Despite Media Confusion, Raspberry Pi Boards Still On Schedule

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Despite Media Confusion, Raspberry Pi Boards Still On Schedule

Posted by Soulskill on Monday February 13, 2012 @10:02AM from the if-it's-not-one-thing dept.

Last Friday, an article in Eurogamer about the Raspberry Pi's upcoming release threw a wrench in the mental gears of anyone hoping to soon order one of the long-awaited (and much anticipated) boards, which had been expected to be ready for orders sometime this month. The piece was based on an interview with David Braben — since picked up, and subsequently corrected, by others as well — and it gave the impression both that a sudden delay had cropped up in the schedule (so that the boards wouldn't be available for consumers until September), and that the price might rise as well. The Raspberry Pi site says that both of these were mistaken, and clarifies (with some bold print, even): "You will be able to buy a Raspberry Pi from the end of February, from this website. The 'consumer release' that Eurogamer is talking about is actually the educational release, which, as you’ll be aware if you’ve been hanging out on our forums, will come with a kid-targetted software stack, a heap of written support materials, and a standard case." That educational version sounds like it's got enough value added to justify a higher price and a longer wait, but you can unwrench those gears if you're just interested in the plain (unboxed) board instead.

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Raspberry pi(e) by j35ter · 2012-02-13 10:06 · Score: 1

It runs Linux ... I want one!

--
Delta-Mike November Bravo Tango
1. Re:Raspberry pi(e) by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 10:11 · Score: 1
  
  At $35 for a computer with a working hdmi port and gpio's, I'd want one even if it didn't.
Isn't It Already Late? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 10:12 · Score: 0

I'm glad they cleared that up, but isn't it already late. The buzz has been buzzing since last August.
Captcha reads "heretic". How does it know?
1. Re:Isn't It Already Late? by ZeroSumHappiness · 2012-02-13 10:36 · Score: 1
  
  Release has always been slated at "hopefully" Q4 2011, "possibly" Q1 2012.
2. Re:Isn't It Already Late? by ZeroSumHappiness · 2012-02-13 10:37 · Score: 1
  
  (Addendum because I can't edit... s/possibly/if not then/)
3. Re:Isn't It Already Late? by mirix · 2012-02-13 11:21 · Score: 1
  
  I seem to recall some hype for early last fall, then pretty sure by december, then certainly january. Oh, *definitely* february. Looks like it's going to be march, at this rate.
  
  --
  Sent from my PDP-11
4. Re:Isn't It Already Late? by spongman · 2012-02-13 16:47 · Score: 2
  
  Hallelujah, Jesus has returned!
  lame AC: meh, isn't he late?
5. Re:Isn't It Already Late? by Snorbert+Xangox · 2012-02-14 17:56 · Score: 1
  
  The boards are in manufacturing, expected to complete on Feb 20th. The most recent holdup came down to a misunderstanding as to whether a particular form factor of piezo crystal was easily available in China at the expected price, because the same crystal is easily available and cheap in the UK. The Raspberry Pi team have been incredibly open and patient in explaining to the many, many people visiting their web site how the design decisions have been made, and what has been taking all the time in going from an alpha board prototype to a ready to manufacture product.
  When the goal is to produce something in large quantities for low price, and the project is done by people with great skill but also other competing demands on their time (like, their day jobs), it's not surprising there have been some delays in trying to get the board design to the point of manufacture. I've been following the project for months, and it has struck me how the degree of openness of this project has added more work for the RasPi team in having to clarify/dispel misconceptions and ill-founded rumours - such as when a simple mention of 10,000 "parts kits" being on order caused some people to start thinking that the RasPi was not going to be fully assembled, simply because they didn't understand the meaning of that phrase in that context, and had not read the FAQ - and yet the RasPi team keep telling us what is going on because that is the ethos of the project.
  I've got no association with the project, other than frank admiration at their dedication and focus on meeting their real goals, which is not to ship device X by time T, but to spark a renewed interest in the actual study and practise of computing.
  
  --
  -Snorbert, somewhere in the antipodes
I hope they ordered a lot of them by Lord_Byron · 2012-02-13 10:15 · Score: 2

I have a feeling these things are going to sell out fast - hopefully the Foundation was able to accurately predict the demand, or can ramp up production quickly.
Translation: I'm really excited about this, and suspect a lot of other people will be too.
1. Re:I hope they ordered a lot of them by SJHillman · 2012-02-13 10:20 · Score: 2
  
  This is just the first batch, it's expected to sell out very fast. They've done what they can to get as many people one (IE: limit one per customer until supply catches up with demand) but Slashdot alone likely has 10,000 readers that plan to buy one, never mind the rest of the world.
  On the bright side, if there's any glaring flaws, they'll likely be caught in the first batch and corrected in time for the next batch.
2. Re:I hope they ordered a lot of them by dgatwood · 2012-02-13 12:33 · Score: 1
  
  This is just the first batch, it's expected to sell out very fast. They've done what they can to get as many people one (IE: limit one per customer until supply catches up with demand) but Slashdot alone likely has 10,000 readers that plan to buy one, never mind the rest of the world.
  Maybe. Then again, they may find that most of their potential buyers have projects in mind that require more than one unit. For example, I need a minimum of three just to get started with the project I have in mind.
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
3. Re:I hope they ordered a lot of them by SJHillman · 2012-02-13 13:06 · Score: 1
  
  Thus why it's just limited to one per person at first... later batches will have a much higher maximum, if any. For now it's more about getting it to as many different people as possible.
4. Re:I hope they ordered a lot of them by dgatwood · 2012-02-13 13:08 · Score: 1
  
  I think you missed my point, which was that it may not sell out quickly because a lot of folks may elect to wait to buy their first unit until after those quantity limits are lifted.
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
5. Re:I hope they ordered a lot of them by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 13:16 · Score: 0
  
  But on the other hand, a lot more will likely just grab their first one as soon as they can. I seriously doubt that the majority of people wanting to buy them have projects that absolutely require multiple units to even get started.
  As a matter of curiosity, what is this project of yours that needs three to get going?
6. Re:I hope they ordered a lot of them by dgatwood · 2012-02-13 16:08 · Score: 1
  
  I'm setting up a remote control system that controls my TV, Blu-Ray player, and MythTV box (and my DirecTV receiver in one room) using rooted Nook Simple Touch tablets and Opera Mobile as web-based controllers. Right now, I'm using my Mac Mini MythTV front ends to handle the requests, but it would be better to have something that draws less power than the Mini.
  In theory, I could use an R-Pi in one room, but the power savings for a few extra weeks with one device probably won't pay for the difference in shipping. Besides, if I reconfigure one room differently, that means extra work every time I tweak the system. Better to just wait until I have all three sets of final hardware and do the transition all at once.
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
Re:Do they by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 10:16 · Score: 4, Funny

Sorry buddy, but this is Raspberry Pi. You're looking for Apple Pi.
too many r-pi 'status' posts by TheGratefulNet · 2012-02-13 10:23 · Score: 0

come on, guys.
do we have to know about each new milestone, such as 'they just soldered R234 in place!' (making that one up).
these micro-updates don't really belong here. there is such a thing is too much pushing of a product.
the thing will sell well, but please stop blatantly trying to get the name in the news every other week, ok?

--

--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
1. Re:too many r-pi 'status' posts by Narishma · 2012-02-13 11:17 · Score: 2
  
  Why don't you just stop reading these updates if you're not interested in them?
  
  --
  Mada mada dane.
2. Re:too many r-pi 'status' posts by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 11:36 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  such as 'they just soldered R234 in place!'
  They did? SCHWEET!. That's a huge milestone.
  (making that one up).
  WTF? Dammit. You had me going. I was completely looking forward to the completion of the soldering of the entire R200 series.
  Meanie.
  these micro-updates don't really belong here. there is such a thing is too much pushing of a product.
  the thing will sell well, but please stop blatantly trying to get the name in the news every other week, ok?
  You're just mad because it's not a bitcoin story.
3. Re:too many r-pi 'status' posts by drinkypoo · 2012-02-13 14:55 · Score: 2
  
  do we have to know about each new milestone, such as 'they just soldered R234 in place!' (making that one up).
  Yes.
  
  these micro-updates don't really belong here. there is such a thing is too much pushing of a product.
  This is one of the hottest new computers in years, which is hilarious to boot because it is so poorly-featured compared to all the other hottest new computers. I want all the micro-updates.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
4. Re:too many r-pi 'status' posts by Vairon · 2012-02-13 15:05 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Yes. Open Linux boards have been around for quite some time. None of them have ever been this cheap before. If you disagree, please tell me where I can buy a 700Mhz SOC that runs Linux with similar peripherals (Ethernet, HDMI, Composite, 256MB RAM, USB, 16 GPIO lines) and about the size of a credit card for $35 or less?
  Routerboard 400Mhz $59
  Gumstix Overo Sand COM 600Mhz $115
  Beagleboard 720Mhz $125
  Beaglebone 700Mhz $89
  ...
  Raspberry Pi 700Mhz $35
5. Re:too many r-pi 'status' posts by aXis100 · 2012-02-13 15:17 · Score: 1
  
  If you're going to be worried about noise, there are many other articles and categories higher up on the shit list. Also lols at Slashdot being educated and filtered - it hasn't been that for a while.
  I for one welcome our new R-pi overlords.
6. Re:too many r-pi 'status' posts by Alioth · 2012-02-13 20:54 · Score: 2
  
  Raspberry Pi news is *very much* news for nerds, it is very much the very core of what Slashdot is about. If you don't like it, then perhaps Slashdot isn't the site for you.
  You can always just not read the stories.
  
  --
  Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
7. Re:too many r-pi 'status' posts by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-14 00:24 · Score: 0
  
  Allwinner?
  http://opensource.com/life/12/1/linux-hardware-race-tiniest-and-cheapest-15-cheap
8. Re:too many r-pi 'status' posts by b0bby · 2012-02-14 02:45 · Score: 1
  
  That looks cool, but it appears to only be sold in China.
9. Re:too many r-pi 'status' posts by Vairon · 2012-02-14 03:35 · Score: 1
  
  Rhombus-tech's hypothetical $15 Allwinner A10 system doesn't even exist yet. It's pure theory at this point. The closest thing to it is a $2000 development board that Allwinner makes with the A10 SOC. Also Rhombus-tech quote of $15 is a guess based on a purchase quantity of 100,000 units.
10. Re:too many r-pi 'status' posts by advocate_one · 2012-02-14 03:37 · Score: 2
  
  Slashdot is "News for Nerds"... Raspberry Pi is relevant content... don't like it? Then go somewhere else...
  
  --
  Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
Media... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 10:26 · Score: 0

Those rumor spreading nincompoops are worse than a sewing circle!
Like your favorite mall store by rickb928 · 2012-02-13 10:39 · Score: 1

Let's hope that when the Foundation goes back to their supplier and asks for the next run, much larger, that their supplier doesn't explain how things just got more popular^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hexpensive, darn, the price went up. Our bad.
Ack.

--
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
Yaaaaa by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 10:45 · Score: 0

More for me when they ship on deadline!
buy from the website? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 10:48 · Score: 0

yea, thru effin' PayPal
kiss mah grits, PayPal
1. Re:buy from the website? by ZeroSumHappiness · 2012-02-13 11:00 · Score: 2
  
  If you hold a principled opposition to PayPal why don't you send a nice email to the R-Pi foundation stating your objections and reasons. I'm sure they'll take it under advisement -- they seem very well collected on other matters so far. I would not be surprised if they actually changed merchant bank based on responses from users. In fact, I'll email them right now!
2. Re:buy from the website? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 12:55 · Score: 1
  
  Er, what? Their FAQ states that they accept most major cards (so probably everything except American Express) and offline payments as well as PayPal.
3. Re:buy from the website? by tehcyder · 2012-02-14 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  Er, what? Their FAQ states that they accept most major cards (so probably everything except American Express) and offline payments as well as PayPal.
  Stop introducing facts to spoil the Two Minute Hate.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
I'm not too smart on this... Pi question by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 11:06 · Score: 0

I've heard that one could potentially create a cluster of these, for educational purposes. Would it matter if you got one with the ether port and the others without if you planned on making a cluster?
1. Re:I'm not too smart on this... Pi question by tibman · 2012-02-13 11:31 · Score: 1
  
  You'd probably want ethernet (model b) for a cluster. But you could probably cluster them together using a (much slower) connection via i2c/spi/usb or straight gpio.
  
  --
  http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
2. Re:I'm not too smart on this... Pi question by drinkypoo · 2012-02-13 15:03 · Score: 1
  
  You'd probably want ethernet (model b) for a cluster. But you could probably cluster them together using a (much slower) connection via i2c/spi/usb or straight gpio.
  the ethernet comes from the USB2 bus, so in fact, you would want the model A for a cluster unless you needed the additional memory of the model B.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
3. Re:I'm not too smart on this... Pi question by tibman · 2012-02-13 16:55 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sorry.. i'm lost (help me!) or you're mistaken. That link says model A won't have ethernet but B will. Unless you were saying you can use a usb dongle for ethernet?
  
  --
  http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
4. Re:I'm not too smart on this... Pi question by drinkypoo · 2012-02-13 17:01 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sorry.. i'm lost (help me!)
  
  you didn't read far enough down the page. Keep trying:
  
  Why no Gigabit Ethernet?
  The Ethernet is driven via USB 2.0, so the upstream bandwidth would not support Gigabit.
  
  IOW, if you can get a USB2 to ethernet adapter under $10, and you can, you're better off with the A version unless you need all the RAM, because it's a little smaller and you get flexibility of network interfaces.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
5. Re:I'm not too smart on this... Pi question by tibman · 2012-02-13 17:08 · Score: 1
  
  Ah, gotcha. Thanks
  
  --
  http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
Slashvertishment by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 11:44 · Score: 0

What's with slashdot fixation on this board? yes I know, it runs linux, and it's quite cheap, but there are literally dozens like it. Don't they deserve at least the same exposure?
1. Re:Slashvertishment by Hatta · 2012-02-13 12:50 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Name one.
  
  --
  Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Congrats, you are still confused. by Qzukk · 2012-02-13 12:05 · Score: 2

"Anyone will be able to buy model A and model B units, uncased, at the $25 and $35 price points from launch, with a Debian or Fedora software stack," he told Tom's. "Later in the year, we intend to add a case and a polished educational software stack; we hope to squeeze the cased version into the same price point, and we expect that educational users and people who wish to use the board as a home media center will choose this package in the long term."
For values of "anyone" meaning the first 10000 people to get in before the server implodes.

--
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
1. Re:Congrats, you are still confused. by jokkebk · 2012-02-14 01:02 · Score: 1
  
  For values of "anyone" meaning the first 10000 people to get in before the server implodes.
  
  I'm pretty sure they uphold their commitment to not taking orders before they have the actual units in stock, so once the first batch runs out, the store closes again and you won't be able to order until the second batch arrives. I can already see the Slashdot headlines: "Truck with 24th batch of R-Pi spotted on premises - expect the store to open once more in 30 minutes. Hurry because they'll run out of them again in 33 minutes!"
  
  Point of sarcasm: I don't exactly understand why R-Pi is refusing to take orders just few days before they get the first batch - how is it different after they get 300 000 orders the first day and run out of units - I'm pretty sure they won't be sending emails to 290 000 people saying "thanks for ordering but sorry, you have to do it again when the second batch arrives, better luck then!".
  
  As I see it, there's not much difference letting people fill the order forms today and wait for three months for supply to catch up with demand and waiting 10 more days, so people only need to wait two months and 20 days. Unless Paypal charge cannot be deferred to later point in time, in which case my horror scenario might just happen.
  
  --
  http://codeandlife.com
Re:Big news is that it costs more by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 12:07 · Score: 5, Informative

Liz from Raspberry Pi here. Afraid you're misreading; that's totally wrong. It's worth reading the clarification post on our website that this article is about, which was written because a couple of media outlets had come to exactly the conclusion you just have.
We've filled the first batch with Model Bs because demand is so high, but we'll be producing Model A devices immediately after that. And the educational version will cost $25 or $35 - yes, with a bundled case - depending on whether it's a Model A or B.
Re:Big news is that it costs more by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 12:27 · Score: 0

>Maybe they can get Monster Cable to bundle the board with their $180 HDMI cable [monstercable.com].
That cable must be good : It has HyperSpeed-high speed!
It will make my RaspberryPi look so much better on my TV set!
David Braben? by monopolarbear · 2012-02-13 12:27 · Score: 1

Does that mean "Elite 4" is finally going to be produced on Raspberry PI Platform? Joking apart, I did not realize until I read this /. article and the related wikipedia page, that Inspector Braben was behind it. Kudos for him.
Re:Big news is that it costs more by epp_b · 2012-02-13 13:04 · Score: 2

So? Do you really want one without Ethernet?
Re:Big news is that it costs more by drinkypoo · 2012-02-13 14:56 · Score: 1

I do. It will have a tiny USB WiFi dongle plugged in to the USB2 port and the HDMI hooked up to my TV and I will drive it via a web interface. I don't need the rest of the hardware, so it might as well be cheaper.
I mean, I also want one with Ethernet, but it's not like it's great ethernet, it's just hung off USB anyway.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Big news is that it costs more by John+Hasler · 2012-02-13 14:59 · Score: 1

> Do you really want one without Ethernet?
I do.

--
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
There ARE too many Pi posts by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-13 22:22 · Score: 0, Insightful

They're not the responsibility of the Pi Foundation, but of individuals who feel that there's something useful to know about, so your real complaint is with Slashdot for publishing them.
Personally, I'd not tell you lot anything, this place is full of whiners and trolls, all ready to cry "vaporware" and "shill", or get into a complete tangle of self righteous misunderstanding about the target audience, or open source vs a vis Broadcom or whatever.
Get one to play with when they come out. If you don't want one; perhaps it goes against your Open Source sensibilities, then shut your row and eff off.
Can't say plainer than that, can I?
Medio Confusion? by hobarrera · 2012-02-14 01:19 · Score: 1

What medio confusion? Last I heard, they started producing, and everything was smooth. Or did I miss an article?
Multiple Projects Planned by Gyorg_Lavode · 2012-02-14 05:18 · Score: 1

I have multiple projects planned already. The first is to use it as a very cheap, simple router. I have a zyxel wireless AP, but it won't accept USB tethered cell phones as WAN connections. So I'm going to use the cell phones as usb modems to the rasberry pi and use the pi as an ethernet gateway to the zyxel.
The next project is to use the rasberry pi + old monitors as thin clients to my servers. That way I can monitor them from my desk without going through a full computer. (Other option is to buy cheap android tablets to do it.)

--
I do security