5 ms·

> Does it bother anyone else that anyone who thought they would "only sell 1,000" had to be exceptionally dense? A blindness to the marketability of a $35 linux

by sown 14y ago

> Does it bother anyone else that anyone who thought they would "only sell 1,000" had to be exceptionally dense? A blindness to the marketability of a $35 linux computer stuns me, Not totally. There was beagleboard and other such systems that were also popular with DIY/Makers, that could also run linux that could run fancy graphics, and were $50-$100 but they never took off like Rasp Pi has. Perhaps it was just the right time. I also seem to remember that there were better PR. Words like 'credit-card sized' and 'desktop replacement' seemed to appear along with RaspPi more often whereas BeagleBoard had "embedded system" and "OMAP" and other technical jargon. Less consumer oriented so journalists couldn't relate to it and hence it didn't get as much exposure.

ChuckMcM 14y ago
The BeagleBoard was a $150 board the Pandaboard $180, the "Chumby" was hackable at around $150 but not HD video. The price was important. It is below the 'impulse' buy price for gainfully employed engineers. Most embedded systems are $200+ have complex setups, usually a costly IDE setup. They presented a pretty step learning curve, and even though valuable the challenge is the cost risk. If you see a mousetrap that costs 1/10th your current mousetrap many folks are inclined to at least try it :-)
- sown 14y ago
  Hmm...I guess my memory isn't so keen. Maybe I was thinking of another system. It was called 'cherry' something but it was under but closer to $100. But I see your point. Incidentally that 1/10th cost is one of the reasons I want to get into designing hardware so if you have pointers on that, it'd be helpful. :)
  - gmrple 14y ago
    What kind of hardware(put parts on a pcb, design analog ICs, design digital ICs, something else?), and what do you know already?
- jamesjporter 14y ago
  Hell it was in the impulse buy range for me and I'm a college student! :)
stock_toaster 14y ago
I think the scarcity also made it more newsworthy. I remember seeing blog posts and news items with comments like "I finally got one!".
noonespecial 14y ago
It was the price that made it special. There were (and still are) dozens of boards just like Pi's with better specs but they all cost around $100. There's a certain price at which something becomes "consumable" and you can buy one for each project instead of buying "the one" that gets moved from project to project. That bright line makes all the difference. They are damn lucky they started with the $35 one and not the $25 one like they planned. It would have been (will be) much harder to keep up with demand when they become the same price as Arduino.

by sown 14y ago

ChuckMcM 14y ago

The BeagleBoard was a $150 board the Pandaboard $180, the "Chumby" was hackable at around $150 but not HD video. The price was important. It is below the 'impulse' buy price for gainfully employed engineers. Most embedded systems are $200+ have complex setups, usually a costly IDE setup. They presented a pretty step learning curve, and even though valuable the challenge is the cost risk. If you see a mousetrap that costs 1/10th your current mousetrap many folks are inclined to at least try it :-)

sown 14y ago
Hmm...I guess my memory isn't so keen. Maybe I was thinking of another system. It was called 'cherry' something but it was under but closer to $100. But I see your point. Incidentally that 1/10th cost is one of the reasons I want to get into designing hardware so if you have pointers on that, it'd be helpful. :)
- gmrple 14y ago
  What kind of hardware(put parts on a pcb, design analog ICs, design digital ICs, something else?), and what do you know already?
jamesjporter 14y ago
Hell it was in the impulse buy range for me and I'm a college student! :)

stock_toaster 14y ago

I think the scarcity also made it more newsworthy. I remember seeing blog posts and news items with comments like "I finally got one!".

noonespecial 14y ago

It was the price that made it special. There were (and still are) dozens of boards just like Pi's with better specs but they all cost around $100. There's a certain price at which something becomes "consumable" and you can buy one for each project instead of buying "the one" that gets moved from project to project. That bright line makes all the difference. They are damn lucky they started with the $35 one and not the $25 one like they planned. It would have been (will be) much harder to keep up with demand when they become the same price as Arduino.