Raspberry Pi $25 Linux Computer Now In Production (Video)

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Raspberry Pi $25 Linux Computer Now In Production (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on Tuesday January 17, 2012 @12:38AM from the cheap-computing-at-its-finest dept.

Timothy Lord caught up with Raspberry Pi product leader Eben Upton at CES. The long-awaited $25 Linux single-board computers are finally being shipped from the Chinese factory where they're being assembled and will be available for sale in just a few weeks. Eben talks not only about the Raspberry Pi boards and the add-on Gertboard, but about the eBay auction that helped finance Raspberry Pi. Timothy says he considers Eben Upton one of his "personal tech-world heroes." After watching this video, maybe he'll be one of yours, too. Read on below to watch.

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Warning ! by psergiu · 2012-01-17 00:39 · Score: 5, Informative

Remember, the 1st batch of 10000 Raspberry Pi boards will ONLY be available from http://www.raspberrypi.com/ (you can order some nice stickers in the meantime)
Be aware that scam sites (like http://www.systemsofhull.co.uk/raspberry-model-p-261.html) have begun to pop-up. :-(

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1. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 00:53 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  My analysis of web analytics shows that given a link, someone percentage of people will click it.
  Even if you explicitly say it's a scam, some people will click that link, AND fall for it.
  And this even goes for sites with allegedly intelligent and tech savy demographics.
2. Re:Warning ! by Tsingi · 2012-01-17 01:08 · Score: 1
  
  Too bad the account entry is screwed up at their site. Won't let me create the account without entering a state or province, and while there is a prompt, there is no associated entry widget.
3. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:21 · Score: 0
  
  The first batch will only be available 1 to an address. How Systems of Hull expect to be able to buy them in to order in able to resell them is a mystery. If they cannot get hold of a product but are advertising it to resell, then that probably classes as a scam. That makes you the wanker, and a cunt.
4. Re:Warning ! by psergiu · 2012-01-17 01:25 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Mr. Andrew Lamb (trading as Systems Of Hull),
  Read the announcements on the official Raspberry Pi site - they have NOT made any deals with any resellers.
  Also on the forum thread discussing this particular scam - the phone number given it's disconnected and the address of the presumed shop it's for an appartment complex.
  Next time you try to scam people, at least be more beliveable.
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
5. Re:Warning ! by hitmark · 2012-01-17 01:28 · Score: 1
  
  Seems to work ok here.
  
  --
  comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
6. Re:Warning ! by psergiu · 2012-01-17 01:31 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Whoopsie.
  Do NOT click the 2nd link, people !
  :-)
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
7. Re:Warning ! by tangelogee · 2012-01-17 01:40 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Do NOT click the 2nd link, people !
  Great, now I HAVE to click it! Stupid reverse psychology...
  :-)
8. Re:Warning ! by Tsingi · 2012-01-17 01:47 · Score: 2
  
  Seems to work ok here.
  Yeah, it works if I allow scripts globally. I don't see any particular source that I should be including and the list of blocked sources is a list I would like to stay blocked.
  When I allowed scripts globally (for a few seconds) An Amazon tab I had open went nuts.
  Blocked sites (12) are from google, amazon, ebay, facebook, openmedia.ca (?) visualwebsiteoptimizer.com (possibly the culprit), stumbleupon, and twitter.
  Anyway, I'll give creating an account another try sometime in the future. Maybe they will clean up the XSS enough to allow the form to be filled out. And maybe they won't
9. Re:Warning ! by LikwidCirkel · 2012-01-17 01:50 · Score: 1
  
  Aren't all the gerbers and design files published royalty-free? What's stopping someone from manufacturing their own? I don't even think the RP community would care - the more devices out there the better.
10. Re:Warning ! by drinkypoo · 2012-01-17 01:54 · Score: 1
  
  I don't allow global and it worked for me. I allow most of google, ebay, and amazon though.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
11. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 02:06 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The main problem is that the SoC is difficult/impossible to buy in anything other than enormous quantities. Some of the Raspberry Pi people work at Broadcom, so they're in a slightly better negotiating position than everyone else.
12. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 02:13 · Score: 0
  
  good luck with that. I hope you have about $10,000,000 lying around to buy the SoC as Broadcom don't deal with anything less than an order of 1,000,000 give or take and the SoC isn't something you could change easily. Then we have thee PoP memory. Hope you have a very steady hand to solder them
13. Re:Warning ! by xaxa · 2012-01-17 02:15 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  God you Slashdotters really are paranoid nutjobs, aren't you? Yes, I AM ANDREW LAMB. Moron. Thanks for proving my whole "crying wolf when he gets confused" theory beyond a doubt.
  Funny, I thought the Raspberry Pi design was open-source. Funny kind of open-source if you all call "scam" on anyone who builds & sells them himself ... but hey, you found out his business address is his home address. Damn garage operations, they should all be closed down in favour of corporations.
  If you are Andrew Lamb, you're hardly going to get customers with an attitude like that.
  You should demonstrate how you're going to fulfil orders. The thread on the forums points out the problems -- why not respond to them?
  Here's the best post from that thread:
  
  1) He claims to be VAT registered but doesn't seem to want to state his VAT number. That is a bit strange. I think I will ring up HMRC and check he is registered. I hope he is otherwise he is committing tax fraud.
  2) In his terms and conditions he states "All items are covered by a manufacturers 12 month warranty. If an item develops a fault it is best to request an RMA directly with the manufacturer." WRONG!. UK consumer law makes it crystal clear the seller is responsible for goods sold not the manufacturer. It is the sellers duty to mess about with the manufacturer.
  3) He is advertising a product he can not honestly expect to have in stock. I suspect he will take people's money and simply tread water until he can get his hands on enough units to send out to people. This could take months and months.
  4) He is selling products based on the PI that don't exist yet. I suspect he will simply grab the first "in-car entertainment" project that comes along and sell that. Nice.
  5) He is profiting on a charity selling devices. He is doing nothing than attempting to make £4 for doing nothing other than adding delay and bureaucracy.
14. Re:Warning ! by petermgreen · 2012-01-17 02:22 · Score: 1
  
  They have talked about releasing them but I don't think they have actually done so yet.
  Plus as the AC says broadcom don't like dealing with small operations (the pi guys are getting a break because they have a guy on the inside) so even when released they will be of limited utility.
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
15. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 02:53 · Score: 0
  
  u mad
16. Re:Warning ! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-01-17 03:13 · Score: 2
  
  Aside from the SoC procurement issues, I suspect that the demand for 3rd party spins might be fairly small(not zero; but fairly small): The Raspberry Pi people seem to be shooting for lowest cost, so there isn't a lot of pure margin for a 3rd party to cut into and manufacturing cheaper than the guys who are already attempting to manufacture cheap is going to be tricky.
  
  With something like the Arduino, there was definitely room for a bunch of 3rd-party spins: the original was pretty expensive, included a lot of arguably optional parts; but was simple enough that redesigns were doable: hence the versions that could be constructed single-layer, through-hole only, the size-minimized 'shieldless' versions, the versions without USB-serial or RS232-TTL converters, etc.
  
  It's a pity, really; because there are definitely some niche-focused spins of the board that I would like to see; but it will have to get pretty enormously popular before that is likely, and pure clones would be a cutthroat business to get into...
17. Re:Warning ! by ArsenneLupin · 2012-01-17 03:33 · Score: 1
  
  Do NOT click the 2nd link, people !
  Great, now I HAVE to click it! Stupid reverse psychology...
  It's only a boring old electronics shop. No goat, no bathtub, no lemons, no nothing. Please move along.
18. Re:Warning ! by ArsenneLupin · 2012-01-17 03:34 · Score: 1
  
  Oh, and no cup of chocolate ice-cream either!
19. Re:Warning ! by Crookdotter · 2012-01-17 03:35 · Score: 1
  
  The PI guys themselves have said that a dream would be if a chinese operator reverse engineered it and started spewing out millions. They don't care, they are not for profit, and if the SoC can only be got from broadcom, maybe they will see massive orders for it, or it is fully reverse engineered and an open solution to what is I believe a closed system is created.
20. Re:Warning ! by ArsenneLupin · 2012-01-17 03:37 · Score: 0
  
  That makes you the wanker, and a cunt.
  Please explain: how to you wank a cunt? Or are you accusing her of being a stirrer?
21. Re:Warning ! by petermgreen · 2012-01-17 03:52 · Score: 1
  
  I just did a search for "raspberry pi gerbers" and all I found was one low res image of the complete stack (with lower layers mostly obscured and tracks run together by the resoloution limit) which would be completely useless for actually making the thing.
  If it's successful it will probablly be cloned eventually regardless of if the gerbers are released or not but it will be by a company with connections and expertise, most likely in the far east. Not by some guy in an appartment complex in hull and unless it's one of their own parters who does it almost certainly not by the middle of febuary.
  At best this guy is a reseller trying to cream off some profit from the pi with a delivery promise he is unlikely to meet (unless the pi flops), at worst the thing is one big scam.
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
22. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 04:30 · Score: 0
  
  Clicked! :P
  Woah goodie, and it doesn't even look like a scam! now there's this nigerian prince that wants to give me all his money! cool! all i need to do is advance the transfert fees? no problemo!! hey eveybody here's my credit card and social security number : 1313 4567 2234 , valid till 6th of june 2013 and the code on the back is 123!! wow great link man!! love it
23. Re:Warning ! by sexconker · 2012-01-17 05:08 · Score: 0
  
  The main problem is that the SoC is difficult/impossible to buy in anything other than enormous quantities. Some of the Raspberry Pi people work at Broadcom, so they're in a slightly better negotiating position than everyone else.
  What a joke.
  "It's open source! But you need this chip, and you have to buy a billion of them! Not us, though, we're in cahoots, I mean, collaboration with Broadcom because we work there!"
  The system on a chip isn't special. Any 3rd-world manufacturer can shit one out. Same goes for the RAM.
  The only thing that makes it likely for the other site to be a scam is the fact that nobody gives a fucking shit about the Raspberry-Turd. This is the fucking $99 laptop for poor kids all over again. But nerds get excited every single time this shit comes up. OH LOOK, a little computer I can almost browse the web with. In a week it'll be stuck in a drawer somewhere entangled in a mass of Bucky Balls.
24. Re:Warning ! by John+Hasler · 2012-01-17 05:21 · Score: 1
  
  I gave up on creating an account for the same reason.
  
  --
  Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
25. Re:Warning ! by John+Hasler · 2012-01-17 05:25 · Score: 1
  
  It may just be typical bungled page design. I have Firefox configured to enforce a 16 pt minimum font size, which causes many sites to garble themselves. Oh, well. I can't really afford such toys anyway.
  
  --
  Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
26. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 06:26 · Score: 0
  
  I did and nothing happened, you insensitive fear monegering clod!
27. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 06:44 · Score: 0
  
  The fact that aspects of this project are open-source have nothing to do with the hardware sourcing requirements of its parts.
  Usually when you purchase 10,000 pieces of a given component it costs less than 100 pieces. Some companies don't want to bother with customers buying less than 100,000 pieces even. Reportedly the Raspberry Pi foundation got a deal from Broadcom enabling them to purchase 10,000 bcm2835 SOCs in order to use in the Raspberry Pi. The scam website reportedly selling this device most likely does not have the capital required to purchase even at the qty level that the foundation did. That is why people are calling that site a scam.
  The Raspberry Pi fills a different niche than the OLPC project. The Raspberry Pi is intended by the Raspberry Pi foundation to be a cheap ($25/$35) computer children can buy to tinker with and learn to program on. It is not laptop. It is not portable. It has no display or keyboard. Is is less expensive than the OLPC and more hardware hacking friendly than the OLPC. It's a very inexpensive bare platform perfect for tinkering with.
28. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 06:55 · Score: 0
  
  The main problem is that the SoC is difficult/impossible to buy in anything other than enormous quantities. Some of the Raspberry Pi people work at Broadcom, so they're in a slightly better negotiating position than everyone else.
  So...no data-sheet on the main SoC? No thanks, I'll pass. There are lots of documented devices to use at work *and* play.
29. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 07:01 · Score: 0
  
  Please see http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/general-discussion/order-placed-very-excited/page-3 for the real Andy's response
30. Re:Warning ! by LuxuryYacht · 2012-01-17 07:31 · Score: 1
  
  Don't be fooled and give them credit just for saying so. If they really wanted it copied in China they would release gerbers and the drill tool files. If they don't care then they could also post the schematic source files and the pcb layout files. This would save somebody the work of having to do it all over again. But as you notice there are no such publicly posted files.
  
  --
  Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur
31. Re:Warning ! by psergiu · 2012-01-17 08:53 · Score: 1
  
  Looks like Systems of Hull is not a scam, just the result of a badly uninformed enthusiast.
  See his reply on the Raspberry Pi forum:
  http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/general-discussion/order-placed-very-excited/page-3
  Post 52, by Andy Lamb
  
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32. Re:Warning ! by dgriff · 2012-01-17 09:00 · Score: 2
  
  And if you keep reading that thread you will find a post from the real Andrew Lamb which is so utterly different in tone that it is clear that the AC post is a troll by some sad bastard.
33. Re:Warning ! by underqualified · 2012-01-17 11:59 · Score: 1
  
  And here's his apology from his own site.
34. Re:Warning ! by jc79 · 2012-01-18 08:39 · Score: 1
  
  The only thing that makes it likely for the other site to be a scam is the fact that nobody gives a fucking shit about the Raspberry-Turd. This is the fucking $99 laptop for poor kids all over again. But nerds get excited every single time this shit comes up. OH LOOK, a little computer I can almost browse the web with. In a week it'll be stuck in a drawer somewhere entangled in a mass of Bucky Balls.
  Who pissed on your biscuits? What's wrong with incredibly cheap systems intended for educational use? That "$99 dollar laptop for poor kids" was responsible for creating a whole market sector (netbooks). The Raspberry Pi could have an even greater impact.
35. Re:Warning ! by jc79 · 2012-01-18 08:41 · Score: 1
  
  They have released the gerbers for the beta board. I'd link to it, but their site is blacked out today as part of the SOPA protest.
36. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 18:11 · Score: 0
  
  Can't comprehend sarcasm, eh? You're either Japanese or autistic. Which one?
37. Re:Warning ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 02:18 · Score: 0
  
  The site is fine. The thread on the Raspberry PI forum was closed before the issue was fully explained and resolved. I was one of the posters in that thread and I am happy to state that my concerns have been addressed. Partly by other posters, partly by contacting the owner and partly by having more time to think.
  The poster on this site pretending to be the owner of systemsofhull really needs to get a hobby. Perhaps programming a Raspberry PI ?
  For anyone reading this I think systemsofhull should be judged by their service after the devices are actually available and not before.
38. Re:Warning ! by MattHawkins · 2012-01-19 02:43 · Score: 1
  
  I am the author of the 5 points above.
  I have his VAT number and can confirm it is valid.
  I am happy that Andy has taken on board all the points raised. My main concern was him offering a device without knowing exactly when he could get stock or when he could meet orders. This was mainly down to enthusiasm and not a deliberate attempt to disappoint anyone. He is going to take a look at his terms and conditions regarding warranty. I think he intended to make it clear it might be quicker to contact the manufacturer and to not simply wash his hands of any issues.
  Some people assumed he we claiming to have secured stock when we all knew there were no official resellers at this stage. Once stock is flowing anyone is free to resell. It will probably be encouraged.
  I would have posted this on the R-PI forum but they closed the thread.
What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by sethstorm · 2012-01-17 00:40 · Score: 1

While there were concerns about not being able to build it in the UK, what would it have been if they managed to do so?

--
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
1. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by s0litaire · 2012-01-17 00:51 · Score: 1
  
  Main problem with building it in the UK is that:
  It would be $10-$15 more expensive
  and you'd have to wait 2-3 Months to get one rather than 2-3 weeks!!
  
  --
  Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
2. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 00:52 · Score: 0
  
  If it was Apple instead of Raspberry I'd have said $25 for the US market and £25 for us.
3. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by TheRaven64 · 2012-01-17 00:55 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  and you'd have to wait 2-3 Months to get one rather than 2-3 weeks!!
  There's some precedent for this in the UK. Some of the original Sinclair systems were sold for almost exactly the cost of production. They'd take the money, put it in the bank for a month, then buy the parts and build the machine for you. The interest that the money earned in that month was their profit margin.
  
  --
  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
4. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by dotancohen · 2012-01-17 00:59 · Score: 1
  
  Main problem with building it in the UK is that:
  It would be $10-$15 more expensive
  and you'd have to wait 2-3 Months to get one rather than 2-3 weeks!!
  That, _after_ the thing has shipped 7000 KM from "the far east". 40% more expensive and 400% more time to deliver, if the product is assembled locally in the UK. Need I draw conclusions?
  
  --
  It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
5. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by psergiu · 2012-01-17 01:05 · Score: 1
  
  Well, For UK it will be $25 + VAT + Royal Mail =~ £25
  US buyers will not pay VAT and only slightly more for P&P so they will get it cheaper :-)
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
6. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:08 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  You've ignored two reasons why it would be more expensive if made in the UK.
  Firstly, we don't make all the require components in the UK, so they'd have to be shipped in anyhow. This attracts an import tax.
  Secondly, and more relevantly, the import tax law is flawed; you don't have to pay tax on the items which pre-assembled, even if they are made from the same components which, seperately, would be taxed.
7. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Doc+Ruby · 2012-01-17 01:10 · Score: 1
  
  It doesn't take an hour to assemble one, and even in the UK assemblers of these kinds of parts don't make $15 an hour. And don't have 4-5x the latency of products shipped from a planet's width away.
  
  --
  --
  make install -not war
8. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by rtaylor · 2012-01-17 01:11 · Score: 1
  
  Shipping is cheap if you can fill a container. Depending on the size of the box it might be a penny to a nickel per unit.
  
  --
  Rod Taylor
9. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by chrb · 2012-01-17 01:17 · Score: 1
  
  You can conclude that manufacturing is cheaper in China, and that due to this many corporations have shifted their manufacturing there, and so Chinese factories are now bigger and more numerous, leading to increased production capacity... oh, and the cost of shipping small, light goods is dirt cheap. But we knew this already.
10. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:27 · Score: 0
  
  They covered this in a blog post on their site. Regardless of your impressions of what things should cost to make, the quotes from the UK based firms would have put them further behind schedule and losing money on each unit, whereas overseas assembly lets them put more money to their charitable goals while still hitting the long-set price points.
11. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by hitmark · 2012-01-17 01:30 · Score: 1
  
  There was a mention on the blog that importing the parts was more expensive that importing the completed device, for some odd reason. Seems the UK tax system is geared towards placating the City these days.
  
  --
  comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
12. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:37 · Score: 0
  
  You can also conclude that domestic production is actually penalized since the individual parts of the product attracts import tax, while the complete, manufactured overseas product does not. Isn't collusion between governement and big business wonderful?
13. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by psergiu · 2012-01-17 01:39 · Score: 1
  
  To sum up the post on the official site:
  - Small UK companies were offering faster assembly & low prices but a very low volume (hundreds per week)
  - Big UK companies were either not interested for runs under 100k or offered outrageously high quotes and demanded a huge wait time.
  Adding the component customs tax to this ... it's cheaper in China as the end product (computer board) has 0 customs tax according to EU laws.
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
14. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Canazza · 2012-01-17 01:51 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  this is the blog post: http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/509
  
  We investigated a number of possible UK manufacturers, but encountered a few problems, some of which made matters impossible. Firstly, the schedule for manufacture for every UK business we approached was between 12 and 14 weeks (compared to a 3-4 week turnaround in the Far East). That would have meant you’d be waiting three months rather than three weeks to buy your Raspberry Pi, and we didn’t think that was acceptable.
  Secondly, we found that pricing in the UK varied enormously with factories’ capacity. If a factory had sufficient capacity to do the work for us, they were typically quoting very high prices; we’d expected a delta between manufacture pricing between the UK and the Far East, but these build prices not only wiped out all our margin, but actually pushed us into the red. Some factories were able to offer us prices which were marginally profitable, but they were only able to produce at most a few hundred units a month; and even then, we were doing better by more than five dollars per unit if we moved that manufacture to the Far East. When you’re talking about tens of thousands of units per batch, losing that sum of money for the charity – a sum that we can spend on more manufacture, more outreach work and more research and development – just to be able to say we’d kept all the work in one country, starts to look irresponsible.
  I’d like to draw attention to one cost in particular that really created problems for us in Britain. Simply put, if we build the Raspberry Pi in Britain, we have to pay a lot more tax. If a British company imports components, it has to pay tax on those (and most components are not made in the UK). If, however, a completed device is made abroad and imported into the UK – with all of those components soldered onto it – it does not attract any import duty at all. This means that it’s really, really tax inefficient for an electronics company to do its manufacturing in Britain, and it’s one of the reasons that so much of our manufacturing goes overseas. Right now, the way things stand means that a company doing its manufacturing abroad, depriving the UK economy, gets a tax break. It’s an absolutely mad way for the Inland Revenue to be running things, and it’s an issue we’ve taken up with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
  
  --
  It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
15. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by xaxa · 2012-01-17 01:57 · Score: 1
  
  It doesn't take an hour to assemble one, and even in the UK assemblers of these kinds of parts don't make $15 an hour.
  PCB assembler, £7-7.15/hour, i.e. about $11/hour. (Minimum wage in the UK is £6.08/hour). Add in some overheads (cost of factory buildings and equipment, etc)...
16. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Lumpy · 2012-01-17 02:14 · Score: 2
  
  If you think someone will hand solder them you are nuts.
  Those boards are machine placed, paste solder globs placed and then oven reflow baked to make the BGA processor stick to the board.
  The only part that is hand assembled is putting the boards in a box after placing in the testing jig.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
17. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by petermgreen · 2012-01-17 02:28 · Score: 2
  
  for some odd reason.
  The problem is that duty levels are set to placate certain interests not to make the system make sense as a whole.
  Also afaict customs dutys are set by the EU as a whole not by indvidual countries which means there is even more beuracracy.
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
18. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 02:30 · Score: 0
  
  > It would be $10-$15 more expensive
  Import duty on components is 2.5%, so that's a mighty high estimate you have there buddy.
19. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by petermgreen · 2012-01-17 02:32 · Score: 1
  
  And don't have 4-5x the latency of products shipped from a planet's width away.
  It only takes a few days to fedex a package from china. When talking about timescales tomake and assemble a batch of 10K boards a few days is insignificant and it's not like the pi is big or heavy.
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
20. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Rockoon · 2012-01-17 02:50 · Score: 1
  
  ..then multiply by 2 to get the real cost per hour in labor.
  
  --
  "His name was James Damore."
21. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 03:12 · Score: 1
  
  Using Chinese labour for "charitable goals" is enslaving Peter to help Paul. The crap about checking locally and seeing they'd have made a loss is all misleading irrelevance: they clearly had already priced at a point which they knew could only be delivered through slave labour, whereas if they were generally interested in putting as much work in civilised nations as possible they'd have obtained quotes first and then priced based on that.
  I understand that some components cannot be produced here, and that is something which needs to be worked on over time. I understand that the tax situation is not favourable, and this is a perfect opportunity to provide a breakdown of costs to the purchaser so he sees how the British tax system is set up to favour offshoring and disadvantage the local business and worker - an absurd about turn on '70s protectionism.
22. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 04:06 · Score: 0
  
  The Raspberry Pi scam announced that it was too expensive to build outside China even though they'd clearly priced up for the cheapest possible Chinese labour before doing a genuine quote search.
  In fact, local electronics labourers don't get paid much at all (~£7/hour for SMT work), and component import taxes run around 2.5%. Still too much for the greedy "charitable" bastards not to want to teach kids that the electronics hobbyist is already fucked because he isn't living in China and he wants a decent standard of living.
  If Sophie WIlson and any of the rest of the old guard are still at Broadcom then shame on them. They got to practice and enjoy designing and building with a team of people close to them, reducing their reliance on billion pound infrastructures under questionable regimes and promoting local innovation. They clearly don't want to see those who follow them being able to do the same.
23. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by chrb · 2012-01-17 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  local electronics labourers don't get paid much at all (~£7/hour for SMT work)
  And electronics labourers in China get paid about £0.40/hour. About 5% of the cost of the British guy. It would be nice to having a manufacturing base in the West, but economically it isn't realistic anymore.
24. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by s0litaire · 2012-01-17 05:00 · Score: 1
  
  According to the guys at R-Pi, After the import tax, the actual cost of producing the boards would add at least and extra £5 ($7.50) to the cost of each board.
  So i over estimated a tad... ^_^
  
  --
  Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
25. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by DrXym · 2012-01-17 05:04 · Score: 1
  
  It's not even $25, it's $35. These are model B boards. I will not be surprised at all if they do cost £35 when VAT is added and then more for P&P. In fact if I were cynical I'd say the one easy way to make money of this endeavour is to overcharge for postage. Not a huge amount but maybe £1 or £2 more than is strictly necessary.
26. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 05:18 · Score: 1
  
  This would only be a deal-breaker if it had to take so long to complete each board that the device became prohibitively expensive with no opportunity to increase efficiency - not even with economies of scale. It ignores that we did fine with local labour up to 20-30 years ago with people being able to afford local prices.
  If electronics are cheaper today it is because we have more advanced techniques and we build to such quality as assumes individual electronic gadgets are less valuable. This was also the pattern from the '50s and the '80s while manufacturing remained local. What we have changed is the distribution of wealth: what was a payment for the worker and the shop owner is now a payment for the shop owner, for the Chinese government, for the transporter and for the shell of a foreign company which slaps on a markup for the West. British tax ensures it remains slightly cheaper, all things being equal, to assemble abroad - but for an educational project this hardly undermines the principle of being able to build stuff yourself and for the commercial market the markups are such as to hide the small differences in import tax.
  Britain still has a small and highly efficient manufacturing base but it is not for general consumer goods (cars excepted). But while the Chinese government has worked hand in hand with Chinese industry to build the modern, efficient factories which sell to the world, the British government has since 1979 consistently done quite the opposite, shunning manufacturing but supporting the shells which exploit offshore factories. So we have not been able to keep up with Chinese consumer grade efficiency. Whether you're paying £7.00 or £0.70 an hour to a hundred workers matters less than it might when you're in a high tech factory pouring out millions of widgets a year to sell across the world. What China has is a technocratic government which assumes the initial risk.
  Note also that your argument is similar to the one popular in dying western empires a good couple of millennia ago: that it is no longer "economically realistic" not to have slaves. It was also used to delay the liberation of black slaves in the Americas.
27. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by BeaverCleaver · 2012-01-17 09:43 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, I thought the skill involved in assembling surface-mount boards would be worth more than 7 pounds an hour. How much would I get paid for stacking shelves in a UK supermarket?
  
  --
  sustainable living
28. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by xaxa · 2012-01-17 11:58 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, I thought the skill involved in assembling surface-mount boards would be worth more than 7 pounds an hour. How much would I get paid for stacking shelves in a UK supermarket?
  Very slightly less -- £6.75 is the first figure I've found. (Right after a write-up of graduate work as a petrol station checkout assistant ...)
  http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Employer=Tesco_PLC/Hourly_Rate
  When I was 18, in 2004, I was paid about £7/hour for cleaning a factory (mopping up oil from around machines). That was completely unskilled -- they just checked I understood what the safety signs meant (which is easy in Europe, they're all pictograms) and gave me a mop. I asked the employment agency why that was better paid than the £5.50/hr (minimum, back then) I got for a different, slightly more skilled job (many more instructions to follow, variety of tasks). He said the cleaning was "man's" work, and the other job for men and women. Hopefully he just meant that there were more people willing to stick with the less-tiring job, so they didn't need to pay so much. (It obviously wasn't "man's" work. I was so scrawny many girls my age were as strong as I was...)
29. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by darronb · 2012-01-17 12:07 · Score: 1
  
  This.
  We are working on a single board Linux system based on a Freescale ARM chip as part of an industrial control system. It's got a bit more than the Pi, but it's -way- more expensive. Luckily for us the value isn't as much in the SBC but the system it's a part of.
  Just the assembly of the board costs TWICE AS MUCH AS THE COMPONENTS at the 25-50 unit level from a high quality but relatively very cheap US assembler.
  Once we move out of beta into hundreds of units, the cost of outsourced assembly may come down to parity with the component costs.
30. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by hitmark · 2012-01-17 13:35 · Score: 1
  
  So there potentially would be a import duty difference if one could find a supplier within EU, rather than outside?
  
  --
  comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
31. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by petermgreen · 2012-01-17 13:47 · Score: 1
  
  There is no import duty on any products within the EU (there is "excise duty" on a few products but nothing of relavence here), only when product from outside the EU enters the EU.
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
32. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by hitmark · 2012-01-17 13:56 · Score: 1
  
  Ah yes, silly me. Still makes no sense that a finished product from outside would have less of a import duty than the part for same. One would think that both Brussels and London wants to keep some European industry going.
  
  --
  comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
33. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 22:18 · Score: 0
  
  Blimey. You are a bit bitter.
  1. It's not a scam.
  2. It wasn't only the tax issue that causes production to go overseas. The original plan to manufacture in UK was trashed by someone pulling out of a deal.
  3) Foundation spent some time trying to find an alternative UK manufacturer. For reasons stated on the site, this proved to be impossible whilst still keeping to the advertised price and sensible timescales. They are still keeping an eye in case manufacture can move back to the UK.
  4) Sophie Wilson still works at Broadcom, although has nothing to do with the project, or the SoC used.
34. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by jc79 · 2012-01-18 08:44 · Score: 1
  
  Isn't collusion between governement and big business wonderful?
  Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by incompetence.
35. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by jc79 · 2012-01-18 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  Given that they are a charitable foundation, on what do you think they will spend this hypothetical money made from overcharging?
36. Re:What would have been the cost to be UK-built? by jc79 · 2012-01-18 08:51 · Score: 1
  
  Please log in next time, AC. Your comment is informative and insightful, yet you are likely to be filtered out by most people, who browse at +1.
Ardino competitor? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 00:44 · Score: 1

This is the first I've heard of this.
So, this is basically an Ardino competitor? For half the price?
I was hoping this was something to put a monitor, keyboard and mouse on - as is - and have a $25 Linux PC.
1. Re:Ardino competitor? by dave420 · 2012-01-17 00:46 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  It is a Â£25 Linux PC.
2. Re:Ardino competitor? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 00:48 · Score: 0
  
  I truly hope you are a troll...
  If not i fear for America...
3. Re:Ardino competitor? by lucidlyTwisted · 2012-01-17 00:49 · Score: 1
  
  That's what you have with the Pi - a full GNU/Linux system. There's demos of it doing all kinds of crazy stuff, e.g. running Quake.
  About the only thing it does not come with is an enclosure.
  And if you are confused about price variations - that's because there are two model.
  I can't wait to get my hands on one.
4. Re:Ardino competitor? by klingens · 2012-01-17 00:54 · Score: 2
  
  It's not an Arduino competitor but runs a normal, general purpose Linux distro of your choice.
  However, you also have to provide an enclosure, a SD card and a 5V charger with USB plug for power.
5. Re:Ardino competitor? by Doc+Ruby · 2012-01-17 01:08 · Score: 1
  
  If it's not fully assembled on my receipt, I'd like to assemble it myself and save even more money with an even cheaper device. Why pay for Chinese assemblers and shipping through China?
  
  --
  --
  make install -not war
6. Re:Ardino competitor? by Joce640k · 2012-01-17 01:26 · Score: 1
  
  Apart from the price, the overlap with Arduino is pretty small.
  
  --
  No sig today...
7. Re:Ardino competitor? by ajo_arctus · 2012-01-17 01:31 · Score: 1
  
  I suspect that it's actually far cheaper and easier to ship you an assembled board than an unassembled board. Shipping stuff like this over from China in a container is really cheap. Also, to disrupt the manufacturing process and ship a bag of bits would add extra cost because that's actually harder to automate.
  If you get the Gert board that they mention (a break-out board that gives you lots of IO options for hardware projects) you do get to assemble that yourself :)
8. Re:Ardino competitor? by LoRdTAW · 2012-01-17 01:33 · Score: 1
  
  I was hoping this was something to put a monitor, keyboard and mouse on - as is - and have a $25 Linux PC.
  It is.
  Not all small, bare PCB embedded devices are Arduino's. The two are completely different animals.
9. Re:Ardino competitor? by Joce640k · 2012-01-17 01:47 · Score: 1
  
  That's what you have with the Pi - a full GNU/Linux system.
  I don't know about "full"...I suspect that having limited RAM and running off an SD card will blunt the user experience a bit.
  
  --
  No sig today...
10. Re:Ardino competitor? by psergiu · 2012-01-17 01:48 · Score: 2
  
  If you are able to solder by yourself BGA package-on-package components, congratulations. Over 99.9% of the potential buyers are not, so it will only come pre-assembled.
  You DO have to reach for the soldering iron if you want to use the GPIO,SPI,I2C & UART pins to connect a 1.27mm pitch header to the board.
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
11. Re:Ardino competitor? by Lumpy · 2012-01-17 02:16 · Score: 1
  
  "So, this is basically an Ardino competitor?"
  This thing will kick the arduinos ass to the moon and back and then curb stomp it so hard it's not funny.
  Arduino is a 3rd graders toy compared to this.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
12. Re:Ardino competitor? by PopeRatzo · 2012-01-17 02:16 · Score: 2
  
  If it's not fully assembled on my receipt, I'd like to assemble it myself and save even more money with an even cheaper device. Why pay for Chinese assemblers and shipping through China?
  Then why pay for the board at all? First, you get your hands on some silicon...
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
13. Re:Ardino competitor? by petermgreen · 2012-01-17 02:35 · Score: 1
  
  The primary chip on this thing is a mobile phone chip in a fine pitch (think it's probablly 0.5mm) BGA with ram mounted on-top in a POP configuration. I'd think the number of hobbyists who could reliablly solder such a thing is tiny and all the failures would make a customer service nightmare.
  Plus broadcom don't seem to like letting the general public have thier chips for some reason.
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
14. Re:Ardino competitor? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-01-17 03:19 · Score: 1
  
  I'm guessing that the Gumstix guys might not be too happy, though. Their stuff is super nifty; but ends up being about a factor of ten more, once you get enough boards connected to do some I/O...
15. Re:Ardino competitor? by SenseiLeNoir · 2012-01-17 03:54 · Score: 1
  
  Different devices/different purposes.
  I have an arduino, and I am still getting this. The PI is useful as a general "computer" device. The arduino is better for direct control of hardware etc. Put the two together, either via USB/Serial, or SPI/I2C, and you have a mean thing going.
  
  --
  Have a nice day!
Imagine a beowulf cluster of these! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:04 · Score: 1

On a USB hub!
1. Re:Imagine a beowulf cluster of these! by psergiu · 2012-01-17 01:50 · Score: 1
  
  Won't work - The Raspberry Pi USB ports are host-only.
  But you can have one on a switch (with Rev.B)
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
Even Cheaper DIY? by Doc+Ruby · 2012-01-17 01:06 · Score: 2

They're assembling these in Chinese factories. Which are cheap, but not $0. They're shipped from there to the consumers in EU and US (and others), which also costs more than $0 each.
If hobbyists could assemble them ourselves, they could be even cheaper than $25. And it's primarily hobbyists who are their market. How about it?

--
--
make install -not war
1. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by robthebloke · 2012-01-17 01:12 · Score: 2
  
  Depends where you are in the world. The Pi isn't being made in the UK because you pay a flat fee on each component imported. It's far cheaper to simply pay the fee once for the complete product....
2. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by Sollord · 2012-01-17 01:13 · Score: 1
  
  You are talented enough at soldiering that you can do the work for the CPU, SD card, and hdmi port? Damn your good.
3. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by ledow · 2012-01-17 01:16 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  I think you miss the point -
  It costs less to create and assemble the full product elsewhere and send it to the EU/US than it would do to buy the parts in the EU/US or have it assembled in the EU/US.
  There's a post on their blog about this exact issue with regards to tax. Components taxed, finished product untaxed, with regards to importing things from abroad.
  And unless the difference was HUGE, it wouldn't be worth doing it even if you could - people would expect a reduced price if they are DIY, but you wouldn't be able to ONLY reduce it by as much as it costs to assemble (because that's literally pence on an assembly line in a factory doing them all day). You really want to DIY it for $0.50 cheaper than buying a finished product? The admin costs alone would make it less profitable already. Most of the cost is in the components.
  This is pretty much why China makes 99% of the stuff we see in the shops. For crazy tax reasons, and the fact that they produce in bulk, quicker (did you not see that the UK production would take 2-3 months instead of 2-3 weeks?) and cheaper, it's easier to send designs to China, have them source components, assemble them, test them and ship them to EU/US than it ever would be to do even one part of the process in the EU/US.
  If you don't believe me, have a look at the OpenPandora project - still about 2-3 years behind schedule and the price has rocketed because they didn't bother to keep tabs on a large US company they used (which resulted in higher costs, poor reliability, thousands of PCB's sitting idle and rottiing before they could be soldered, etc.) and they had to switch to Germany to finish off the very first batch still and things are *STILL* taking months. But the components from the Chinese companies they used have been available since day one (putting aside stupid project management issues like expecting a Chinese factory to make thousands of cables from a unique design after a 3-year wait with no word from the OP team, and expecting the same price to do so as you were quoted at the start).
4. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by Crookdotter · 2012-01-17 01:19 · Score: 1
  
  It cannot be assembled by the hobbyist. Most places that assemble boards would struggle with it. It requires machine assembly of a precise nature due to small components and the mounting thereof apparently. No kits.
5. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:22 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  They are basically impossible for hobbyists to assemble without specialised equipment. Soldering is done by reflow - the company would need to supply a solder mask stencil to every purchaser. These are usually made from stainless steel, are reused hundreds or thousands of times, and can be more expensive to produce than a single circuit board. For highest reliability, most components require specific temperature profile curves to be followed in a programmable reflow oven. If you mess up the soldering of a BGA chip, they need to be removed and reballed, which is very difficult without specialised equipment. Automated circuit board assembly is very efficient - components are supplied on reels or on trays and are placed by a robot. For a kit, someone would need to count out, pack, and label each component - the kit market is comparatively small, so there aren't industrial sized machines that will do this automatically. So even if you could buy a kit, it would probably be more expensive than a fully assembled board, and there would be a minuscule chance of it working the first time. If you did actually have the skills and equipment to assemble such a board at home, you would know that the assembled price is so low that it would not be worth your time.
6. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by Sollord · 2012-01-17 01:23 · Score: 1
  
  I was being sarcastic... :P
7. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by JoeMerchant · 2012-01-17 01:29 · Score: 1
  
  They're assembling these in Chinese factories. Which are cheap, but not $0. They're shipped from there to the consumers in EU and US (and others), which also costs more than $0 each.
  If hobbyists could assemble them ourselves, they could be even cheaper than $25. And it's primarily hobbyists who are their market. How about it?
  I think they've addressed this on the Pi website... BGA soldering is not much of a hobbyist endeavour. Also, you'd be surprised how import duties applied per component add up when buying a parts kit compared to a single board - contact your local lawmaker about the idiocy of that particular law and what it's doing for local manufacturing (of course, some bright politician probably thinks it's better for the country to offshore all that filthy manufacturing and let the peasants go back to mining coal or whatever it was they did before factories...)
8. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by bigrockpeltr · 2012-01-17 01:38 · Score: 1
  
  A cautionary note for people hoping to build these devices themselves – I don’t believe it’s feasible to assemble it manually, and the PoP memory configuration we use is beyond the reach even of some professional assembly houses. - Eben
  he wrote this in one of his answers in the interview that is linked in the summary
  
  --
  $ unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes,fsck,fsck,fsck,umount, sleep
9. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by Alioth · 2012-01-17 01:40 · Score: 1
  
  It's not actually that hard. I've hand soldered fine pitch SMD devices (0.4mm pitch LQFP, 0.5mm TQFP / TSSOP etc) with just a normal soldering iron with a normal pointy tip, and many people are hand soldering QFN (leadless). BGA is a bit more of a challenge, but the people who make the Schmartboard have tutorials on how to solder BGAs to their boards and it doesn't look all that hard. The real problem with BGA is re-work - you can't inspect them, and if there's a bad solder joint, you can't fix it without removing, reballing and resoldering the whole device (which is why I avoid doing BGA myself).
  
  --
  Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
10. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:46 · Score: 1
  
  Schmartboard only go down to 1mm pitch BGA, the SoC is 0.4. This picture was posted on the RaspberryPi site.
  http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w143/JamesHughes_photos/RaspberryPi/2011-10-01-018.jpg
  If you can solder that, nice going....
11. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by petermgreen · 2012-01-17 02:14 · Score: 1
  
  If you are going to bitch about the customs issue please at least learn what you are talking about. Customs duty is a percentage not a per-item fee.
  The problem is that the percentage varies by "type of goods", the complete assembly falls under a category that attracts no duty whereas at least some of the component parts fall under categories that do attract duty.
  Unfortunately because the Pi guys haven't released either thier BOM or the quotes they got for construction it's kinda hard to tell how significant the duty issue really is in their case.
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
12. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by Lumpy · 2012-01-17 02:19 · Score: 1
  
  You can solder BGA chips? then you are better than 99% of all home electronics people.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
13. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by Crookdotter · 2012-01-17 03:36 · Score: 1
  
  Aspie fail then :p
14. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by mcgrew · 2012-01-17 03:53 · Score: 1
  
  You are talented enough at soldiering that you can do the work for the CPU, SD card, and hdmi port? Damn your good.
  Sheesh, you kids today... it ain't hard. And why do you want to damn my good?
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
15. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by chrb · 2012-01-17 04:59 · Score: 1
  
  Perhaps the situation is different for Raspberry Pi, since their manufacturers will be presumably using a lot of automation, but in general the big financial advantage of Chinese manufacturing isn't tax, it is the cost of the people. Chinese factory workers do about 320-400 hours a month for $200. That's $0.50 to $0.60 US per hour, a unbeatable figure compared to U.S. or European salaries. (And to preempt the replies - I'm not saying these work conditions, salary etc. are fair and that Westerners should work for $0.50/hr, I am just pointing out why the situation is the way that it is)
16. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 12:21 · Score: 0
  
  The Schmart board is a 1mm pitch. This is a 0.4mm pitch. Now my soldering iron ain't that tiny...
17. Re:Even Cheaper DIY? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 12:59 · Score: 0
  
  Ceramic cooktop or modified toaster oven
Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by chrb · 2012-01-17 01:12 · Score: 2, Insightful

$25 is under valued given the demand that there is for this device. They should consider auctioning some percentage of the first batch on ebay, and then use the extra profits to fund further development. I know plenty of people who would happily bid up to $75 if given the chance.
1. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by betterunixthanunix · 2012-01-17 01:18 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Pricing it higher would defeat the point. They wanted to make a computer that was affordable and reasonably powerful.
  
  --
  Palm trees and 8
2. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by Crookdotter · 2012-01-17 01:20 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Whoa - they already did. Did you watch the video? The first went for $5000
3. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by ajo_arctus · 2012-01-17 01:34 · Score: 2
  
  They could have sold 10,000 early access/ developer boards at $50 a piece, maybe even doing a 'buy one give one' promotion like the OLPC project. It does kind of defeat the purpose of computers for all, but it'd also helped them guarantee future production...
4. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by The+MAZZTer · 2012-01-17 01:57 · Score: 1
  
  Didn't they auction off beta boards on eBay?
5. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by BetterSense · 2012-01-17 02:14 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I agree completely."Not charging enough" seems to be a classic blunder for these kind of grassroots startup hardware efforts. I watched the Open Pandora and Always Innovating Touchbook under development for years, until the more established industry finally got around to producing mass-market semi-equivalents and their window of glory was passed by before they could ramp up. There was enough demand for either that they could have easily taken preorders for twice or 3 times the price they wanted. Pre-order customers, frustrated with how long it was taking, would literally offer to pay more to take delivery sooner, but ... they were fixated on selling their product for some magic-number price, rather than what they could get for it.
6. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by Rogerborg · 2012-01-17 02:50 · Score: 1
  
  Well, one, you're a FRIST POTSING Slashtard - watch the video.
  And two, their real mistake is building demand before they can supply it. You get one big wave of free publicity and enthusiasm. By the time this thing is actually available in significant numbers, it may already have saturated the market of hard core basement dwellers, and us merely Pi-curious types will be at the "Big fat meh, that vapourware again?" stage.
  
  --
  If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
7. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 03:49 · Score: 0
  
  They already did this, you should pay more attention. The demand drove them up to more like $2000, it is a charity. They aren't out to make a profit, they are out to make computers cheaply for people, and they have come to the conclusion that a $75 price-point would be too high to support their mission.
8. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by Snirt · 2012-01-17 04:01 · Score: 1
  
  I found this article more resourceful. And for your information they are being auctioned for thousands of GB pounds at ebay.
9. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by spire3661 · 2012-01-17 04:21 · Score: 1, Flamebait
  
  There is always one human trying to squeeze more money out of the others. Shut the fuck up. Demand does not HAVE to mean increased profit you fucker.
  
  --
  Good-bye
10. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by chrb · 2012-01-17 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  No, they auctioned off the the beta development boards. I was talking about auctioning off boards from the first manufacturing batch.
11. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by chrb · 2012-01-17 04:36 · Score: 1
  
  No, they auctioned off the the beta development boards. I was talking about auctioning off boards from the first manufacturing batch. Perhaps you should concentrate on improving your reading comprehension before you start criticising others?
12. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by chrb · 2012-01-17 04:39 · Score: 2
  
  Why are you against people voluntarily giving more money than asked for to a charity? And why are you so angry? You need to chill out bro.
13. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by chrb · 2012-01-17 04:41 · Score: 1
  
  Once again, no they didn't already do this - they auctioned off the beta development boards. I was talking about auctioning off boards from the first manufacturing batch - the one the summary referred to as "in production". Not the beta boards.
14. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 06:53 · Score: 1
  
  After a year of telling people the product would be $25/$35 don't you think that would have causing people to raise holy hell if they upped the price to $50 at the last minute?
15. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 07:49 · Score: 0
  
  Tell you what, why don't you take yourself over to http://www.raspberrypi.org/sample-page and read all about it.
  They're charging enough. This device hasn't been produced for the likes of you. Its a charity and the target consumers are actually school children. The aim is to make the device as cheaply as possible in order to facilitate the ability for schools in the UK to give them FOC if the school budgets allow. Failing that, to make them so cheap that most students could buy their own. There is also an add-on board being developed for motor control etc. again, to be produced at minimal cost to make them affordable for the average child.
16. Re:Auctioning versus selling, optimum pricing by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 05:23 · Score: 0
  
  And how would this help their goal to make an affordable computer for UK-student to use in constructions and programming on?
  But yes, they have sold some for about $1000 ate eBay. You really should read up on theit web site.
Re:traitorous bitches by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:13 · Score: 0

What in the absolute fuck are you talking about?
Maybe some potential by na1led · 2012-01-17 01:15 · Score: 1

If you can buy a case for this board, then maybe you could build a nice little streaming box, similar to Roku. If it does support 1080p video, I would put this board in a small NAS unit and have it be my video library and IPTV box.

--
-- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
1. Re:Maybe some potential by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:38 · Score: 0
  
  It's the same SoC as the Roku2, so yes, it does support 1080p30 H264
2. Re:Maybe some potential by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-01-17 03:29 · Score: 2
  
  Assuming that particular bit is flipped...
  
  "Media" SoCs in general(Broadcom certainly no exception) tend to combine a reasonably normal, open, well-understood ARM or MIPs general-purpose CPU with a GPU and/or hardware video decode unit. If you are lucky, these will be supported in some way(I think the BCM part here has a ~15mb blob of mystery powering the graphics bit); but they tend to be excitingly locked down because the manufacturers want to be able to sell them as set-top boxes and other areas where team DRM holds sway.
  
  Even on devices that are "open" in the sense that the boatloader doesn't cryptographically lock out unsigned or self-signed kernels, it may well be the case that the media-related peripherals will lock out unsigned firmware blobs, which allows specific features of the peripheral to be locked or unlocked by the manufacturer without the expense of respinning the die(eg. for devices that are or are not H264 patent-paid.)
3. Re:Maybe some potential by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 04:00 · Score: 0
  
  I repeat - it DOES support 1080p30 H264, (because the H264 licence IS paid - pretty cheap compared with AAC surprisingly)
4. Re:Maybe some potential by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-01-17 07:31 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not disputing that it, in fact, does. I have no reason to doubt it, and my understanding is that does so.
  
  My point was just that, especially with 'media processors', where the customer demands of rather anti-user players enter the picture, the silicon isn't necessarily a good guide.
  
  Because these are all teeny little ARM(occassionally MIPS) cores under serious power constraints, implementing media decode on the CPU is unlikely to be useful beyond a few audio codecs, which leaves you at the mercy of the special-purpose decoder unit, and its firmware, which is typically manufacturer-controlled even when the kernel and userspace running on the general purpose CPU are not.
  
  It's in no way specific to this project(indeed, the places where it has cropped up most, to date, seem to be in the groups dedicated to hacking the various network set top boxes that Western Digital and others have released); but it is an important difference from the PC scene, where a monstrously powerful CPU(strong enough to brute force most common media tasks in adequate time, if not exactly efficient about it) and an increasingly versatile GPU are the rule.
HD Alarm clock... by Sollord · 2012-01-17 01:17 · Score: 1

Is it wrong that just I want one of these to put a gutted version of android and deskclock on and use it as my alarm clock via my tv and receiver using hdmi...
1. Re:HD Alarm clock... by Catnaps · 2012-01-17 01:19 · Score: 1
  
  Wrong? No. Awesome? Pretty much.
2. Re:HD Alarm clock... by JoeMerchant · 2012-01-17 01:25 · Score: 1
  
  What does an ordinary Alarm Clock cost? Economics says no, you're spot-on.
  On a practical side, I'd want some kind of audio-out in parallel with the TV, or at least a way for the Pi to turn the TV on so you're not burning 70W all night long for the backlight to heat up a black screen.
3. Re:HD Alarm clock... by ledow · 2012-01-17 01:27 · Score: 1
  
  I was going to slap a Bluetooth dongle and maybe a 3G dongle on it (via a USB hub) and turn it into a car-GPS-monitoring system (like I've been trying to build for ages with a Mini-ITX system and never really enjoyed the hardware side of getting it to work / fit in a small case and run off the car sensibly).
  The software is easy on Linux, the interfacing isn't too tricky, and being able to text your car and get its location for less than the price of the locked-in GPS monitoring devices I've seen sounds like a good idea (and if I can interface with it myself and have it do more fancy stuff at the car-end, even better - e.g. tie it in with an OBD-II reader, etc.).
  I even saw an "SD Card RAID" device in my local electronics store - throw up to 4 SD cards in it and it appears as one USB drive. Was tempting to buy that just to store the GPS data on.
  I work in a school but I can't see them buying into it seeing as its way behind even the staff's capabilities, but for tiny, low-power hobby projects it seems to have enough oomph to do things that larger computers or specialised electronics interfacing would normally be needed for. I'm a computer guy, not a circuit builder, and that - to me - seems to be the best use of it. Make a simple circuit and throw more processor power and a full OS at the job.
  The nearest competitor for things like that is GumStix but they are expensive in comparison and have nowhere near the capability at the moment.
4. Re:HD Alarm clock... by Sollord · 2012-01-17 01:30 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah leaving the tv on is stupid but I was wondering about an ir controllers using usb or something though my tv and reciever can be powered on by android apps so they probably never fully power down.
5. Re:HD Alarm clock... by JustNiz · 2012-01-17 02:09 · Score: 2
  
  >> being able to text your car and get its location
  My car never seems to go anywhere on its own.
6. Re:HD Alarm clock... by JustNiz · 2012-01-17 02:10 · Score: 1
  
  So you're going to leave your TV on all night just so you have an alarm clock display? Have you thought of the power consumption costs?
7. Re:HD Alarm clock... by Lumpy · 2012-01-17 02:22 · Score: 1
  
  "or at least a way for the Pi to turn the TV on so you're not burning 70W all night long for the backlight to heat up a black screen."
  Funny, my 32" LCD burns 7 watts for the LED backlight, buy a more modern TV for the project if power is a high concern.
  The other problem is that it would be a giant night light. even at the lowest setting and a black scene it drops more light in the room than a typical nightlight.
  Finally, why the TV? Gut a PSone screen for the composite out and use that in a all in one cool device.
  Or just get a Chumby and hack it to save time and money.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
8. Re:HD Alarm clock... by Lumpy · 2012-01-17 02:24 · Score: 1
  
  Arduino+GSM shield with Gps = what you want that is easier to build and far more efficient.
  Been there, done that. I still have the T-shirt. Based it on one of the projects that balooning people posted.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
9. Re:HD Alarm clock... by ledow · 2012-01-17 02:42 · Score: 2
  
  Arduino GSM /GPRS / GPS-Shield: 126,05 â
  optional GSM Antenna âoeAT-TG.09.0113â : 9,92 â
  optional Power Supply: 8,40 â
  Arduino GSM / GPRS / GPS-Shield â" Kit : 158,82 â
  excl. VAT. plus Postage.
  Not including the Â£/â 50 to buy an Arduino (and VAT is about 20% at the moment).
  It would cost me less to buy a small netbook than it would to buy the shield on its own! Or five Raspberry Pi's. Or one Raspberry Pi, a bluetooth USB adaptor, a bluetooth GPS (dirt cheap, pound-store stuff now) and a 3G dongle (which places will throw at you now to get you out of the store) about 2-3 times over AT LEAST. Hence I could build three of these projects for the price of starting to build one with an Arduino.
  This is my point. I have all the necessary hardware to make a standard PC do this already (several times over). Raspberry Pi makes it cheap enough and powerful enough to do in a portable, low-power device using the same software, such that I don't need Arduino or have to start everything from scratch with new hardware. And that's why I've always just completely ignored Arduino - because of the price of even the initial setup.
  Arduino is fine if you have money to burn or expertise and time to do lots of stuff yourself. Otherwise, give me Raspberry Pi and an ARM Linux repository and I could knock up the same project, quicker, for less, and even re-use it later on other hardware if necessary.
10. Re:HD Alarm clock... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 02:45 · Score: 0
  
  I may understand it incorrectly, but any TV passing reasonable electricity standards (in Europe, at least) should probably be pulling 1w on standby mode. HDMI CEC, should it be compatible, should allow the device to pull a TV out of standby and do what is needed. I may be underestimating the problem, but I believe the hardware should do what you need it to do, the only worry is if both sides have compatible support.
11. Re:HD Alarm clock... by ledow · 2012-01-17 02:45 · Score: 2
  
  Nice that you live in a nice area. ;-)
  My purpose would be a) security monitoring (I text the car, it tells me where it is), b) location awareness (car "knows" if it's moving and sends me a text), c) Finding my car in a strange town (I'm very forgetful and lost my car for over an hour once in Hannover).
12. Re:HD Alarm clock... by ledow · 2012-01-17 02:47 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Ah, Slashdot. The only post-2000 website that can't understand Euro symbols or British pound-signs.
13. Re:HD Alarm clock... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 03:23 · Score: 0
  
  On a practical side, I'd want some kind of audio-out in parallel with the TV, or at least a way for the Pi to turn the TV on so you're not burning 70W all night long for the backlight to heat up a black screen.
  HDMI-CEC. It's a way to turn a TV or other device on. Admittedly there can be issues with proprietary system from some manufacturers, but either avoid them or use the power of an open-source system to fix them.
14. Re:HD Alarm clock... by JoeMerchant · 2012-01-17 03:34 · Score: 2
  
  Yeah, my 3.5 year old 42" LCD backlit TV is an ancient artifact, should really scrap it for that 63W power draw difference, except, wait, at $0.11/kwh, it's only costing $63 per year extra to run it 24/7/365, and it will take 10 years for the electricity costs to have any hope of covering the cost of a new screen. Maybe I should hang onto it until the next generation of tech comes out and makes LED backlighting look like striking sparks from flint.
  BTW, I've got a Chumby, sorry to say, it sucks. I still use it, but that doesn't change the fact that the software is clunky, the WiFi is weak, and the processor is dog-slow. Still, it's a better alarm clock than anything I ever had before - plays Pandora for the alarm (when the WiFi works), and shows me a live feed from an IP cam.
15. Re:HD Alarm clock... by Lumpy · 2012-01-17 03:45 · Score: 1
  
  Holy crap, an arduino is 50 pounds?
  last two I bought were $19.00US or about 11 pounds. You guys are getting screwed bad on arduino hardware prices.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
16. Re:HD Alarm clock... by Gothmolly · 2012-01-17 13:43 · Score: 1
  
  Are those some kind of funny color money like Monopoly?
  
  --
  I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
17. Re:HD Alarm clock... by Gothmolly · 2012-01-17 13:45 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe we're not all Euro-douches who snark on and on about "reasonableness" of various products.
  
  --
  I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
18. Re:HD Alarm clock... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-23 07:12 · Score: 0
  
  If it a decent TV it will put itself on standby when it gets no signal like pretty much all monitors do. But since TV manufacturers don't tend to care how well they work as computer monitors, they may not do this (but FWIW the Sony TV I have does do this).
$75 all-in-one GNU PC by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:18 · Score: 1

Sweet!
So, what I could do is get a monitor that has some extra space in it, put this board with the necessary cutouts for peripherals and I'll have an all in one GNU PC!
And with refrub 20+ inch monitors going for $50; I can have an all-in-one for $75 US!
1. Re:$75 all-in-one GNU PC by psergiu · 2012-01-17 01:44 · Score: 1
  
  Composite or HDMI monitor.
  Unfortunatelly Raspberry Pi does not have VGA output - the Broadcom SoC used it's a "mobile phone" version and it has only HDMI, Composite & DSI outputs (for direct LCD flat-panel connection)
  The SoCs with VGA output were unfortunatelly too expensive.
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
2. Re:$75 all-in-one GNU PC by drinkypoo · 2012-01-17 01:57 · Score: 1
  
  ...or DVI monitor, which is the same thing, except you probably won't be able to do HDCP. (whew, almost typed DHCP there. acronym soup, oh it hurts.) I have two 19" LCDs I got for $10 a piece just sitting around waiting for a project like this. I also have a 20" LCD which I occasionally use as a second monitor which has component, s-video, vga, and dvi... and a USB hub. Pairing it with a R-Pi would make it fairly complete and there might even be room for the little one inside, but you could still connect a more powerful computer to it.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
3. Re:$75 all-in-one GNU PC by fnj · 2012-01-17 03:48 · Score: 1
  
  HDCP is not HDMI only. In fact it predated HDMI. Any half decent DVI monitor has HDCP. Yeah, there are some lame ones without.
4. Re:$75 all-in-one GNU PC by SenseiLeNoir · 2012-01-17 03:51 · Score: 1
  
  HDCP can be done via DVI too.
  
  --
  Have a nice day!
5. Re:$75 all-in-one GNU PC by spire3661 · 2012-01-17 04:15 · Score: 1
  
  Typing this on a DVI-HDCP compliant Dell 2407. My wife's Dell 1907 is DVI-HDCP too.
  
  --
  Good-bye
6. Re:$75 all-in-one GNU PC by trigpoint · 2012-01-17 09:14 · Score: 1
  
  Composite or HDMI monitor. Unfortunatelly Raspberry Pi does not have VGA output - the Broadcom SoC used it's a "mobile phone" version and it has only HDMI, Composite & DSI outputs (for direct LCD flat-panel connection) The SoCs with VGA output were unfortunatelly too expensive.
  Not such a bad idea, when you take into account the target audience, and slightly retro too. Remember early home computers used the TV as a monitor. Most households no longer have a desktop PC, \nd its only us geeks who will have kept the monitor, just in case.
  What most households have, and remember that in the UK, HD ready LCD TVs have been the norm for several years now. Most will have a TV with HDMI. Seeing 4:3 CRT TVs on sale in Canada 3 years ago was quite a shock.
7. Re:$75 all-in-one GNU PC by drinkypoo · 2012-01-17 13:52 · Score: 1
  
  Sigh. I'm talking about $10 yard sale monitors where you're lucky to get DVI. They're too old to have HDCP. I didn't say "because it's DVI you won't get HDCP". Guess your knee works though, and the two echoes
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
8. Re:$75 all-in-one GNU PC by fnj · 2012-01-18 04:01 · Score: 1
  
  You said and I quote "...or DVI monitor, which is the same thing, except you probably won't be able to do HDCP", which is an inaccurate statement.
First batch to be the $35 version by Senior+Frac · 2012-01-17 01:20 · Score: 4, Informative

The post is a bit misleading. My understanding is that this first production batch is to be the $35 version which is what the developers are clamoring for.
1. Re:First batch to be the $35 version by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 05:02 · Score: 0
  
  I'm hoping so. I already have a use pegged out. I have a Zyxel portable wifi router. Unfortunately, it doesn't support cell phone tethering nor using WIFI as the WAN. Soooo. I'm going to hopefully configure the Rasberry Pi to usb tether my cell and route from it and the wifi as WAN to the ethernet as LAN. Feed that into the Zyxel WAN ethernet and I've got a nice, highly redundant, drop-anywhere network.
2. Re:First batch to be the $35 version by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 05:16 · Score: 0
  
  There are two versions, A and B. The A cost $25 and B $35. Check web site for more info.
Its been imagined already by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 01:49 · Score: 0

Its called a BRAMBLE.
(Think about it,,,)
You need to have the Adobe Flash Player 9 to view by xororand · 2012-01-17 02:11 · Score: 1, Flamebait

I'm saddened by the fact that Slashdot staff deliberately ostracize non-users of the proprietary security nightmare that is Adobe Flash.
Unlike open and standardized formats, Flash is not even available on most platforms.
Slashdot, do you not remember your roots?
It's 2012 and possibilities to publish video in open ways are ubiquitous.
Vimeo, YouTube - both offer HTML5 video.
Or, if you want to host on your own, use the relatively new GNU licensed MediaGoblin.
Solar powered? by aaaaaaargh! · 2012-01-17 02:24 · Score: 2

Out of curiosity, I'm wondering whether it would be possible to hook a Raspberry Pi up to a 10'' LCD display and make it solar powered? There is a lot of sun where I live.
How large would the solar panels have to be to provide the power on an ordinary sunny day?
1. Re:Solar powered? by DynamoJoe · 2012-01-17 02:30 · Score: 1
  
  I think the specs say it'll run on 5v, which is four AA batteries. Seems like a modest solar panel should provide enough oomph for that. Of course, you'll also have to factor in the monitor and peripherals to your energy budget, and maybe consider a battery or there will be no after-dark shashdot browsing.
  
  --
  bah.
2. Re:Solar powered? by Rockoon · 2012-01-17 03:19 · Score: 1
  
  I think the specs say it'll run on 5v, which is four AA batteries.
  Volts is not a unit of power.
  
  Amps * Volts = Watts.
  
  These things draw 2.5 watts. You might get half a day out of 4 alkaline AA's.
  
  You will need a solar panel similar to one of these just to sustain it, as well as provide an adapter to covert to 5v.
  
  --
  "His name was James Damore."
3. Re:Solar powered? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 06:38 · Score: 1
  
  If you need 2.5 Watts of power always get a panel that produces at very least 3-5 times that figure and a battery with regulator or you're screwed if a cloud passes by, not to mention at night. Also, the OP wants a LCD, which will require much more power than the PI itself. A 100 Watts panel plus car-like battery (dozens AHs) and regulator would be a more realistic figure (for safe 24/7 operation).
4. Re:Solar powered? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 08:09 · Score: 0
  
  Actually there is a spot on their website where they talk about power drain - http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/260
  Model As will need 1.5 watts (5v 300mA), Model Bs 3.5 watts (5v 700mA).
  And no 4AA won't keep it going for long. But a car battery (say 50Ah) and a 12v to 5v converter should give you hundreds of hours (although ideally probably only 48 hours to prevent over depleting the car battery). Hook the panel up to trickle charge the car battery, and run the raspberry from the car battery with the 12v to 5v converter.
5. Re:Solar powered? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 13:00 · Score: 0
  
  the RasPi only uses 2-4 watts of electricity with 4 watts being at 100% CPU + peripherals (keyboard, mouse)
  You'd need a decently sized solar panel to power this plus a monitor with no battery.
  A 40-50W panel should do the trick so you don't run into issues with overcast days.
  Depending on the power requirements of your LCD you could even get away with a 20W if it's really efficient/
6. Re:Solar powered? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-28 10:23 · Score: 0
  
  Oh gods, good luck trying to see anything on your LCD panel while the sun is shining :-D
Re:You need to have the Adobe Flash Player 9 to vi by psergiu · 2012-01-17 02:28 · Score: 1

Flash or non-flash, the slashdot videos are not viewable from behind corporate firewalls allowing only ports 80 & 443 :(

--
1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
Re:You need to have the Adobe Flash Player 9 to vi by b0bby · 2012-01-17 02:45 · Score: 1

Don't feel bad, even on Win 7 with Flash 11, having added ooyala.com to my URL Filter whitelist, I still can't see the video either... At least now I see the black box so I know there's something I'm missing!
Not $25 by DrXym · 2012-01-17 02:46 · Score: 0

This is the model B which is $35. And I wouldn't be surprised if P&P + any applicable taxes makes it closer to $50.
Video w/o flash by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 03:38 · Score: 0

Any chance to watch this video w/o Flash-crap?
Re:traitorous bitches by Eunuchswear · 2012-01-17 03:48 · Score: 1

He's saying that he was happy when the Boston tea party forced the Bostonians to pay more for their tea, so people should pay more for their Rasbery Pi's.
(He seems not to have noticed that this is a UK project - Boston Lincs, not Mass.)

--
Watch this Heartland Institute video
It seems a bit strange... by John+Hasler · 2012-01-17 04:14 · Score: 1

...to have to read the FAQ to find the specifications or to figure out how to place an order.

--
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
1. Re:It seems a bit strange... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 04:53 · Score: 0
  
  It is really quite simple and un-strange I think to have a button "Shop" on the first page. Of course all you can buy is stickers at this point. As they have stated over and over, they will not start selling them until they have units in hand.
Pricing it lower will lead to shortages by Colin+Smith · 2012-01-17 06:55 · Score: 1

Economics.

--
Deleted
Re:You need to have the Adobe Flash Player 9 to vi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 07:02 · Score: 0

Same here. Can't view this video since I don't want to install crappy flash stuff in my Gentoo-box
It plays Quake 3 I'm in.... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 07:36 · Score: 0

When is the damn thing going to be available?
For real.... I want to try it out as a HTPC.
rasperry pi, what's that? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 07:55 · Score: 0

Maybe you should post one more rasperry pi story, I don't think everyone on slashdot have heard about your product yet.
Pixel Qi with Raspberry Pi by dru · 2012-01-17 09:16 · Score: 1

When can I get a Raspberry Pi with a Pixel Qi screen?
1. Re:Pixel Qi with Raspberry Pi by jc79 · 2012-01-19 08:23 · Score: 1
  
  When you buy a Pixel Qi screen and connect it to your Raspberry Pi. :)
This has got to change by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-17 12:35 · Score: 0

I am taking Computer Tech at school right now. We are learning bs like how to use Microsoft Word. Waste of time...
Eben Upton by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 14:38 · Score: 0

What a champ