ago
    Wha? There's a difference between SWE, EE/CE, and IT. The community around the pi is more for the IT crowd. I see very few using the gpio pins for anything, though that does seem to be getting marginally better. Most of the value in the pi is the video decoder. So, that's the types of projects it gets used for.
    - flurie 14y ago
      FWIW, I and many of my friends (who admittedly deal primarily with hardware) find the gpio a big draw. The machine is cheaper and more useful than an arduino after you've thrown in an ethernet shield. I got one to serve as a doorbell router.
      - deelowe 14y ago
        Yeah. I'd like to get one for this reason too, but I'm also eyeing the new arm devices that are starting to show up.
- koralatov 14y ago
  Raspberry pi is helping people build cheap netflix settop boxes. ... edit: maybe I'm jaded. We've got about 4 totally idle raspis at our hackerspace that have been donated by people who have no idea what to do with them, but bought them anyway. I'd agree with that, based on my own personal experience. Of the several people I know who have them, half have no clue what to do with it, and the other half are using them as tiny media centres. There's definitely not much hardware hacking going on. And I can understand it, to be honest. I can't think of a good use for one that isn't already covered ably by some other computer I have. Media centre? Xbox plus external hard-disk does the job. Small *nix box? Better off using my MacBook -- it's got everything built-in. The best idea I came up with was a mini backup server connected to my router that pulls power from its spare USB port, but even then, it's easier just to plug in an external HD once in a while, or dump things onto one of the SD cards I have in rotation.

vasco 14y ago

It's a milestone. It represents the success of the platform and reaffirms the strong community and large userbase.

fnordfnordfnord 14y ago
It also re-affirms the business model of creating a super-cheap yet capable development platform, and then not attempting to extract max profit from it.
- koralatov 14y ago
  I'm not really sure you could call that a `business model': the Raspberry Pi Foundation is a charity, so by definition they aren't out to make a profit. I'm not sure the Raspberry Pi would even exist in the first place if a for-profit company was responsible for making it. It certainly wouldn't be so cheap, and as a result, unlikely to be so successful.

numbsafari 14y ago

In a world where devices are getting smaller and smaller, and hobbyist PC computers are going the way of hobbyist automobiles, the RPi offers a cool choice of open hardware you can really play with. This is a milestone I wish they had hit sooner by trying to solve their supply chain problems. On a personal note, I don't want a replaceable battery or hackable ROM on my phone. I want that thing locked down tight, and small as possible. I'd rather "hack" a $35 board than a $600 phone.

sushantsharma 14y ago
Thanks for the responses.