Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix Ready For Download

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Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix Ready For Download

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday March 8, 2012 @12:52PM from the come-and-get-it dept.

TheNextCorner writes "The Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix is ready for download! The recommended distro to run on the Raspberry Pi is a Remix of the Fedora open source software. The Remix is a distribution comprised of software packages from the Fedora ARM project, plus a small number of additional packages that are modified from the Fedora versions or which cannot be included in Fedora due to licensing issues – in particular, the libraries for accessing the VideoCore GPU on the Raspberry Pi."

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Bur where's my Raspnerry Pi to run it on? by Glasswire · 2012-03-08 12:57 · Score: 2, Informative

Still waiting....
1. Re:Bur where's my Raspnerry Pi to run it on? by rzr · 2012-03-08 13:05 · Score: 1
  
  there is also one for me ... i'll probally stick to debian ... but promise I'll test that rpm based distro !
  
  --
  -- http://rzr.online.fr/
2. Re:Bur where's my Raspnerry Pi to run it on? by zoward · 2012-03-08 13:42 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  There's a debian squeeze port available now right here. The problem is that it was never compiled to do floating point instructions in hardware, so you're going to lose some seroius performance by using it over Fedora.
  There are two "stock" Debian ARM distros. The one in stable (the "Arm EABI" port) doesn't support floating point. There's also one in the unstable branch called "armhf" which has support for ARM hardware floaitng point, but only for ARMv7 and up. Raspberry Pi is ARMv6 (notes for armhf platform are here..
  
  --
  "Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"
3. Re:Bur where's my Raspnerry Pi to run it on? by HansKloss · 2012-03-08 13:47 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Get Gentoo instead.
  It will finish compiling shortly before Raspberry Pi arrives.
4. Re:Bur where's my Raspnerry Pi to run it on? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 14:13 · Score: 0
  
  Just 3D print one while exploring space.
5. Re:Bur where's my Raspnerry Pi to run it on? by Spacelem · 2012-03-08 21:54 · Score: 1
  
  I used to run Gentoo many years ago. I could get it up and runing (enough to watch DVDs in GNOME) in about 5 hours on a system that was a few years old and only midrange when I built it.
  A complete recompile of everything would take about a day and a half. I gave up because I couldn't be bothered with the admin, not because it took too long.
6. Re:Bur where's my Raspnerry Pi to run it on? by makomk · 2012-03-08 23:13 · Score: 1
  
  Also, Ubuntu doesn't support ARMv6 hardware at all and apparently it took a lot of yelling at the Raspberry Pi Foundation by Shuttleworth before they stopped describing it as being able to run Ubuntu. It seems to be mostly FPU-less chips for embedded applications that are still ARMv6 these days.
7. Re:Bur where's my Raspnerry Pi to run it on? by Hatta · 2012-03-09 02:10 · Score: 1
  
  WTF Debian? What happened to being the "Universal Operating System"?
  
  --
  Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
8. Re:Bur where's my Raspnerry Pi to run it on? by drinkypoo · 2012-03-09 02:23 · Score: 1
  
  Dude, you know the answer. If you're not happy that Debian doesn't support every architecture out there, you have the source...
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Nobody's got one by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 12:59 · Score: 1, Interesting

Raspberry Pis are still not available. Can we cut back on the hype until they actually ship?
1. Re:Nobody's got one by fyngyrz · 2012-03-08 13:09 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  No, let's not. This is one very exciting little hunk of hardware. It's legitimate news that the software is ready, too.
  Hey! Did you know that if you're not interested in a story, you can do this thing called "not clicking on it" and that'll keep it ENTIRELY out of your hair? it's high-tech, I know, and not everyone has the 'leet skillz to be able to pull a complex operation like that off, but hey, maybe with some remedial evening classes at your local community college, you too can learn to only click on stories that interest you!
  
  --
  I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
2. Re:Nobody's got one by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 13:18 · Score: 0
  
  Don't you think anybody who'll get that thing will go to their site and find links to all the software? What is the news here? That Linux distributions for ARM processors exist and that you can add proprietary drivers to them? No, that's not news. This truly is just another "RASPBERRY PI RASPBERRY PI RASPBERRY PI" story.
3. Re:Nobody's got one by fyngyrz · 2012-03-08 13:37 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Ok, maybe those 'leet skills are even a little more 'leet than I thought.
  
  --
  I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
4. Re:Nobody's got one by mug+funky · 2012-03-08 14:58 · Score: 2
  
  that's alright, it's not long to wait before the next APPLE APPLE APPLE story you're waiting for...
5. Re:Nobody's got one by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 15:35 · Score: 0
  
  Especially given that applies to the RPi team, esp. on their product launch that wasn't.
  Excited but not 'leet is the very definition of us geeks, esp. when it comes to hyped hardware.
6. Re:Nobody's got one by drinkypoo · 2012-03-09 02:25 · Score: 1
  
  It IS legitimate news. Unfortunately, I think it pissed off a lot more people than it informed. That's not a reason not to post it. But the actual news is "Fedora is out for R-Pi and you still can't fucking get one"
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
7. Re:Nobody's got one by specific · 2012-03-09 03:15 · Score: 1
  
  FP pointed this out, but was modded Troll. Slashdot is the new Tumblr.
  
  --
  If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
8. Re:Nobody's got one by kiwimate · 2012-03-09 04:08 · Score: 0
  
  Did you know that if you're not interested in a story, you can do this thing called "not clicking on it" and that'll keep it ENTIRELY out of your hair
  You'd think so (and I'm usually the first one to think exactly the same), but then there'd also be no need for AdBlocker. After all people can just NOT LOOK at the ads.
  For me, the Raspberry Pi stuff over the last few weeks has really gotten annoying. I'd just as soon they give it a rest, too. It's turning me off of the product just because it's become the Slashdot equivalent of one of those advertisements which is so prevalent that it gets to saturation point and turns away those people who may have been on the fence initially.
9. Re:Nobody's got one by makomk · 2012-03-09 04:35 · Score: 0
  
  You should be thankful you're not on the official Raspberry Pi forums, or the moderators would've deleted your criticism and one of the fanboys would have joked about tying you to a lamppost naked or something to punish you (which, unlike any kind of criticism, is entirely A-OK with the Raspberry Pi staff). I am not making this up. You can find the original thread here. You can see that the moderators were aware of and fine with the tying-to-a-lamppost comment because they read and deleted its target's complaint about that comment which is still quoted in the thread.
Can't wait... by fyngyrz · 2012-03-08 13:12 · Score: 4, Interesting

To see what goodies people will come up with that can be "stuck on" this thing. Power monitoring, sensors of all kinds, cameras, serial and parallel ports, wifi and bluetooth, ham radio, maybe an SDR front end, a real time clock (a notable missing hunk-o-hardware), etc.
mmmm, cheap computing. MMMMM!

--
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
1. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 13:29 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  Dude, small ARM based computers have been available for a while. Anything you don't need a big screen for can already be done with something like the Seagate Dockstar, Pogoplug and other derivatives of the Sheevaplug. The Raspberry Pi is not revolutionary hardware. It's a nice step forward because it has a graphics port, but that's it. Most people will use it with XBMC or do things that they could already be doing on any of the other small ARM computers at a similar or slightly higher price. Expectations are high because nobody has actually done anything with these things yet, but the sobering reality is that it's just another low-powered Linux computer. It does not open up new possibilities.
2. Re:Can't wait... by oakgrove · 2012-03-08 13:45 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  It's 25 dollars, numb nuts. That's what makes it different.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
3. Re:Can't wait... by fyngyrz · 2012-03-08 13:48 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Dude, the pogoplug, sheevaplug and dockstar are all more than twice as expensive as the pi. Those dollars matter. $35 is cookie jar money for a lot more people than $80 or $90 is. It's not just HDMI, it's HDMI and price and expandability.
  
  but the sobering reality is that it's just another low-powered Linux computer. It does not open up new possibilities.
  Um. Well, we will see. Personally, I am pretty confident it will. There are thresholds beyond which certain effects don't occur, and $100 of cookie jar injury is probably one of them. $35... a lot less so. $35 that plugs right into your HD tv or monitor... ok, now we're cooking.
  
  --
  I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
4. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 13:56 · Score: 0
  
  That's 35 dollars plus shipping plus tax plus power supply at the very least. Pogoplugs are actually cheaper.
5. Re:Can't wait... by stms · 2012-03-08 14:10 · Score: 2
  
  Tax and shipping will be at most $10. The power adapter most people will probably already have because its a phone charger. If they don't that's probably only another $10. So that's $45-$55 to get the device to your door. Not only that but these will be distributed by schools which means shipping and tax go out the window and they could get a bulk discount for chargers.
6. Re:Can't wait... by CastrTroy · 2012-03-08 14:45 · Score: 2
  
  You must not live in Canada. I ordered mine. It was $12 shipping. Plus they charged $38 CDN for it. Total price after tax was $56. I don't know why I had to pay $38. The Canadian dollar is doing better than the US dollar right now. According to xe.com, $35 US = 34.63 $CDN. I bought it anyway.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
7. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 15:28 · Score: 0, Troll
  
  And the RPi's hype continues to grow. What is this, fanboyism on something that hasn't even been delivered?
  Dude, pogoplugs were $25 last December, shipped, from various online retailers. They're here, now, have been for months. Delivered. $49 is only the retail cost if you buy direct from the company. Run a froogle search sometimes before you run your mouth. That said, a pogoplug really isn't a valid competitor either.
  That said, the RPi's low cost is due to them, for now, running this as a "charity" and supporters (which I was for months up to the awful launch) and coders (strength of open source, people are too kind, and too driven to get their code to run on everything) being stupid and giving them a lot of slack. They're taking not much profit on them. Add normal profit taking, the tax, and this thing is about the cost of a beaglebone, and does more, and less. A beaglebone's wholesale cost is likely similar to the shipped/taxed/delivered cost of the RPi.
  So it's not some breakthrough low cost design. It's a mere competitor with a lot of hype. Most people looking at this are really ignorant of the available low cost alternatives are going to get boned by that incompetent team, if they haven't already.
  And prices seem to be rising, since they handed over licensing to the two makers/distributors, who seem to be playing the currency conversion profit game (on top of their profit taking on volume orders; RPi's team is really profit taking by proxy but that's nothing new to how charities are run), which the idiot team, focused on their UK schools initiative, while patting themselves on the back as to their "success" and interest, bungled yet again and will be complacent in fixing, if at all. The price is unlikely to drop much, given how this is suspected to be licensed (interesting how we don't really know, given how this "charity" really isn't open about everything really).
  (But don't criticize them on the boards, when they run, otherwise Liz will ban you or you'll be called a troll. No, I don't post, just watching what gets deleted and how the "swamped" team that has thousands of willing supporters continue to mishandle things.)
  It's a nice pricepoint, sure, but how the project is run, the months of delay (you do know this, right?), the backordering, the whole "launch" fiasco (sheer incompetence, esp. how the team arrogantly and ineptly handled it), the project will appeal to some, because they don't know of the other options out there. This'll be good for kiosks and some low bandwidth requiring stuff, but anything more substantial will easily crush the USB bandwidth. Something cheap for kiddies to nuke learning to program? I suppose. It's more attractive as a low powered portable powered project driver, but the RPi team has in a way said that's not their intent really. Strange, right? Anyways, any unlikely future more expansive models will up the cost and make other, presently more expensive but already available (which the RPi really isn't yet) options more attractive to the knowledgeable buyer.
  You can be confident all you want. They'll sell. But then it won't really grow much, unless the team learns to relinquish and delegate more. As it stands, it's sort of an ego driven endeavor by a few very talented people that don't really have good planning, financial, or people skills, and they've already burned some support. Hopefully, they'll right themselves and learn.
8. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 16:07 · Score: 1
  
  Not quite -- you have to work to get a distribution all cleaned up to build drivers on the pogoplug. Say for example, that you want to plug an arduino into a pogoplug -- you need the FTDI driver to move serial over the USB and it's not standard on the pogo -- so either you have to build a full custom setup or you have to come up with a way to build the kernel module in a cross compiled environment -- both are doable but both take work. With a full Fedora setup it should be more straight forward to install -- and you might even have the module already in place. Where the pi might win is in providing BOTH open/cheap hardware AND a software environment for it -- as often happens -- if it get's a community behind it then even less than stellar system can flourish,
9. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 17:34 · Score: 0
  
  Except its less than half as expensive than those. Which is what makes it special. I pay more for cigarettes and lunch in one day that these things cost. That is what makes it special. It is easy to see that anyone who does not understand why these are important is a moron with no vision and no imagination.
10. Re:Can't wait... by GuldKalle · 2012-03-08 18:11 · Score: 1
  
  Local sales tax/import tax?
  The argument was that the Raspberry was cheaper than a Pogoplug. Unless the Pogoplugs are produced locally, the argument probably still stands.
  
  --
  What?
11. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 19:33 · Score: 0, Troll
  
  Those dollars matter. $35 is cookie jar money for a lot more people than $80 or $90 is. It's not just HDMI, it's HDMI and price and expandability.
  >
  
  Sounds more like bad planning too me. For HDMI to be relevant at all compared to VGA we are talking about a screen that supports 1080p and probably is 30"+
  If $90 is "a lot of money" you should probably try to balance the setup a bit more, drop some resolution/inches on the display and get a more expensive computer.
  Nah, it's way more likely that those complaining about not getting their Raspberry Pi bought it, not because they needed it, but because they don't think that $100 is that much and $35 for a computer is so silly that you might just as well get one... or two.
12. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 21:56 · Score: 1
  
  That said, the RPi's low cost is due to them, for now, running this as a "charity"
  
  They are a UK registered charity which carries some serious weight including full disclosure of all financials and no way for them to change it to a profit making company at the drop of a hat. The goal of this charity really is to help school children learn to program and is supported by some of the best universities in the world who are crying out for better technical understanding in courses like electronic engineering and comp sci.
  Don't confuse the hype with the REAL purpose of this machine or the goals of the people who have set this up (and even re-mortgaged their homes to get the first production run done).
13. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 22:08 · Score: 0
  
  Except it really isn't that much cheaper, especially when you consider that it's just the board without even a case or power supply. You clearly haven't been shopping for a small Linux computer. For the $35 plus shipping plus tax plus power supply you could have been running Linux on a Pogoplug for months now. I have. Who's the moron with no vision and no imagination?
14. Re:Can't wait... by makomk · 2012-03-08 23:07 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, people have been reporting prices as high as 57 euros including shipping in France (about $75, and I'm pretty sure the comment about import duty in that thread is BS because there's no import duty when shipping between EU member states), and a similar price when ordering from Israel. Apparently Farnell were originally wanting $20 for shipping to the US too. Then there's Farnell's minimum value for credit card orders in some countries. In others they refuse to sell to non-business customers full stop.
  Also, notice how all of those posts are in the Off Topic section. That's because their forum moderators have a policy that all discussion of pricing or actually buying the device is off-topic or even outright trolling.
15. Re:Can't wait... by EvilIdler · 2012-03-08 23:53 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, and the Pogoplug isn't even the same class of device. The Pogoplug is a mini-server, while the Raspberry Pi is a client device with a decent mobile GPU. I wouldn't mind one of each. They'd be great together.
16. Re:Can't wait... by gl4ss · 2012-03-08 23:58 · Score: 0
  
  it's not a charity, it's a business.
  the charity angle is their off-hook from being called swindlers, for not having to care about delays, for not having support or certifications for the device.
  for what's it worth, you can buy an android in a usb-hdmi dongle for something like 79 bucks, shipped, from china. and it comes with a case, psu and a remote controller.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
17. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 00:53 · Score: 0
  
  $25 and thousands of NEW owners. Nothing revolutionary at all. Might as well have not bothered.
18. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 00:57 · Score: 0
  
  The CPU in the Raspberry Pi is the same class and speed as a CPU in an entry-level smart phone (think sub-$100 smart phone). All the GPU will ever be used for is desktop acceleration and playing MP4 video. The CPU simply doesn't have the oomph to do much more.
  Fyngyrz was fantasizing about "headless" tasks - stuff that you could already be doing with a Pogoplug. There's no reason to expect revolutionary new applications because the Raspberry Pi simply isn't different enough from what's already available. It it's not even cheaper. If you think I'm making this up, you haven't been looking for alternatives to the Pi.
  Yes, people will be able to use the Raspberry Pi as a low end desktop system. The device may be cheaper than other solutions, but - for that application - the display dwarfs the price of the computer, so there's hardly anything revolutionary or novel to be expected from that. In fact it will be so low-end for a desktop that most people will turn it into a media player after all.
19. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 01:04 · Score: 0
  
  Selling cheap computers to geeks to finance selling cheap computers to schools. Monsters.
20. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 01:15 · Score: 0
  
  Dude you have appear to have missed the point.
  > Something cheap for kiddies to nuke learning to program? I suppose.
  Err... that's it. They are selling us Model B to finance the selling of Model A to schools. Take the tin foil hat off, it concentrates the crazy ray.
21. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 01:22 · Score: 0
  
  Thousands of new owners who could already be working on their revolutionary projects if they really wanted and weren't just fanbois who believe that the Raspberry Pi will magically enable them to do something cool. You get a lightweight, low-power, cheap Linux computer, no more, no less. You could already have a lightweight, low-power, cheap Linux computer. Nothing changes, except for the inrush of hipster nerds who couldn't innovate their way out of a wet paper bag and will give up when they realize that you can't click on revolution and have it happen. By 2013, most Raspberry Pis will be tucked away behind big screen TVs working as media players. How novel.
22. Re:Can't wait... by zevans · 2012-03-09 01:31 · Score: 1
  
  Sounds more like bad planning too me. For HDMI to be relevant at all compared to VGA we are talking about a screen that supports 1080p and probably is 30"+
  Including HDMI means it will work on your TV. That's the point. Nobody should care what resolution it is as long as it's usable.
  
  If $90 is "a lot of money" you should probably try to balance the setup a bit more, drop some resolution/inches on the display and get a more expensive computer.
  Firstly, how is the $90 relevant? Secondly, you're assuming lower resolution is cheaper. This is probably not true; the cheapest option is the commodity option and right now that's HDMI 1080p.
  
  --
  "... and more and more now there are all kinds of electronic goodies available" -- Pink Floyd 1972
23. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 02:06 · Score: 2
  
  Raspberry Pi will magically enable them to do something cool.
  Talk about completely out of touch with reality. No dummy. Its all about price/performance metrics. Before the Pi, you'd be spending something in the area of $150-$300. Its the price which makes Pi stand out. Its the price point which move it out of a nitche, expensive research type toy to a much, much wider audience. For the price of one more traditional board, you can now get four to five Pis and that's a hell of a lot of processing power.
  Why is it anymore there are so many on slashdot who can't see what is extremely obvious.
24. Re:Can't wait... by Anon-Admin · 2012-03-09 02:19 · Score: 1
  
  Because he is one of the "hipster nerds who couldn't innovate their way out of a wet paper bag" thus he can not see all the possibilities that these low cost systems bring.
25. Re:Can't wait... by Anon-Admin · 2012-03-09 02:34 · Score: 1
  
  The Pogoplug measures 10.1 x 7.1 inches
  The Raspberry Pi measures 3.370 × 2.125 inch
  Pogoplug seems more of a media server where R-Pi is more development. Where I see the usefulness of this is internet connecting home devices using GPIO. No more build the board with a pic chip and custom write the stacks. The expansion possibilities make this a key device in my opinion.
26. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 02:49 · Score: 0
  
  Canada is well known for their high VATs. Plus, you're not comparing against USD, but the British Pound. All of these boards come from there and price is based on conversion from the pound.
27. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 02:56 · Score: 0
  
  You're an ignorant idiot if you think it costs $150 to get an ARM Linux computer right now. You're an ignorant idiot if you think people are not already doing these fabulous new things right now, because unlike you they have not been twiddling their thumbs waiting for their magic toy to appear
28. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 03:02 · Score: 0
  
  This is worth 5 mod points for being interesting? Did Tumblr take over Slashdot while I was out?
29. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 03:13 · Score: 0
  
  That's the size of the box, you idiot.
30. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 03:26 · Score: 0
  
  False. The Raspberry Pi is priced in US-dollars because it's made of parts that are priced in US-dollars. Their target price was always 35 USD for the full-featured version. You have to add shipping and tax to that.
31. Re:Can't wait... by tehcyder · 2012-03-09 03:54 · Score: 1
  
  It's 25 dollars, numb nuts. That's what makes it different.
  Nowadays, tern year old children have mobile phones worth ten or twenty times that in their pocket. I just don't see that the low price means anything unless you're talking about developing nations as with the OLPC project.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
32. Re:Can't wait... by oakgrove · 2012-03-09 03:56 · Score: 1
  
  It means you can buy stacks of them for the price of one of those phones the ten year old kid has in his pocket. If you can't see the value in that I don't know what to tell you.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
33. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 03:58 · Score: 1
  
  Unlike the Pi, the Pogoplug needs no proprietary software to support all hardware features. You can install a stock Debian on the Pogoplug.
  The Pogoplug has a 3.3V serial port on board (just like the Raspberry Pi): http://www.hack247.co.uk/pogo-plug-pink-serial-connection/
  You can use a USB-serial adapter instead if you want. It's no more trouble than on any other ARM Linux system (i.e. none at all).
  Not that it's necessary, but you can build a custom kernel and kernel modules on the Pogoplug itself. A cross-compile system is not required, just convenient.
  The Pi hardware is not open. The hardware is manufactured under a licensing deal with the foundation. The firmware and the graphics driver aren't open either.
  Where the Pi truly wins is HYPE.
34. Re:Can't wait... by tehcyder · 2012-03-09 04:00 · Score: 1
  
  $25 and thousands of NEW owners. Nothing revolutionary at all. Might as well have not bothered.
  If you give this to a new non-geeky child owner, they're going to plug it into their TV, see it does nothing much and go and play on their DS instead.
  
  Any kid who was interested in a relatively low spec Linux machine could have bought/been bought a 5 year old + laptop for less than fifty quid already. I got one of my kids a P3 laptop recently for about thirty pounds from ebay and it's got a keyboard, screen and hard drive included already.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
35. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 04:53 · Score: 0
  
  Re: GPU. 1080p30 H264 decode (although capable of encode at that rate if codec licensed). OpenGL ES HW acceleration (better performance that a Tegra 3), OpenVG HW acceleration. Same GPU as used in the Nokia 808 41MP phone, so good camera support.
  Plumb that all in, add the 700Mhz CPU and I think you have a decent teaching machine. Just requires decent software that uses the acceleration.
  Not bad for $35.
36. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 04:59 · Score: 0
  
  I wish people would get it through their heads that "charity" status means aboslutely nothing. THE primary reason most charity organizations exist is because peope inneptly belive its more positive than any other type of corporation. A charity is a type of corporation. The ONLY catch is that their profits must be reinvested into the company. Having said that, it says absolutely nothing about how they spend their money. If they can justify a new jet and matching his and hers sports cars, that fully qualifies as a legal re-investiment in the charity. For whatever reason, many people think that those working for charities makes less money. The fact is, on average, people working for large charities makes noteably MORE than other people do the same work. This is especially true for the executives of the charity.
  The fact is, ALL charities are businesses. There is nothing inherently good and better about a charity than any other type of corporation. Its all about the people running it and yes, there are some really, really, really shitty charities which have really well known names. The fact is, in many cases (far from all), a donation to some of these charities are actually funding private jets rather than the cause.
  So please people, stop thinking that charities are somehow magical entities whic are inherently good and selfless. Nothing could be farther from the truth and many only remain in business specifically because of the ignorance surrounding legal charity status.
37. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 05:10 · Score: 1
  
  A post so full of incorrect facts I just have to post FAIL.
  Yes, It's a charity operation. A charity, and no you cannot just change from charity to profit. It's not legal in the UK. So it's staying a charity. Implying that they are going to go profit do so is extremely poor judgement on your part, since there is no evidence or proof that it is (or indeed can) happen. That said, any Charity needs to run as a business or it goes bust, but all profits, by law, go back in to the charity.
  Prices haven't risen. There were some errors on the distributor websites that have now been corrected. The price, before tax, for the model B is $35.
  The only posts on the forums that are deleted are those with inappropriate language, or insults. Criticism has never been deleted. Threads have been locked when the arguments get over zealous.
  RS have preorders for 200k, Farnell figures not yet available, but likely similar. That may go some way to explaining the launch problems. Demand was much higher than expected. I don't think that is incompetence, in much the same way as the iStore failing yesterday due to iPad3 demand wasn't incompetence either.
  There have been delays - no-one has denied that. Ever heard of OpenPandora? That has delays too, as do many other products.
  The Foundation trustees include local business angels (UK term?) with a lot of commercial experience - it's not just talented techies. The problems encountered have been varied, but nothing unusual for a project like this. The only difference is that the problems have been blogged and posted, warts and all, so that people can see what a PITA it is to do something like this.
38. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 05:27 · Score: 0
  
  ...plus shipping, plus tax, plus case, plus power supply, plus screen, plus keyboard, plus mouse, plus SD-card.
  And then you're stuck with a CPU that can't even run Ubuntu due to lack of modern ARM CPU features. The GPU is really nice, but its general purpose processing power is not exposed to the user. It can even encode 1080p30, but again, that's a feature they're not making available to the user. You'll get really nice looking desktops that will infuriate the users with their slowness when the CPU needs to do some work or when the system needs more than 256MB of RAM (minus the shared RAM for the GPU) and starts swapping - to an SD-card.
39. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 05:40 · Score: 0
  
  Comments have been deleted for mere criticism without foul or offensive language, where the only "insult" was less than 100% agreement with the foundation. I would point to examples of outright censorship, but linking to deleted comments is difficult.
  One thing though that you can see all over their forum and news comments is the habitual "last word" comment by the forum moderators who keep telling their side of the story after closing threads or deleting comments.
40. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 05:53 · Score: 0
  
  And you are an asshole for assuming everyone is constantly online googling to find the latest cheapest ARM Linux computer.
  The cheapest, closest similar platform I know is the BeagleBone at about $90. Last time I checked $25 $90. Am I wrong about that?
  Also, put up or shut up, fucktard. If Raspberry Pi is nothing special it should be easy for you to show me a similar board for a similar price point. I will buy one the moment you can show me a link to one.
  I have six different brands of ARM SOCs on my desk all bought in the last 12-18 months. None of them is less than $100. They probably average $250 each. Sp Raspberry Pi is very very competitive in terms of capabilities for 1/10th the price.
41. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 09:13 · Score: 0
  
  You're right. This is not particularly exciting for a child. For a grown geek, however, of which there are countless roaming the globe, this is pretty exciting. A cheap solid state device, that you just push an sd card in to fully configure is a wonderful component to build, control and monitor things with. It's comparable in size and power and price to something like an Arduino, but it's much, much easier to program interesting things with. I've got at least 3 interesting projects lined up for which the Rpi would be a great match!
42. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 09:20 · Score: 0
  
  Look at the Tinkerforge Bricks product for a great way to add sensors and control things!
43. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 09:28 · Score: 0
  
  I did not assume that everyone is constantly online googling to find the latest cheapest ARM Linux computer. How could I, if you so clearly have no idea what's available? Do you think it's OK to tell me that "before the Pi, you'd be spending something in the area of $150-$300" when you later admit that you aren't even informed about the competition? That's ignorance par excellence.
44. Re:Can't wait... by arth1 · 2012-03-09 09:49 · Score: 1
  
  Where the Pi truly wins is HYPE.
  I'm probably going to be modded down for agreeing with you, but so be it.
  The $25 model lacks essentials like a network port. It's not going to be a big seller.
  The $35 model isn't $35 - your final bill is going to be much higher.
  Both of them run on an outdated arm CPU family, armv6, where support is dwindling.
  Yes, a beagleboard is more expensive, but not all that much more expensive, given how much more you get, and what you have to pay extra for with the Pi.
  What they have is the dark half of the Elite (the greatest old game ever) to front it. And a veneer of being charitable. So yes, hype.
45. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 10:52 · Score: 0
  
  And how many of those have readily available GPIO ports to which one can readily interface and come with everything else. The really cheap ones have no video you moron - or various other serious limitations - and are still generally more expensive. And generally by a LOT more expensive. Holy crap you are clueless on the subject matter. I guess dumb me for assuming you had any clue about anything which pertains to the subject at hand. Most ARM boards have zero GPIOs available to coders. The few that do normally find either the GPIO ports are not available for use, require an NDA be signed (which may not be available to individuals), or are somehow otherwise limited behind binary blobs and little to no support; so on and so on.
  The fact that Pi provies GPIO access, video, resonable accessories (USB, ethernet [also USB], co-processed HDMI) at a meager $25 and $35, clearly makes Pi a standout by a mile. Sorry, but factually speaking, anyone who doesn't know this is completely unfit to comment otherwise; case in point, your posts. Why are so many people on slashdot so completely clueless about the things they post about. It seems like they stronger they post, the most clueless they actually are about the subject matter. Hell, these days it seems like a 5:1 noise to signal ratio, if not more. Damn, slashdot is a shell of its former glory.
  The bottom line is, Pi creates a new category of price/performance/features intersection. Period. Anyone who says otherwise is releaving themselves too ignorant to comment. Those who are too ignorant and yet insist on posting anyways, are trolling. Case in point, see the parent post above.
46. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 11:49 · Score: 0
  
  Holy crap you guys are incredably ingornat. The pogo isn't even close to comparable. Pogo video? Nope. Let alone HDMI. 1080i for the Pogo? Nope! Pogo GPIO? Nope. Means its useless for a lot of projects else you now need to require additional hardware. The pogo is a big step down from the Pi and the Pi is already pretty basic stuff. And in exchange, you get to pay more for less hardware and features with a Pogo. The only thing hyped here is your clueless, FUD, trollish post.
  Why all the hate, lies, and flat out misrepresentation?
  No, the Pi is not the second comming of computing. It is, however, the justifying its hype, which honestly is very little considering its "hype" is a low cost, gpio, linux compatible, ARM SoC, with 256MB, USB, and ethernet, for $35. Wow, super impossible hype. Moron. Considering they've literally delivered on everything they stated, 100% of the hype is verifiable fact. You're clearly confused by all the facts surrounding the hype which means you should probably shut the fuck up and go bother to learn more about what the Pi has to offer rather than spread lies and misinformation. The ONLY people, to date, I've seen which have stated this product is overhyped are trolls, morons, and people who are completely fucking ignorant.
  For all the blow hards such as yourself, not one person has posted a link to a device with a better feature/price point. Not one. Thus far, you've all been full of ignorant shit based on nothing but trolling FUD.
  As for the morons trashing the ethernet port...well yes, its driven on the USB bus, but if you think you're going to saturate anything with this device even with a better ethernet port, you're an idiot. This device just doesn't have the umpff to really do that. So really, anything more is mostly a waste - save only that it allows morons to troll people who don't know any better.
47. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 13:03 · Score: 0
  
  First of all, you need to relax. Nobody is saying the Raspberry Pi is shit.
  Second, you need to read and understand what you're responding to. The premise of the thread was that people could do most of the things they envision for the Pi on devices which have been available for months at a similar price. Applications which require a graphics port were explicitly excepted, and they are actually not that interesting, because there's usually room for a bigger system and the price of the screen offsets the whole system cost so much that using an outdated CPU (ARMv6) can be considered penny wise, pound foolish. Hence back to the "headless" applications: The Pogoplug is just one example of a range of cheap ARM devices that can be used to do exactly what the Pi will be able to do. Sure, not all of these devices have lots of GPIO pins readily available, but a serial port is ubiquitous and GPIO is easy and cheap to add on. The GPIOs on the Pi need protective circuitry anyway, so the requirement to add something before you have robust GPIO is shared between existing systems and the Pi. It is a bit disingenious to claim that interfacing sensors and other hardware would be a problem for existing systems when people are already using these systems to do just that, thereby proving you wrong.
  As has been pointed out several times before, the Pogoplug is actually available for less than the Pi, taxed and shipped. And the Pogoplug is actually available.
48. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 13:17 · Score: 0
  
  Anyone who says otherwise is releaving themselves too ignorant to comment. Those who are too ignorant and yet insist on posting anyways, are trolling.
  Go back to moderating the Raspberry Pi forums. There's dissent to quench.
49. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 23:07 · Score: 0
  
  No they haven't. There hasn't been any outright censorship either. Please don't continue this tirade of lies. Feel free to visit the forums right now, where you will see all sorts of criticism, that is there for anyone to see. You will also see admissions of problems.
  As for the moderators adding comments after threads are locked - well, it is their forum! People seem to think these sorts of places (and I mean any sort of forum based around a product) are a democracy. They are not. You are using their forum, their server space, their bandwidth. They have every right to write what they like, and delete what they like. In fact in the Raspberry Pi case, very little gets deleted.
50. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 23:15 · Score: 0
  
  That may be true in the USA, but charities in the UK are strictly controlled, and you can lose your charitable status if things are seen to be not right. That said, there are still some bad ones.
  http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Start_up_a_charity/Set_up/default.aspx
  Since the Raspberry Pi foundation doesn't seem to have any employees it's difficult to see them being a 'bad' one.
51. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 00:55 · Score: 0
  
  So what you don't see really doesn't exist?
52. Re:Can't wait... by fyngyrz · 2012-03-10 13:44 · Score: 1
  
  Fyngyrz was fantasizing about "headless" tasks... The CPU simply doesn't have the oomph to do much more.
  No, I wasn't. You have no idea what you're talking about. You're probably thinking of OO software written to slog along in 3 ghz machines; I can tell you flatly that you use a straight C compiler --- or assembler -- do you remember assembler? -- and you can get *great* performance for a whole lot of things out of this thing's CPU. Think back to the Amiga: 20 MHz cpu, 4...8 MB (that's MEGabyte) of ram... and the things you could do were amazing. In fact, there were things you could do you STILL can't do with modern GPUs, such as multiple screen resolutions/bitdepths at once and true sprites, and I doubt those are present in the rpi.
  All that needs done with the rpi is some programmers with decent chops get after this thing. It could do everything from PCB layout and schematic capture to SSTV, games, spreadsheets, word processing and more. And of course if it'll support python, etc., the scripting possibilities alone are almost endless.
  The "problem" is that modern coding is really a very sloppy area. But perhaps for $35, people will be willing to learn to write well again.
  
  --
  I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
53. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-11 02:59 · Score: 0
  
  You really have no idea what you're talking about. You get extremely limited two wire on the pogoplug IF you disable flash drive support. Otherwise, you need to spend another $80 to $110 to get this via USB - or roll your own solution and/or board. So to be even roughly comparable on the absolute low end, you're still spending more on a pogoplug with the ONLY benefit being faster ethernet. And in exchange, you lost so much more. Clearly the pogoplug is a win if you like spending more and receiving less.
  And to be fair, the Pi is actually available. When something isn't available, it isn't for sale. In this case, not only is it for sale, but they are shipping units. Just because demand exceeds supply doesn't mean its not available.
54. Re:Can't wait... by RandomAdam · 2012-03-11 13:47 · Score: 1
  
  That seems a bit high,
  
  I paid $46NZ + $7.5NZ for shipping. This is for the model B, which is a far superior product, the ethernet connection alone makes it worth the extra $12 or what ever it is in NZD.
  
  Just have to wait ..... and wait .... and wait ....
  
  --
  @Random_Adam
  
  Sometimes a sig doesn't have to be funny!!
Re:Phil Kessel by Glasswire · 2012-03-08 13:12 · Score: 0

Surreal in it's irrelevance...
Re:Phil Kessel by Rhodri+Mawr · 2012-03-08 13:31 · Score: 1, Offtopic

So is the Raspberry Pi until it ships...
maybe they meant by __aaltlg1547 · 2012-03-08 13:50 · Score: 1

Comprising.
Imagine... by inode_buddha · 2012-03-08 14:16 · Score: 0

Imagine... a Beowulf cluster of these !
.

--
C|N>K
1. Re:Imagine... by jones_supa · 2012-03-08 19:56 · Score: 1
  
  Now after the "pies have come out of the oven", I would love to see a Slashdot story where someone has actually built a Raspberry Pi cluster which does something cool.
2. Re:Imagine... by psergiu · 2012-03-08 21:18 · Score: 2
  
  It was already imagined.
  It is called a "Bramble".
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
3. Re:Imagine... by mlush · 2012-03-08 23:07 · Score: 1
  
  It was already imagined. It is called a "Bramble".
  Interesting, I've contemplated building a cluster as a dev system
Smell, powerful, and... implantable? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 14:33 · Score: 0

Would it be possible to safely implant one of these devices into the human mind or body and run through RF or other means like a skin surfaced connection, usb port or what not, and be used covertly as a communication/storage device and melded with some type of shield so metal detectors and possibly CAT/MRI scans couldn't pick it up?
1. Re:Smell, powerful, and... implantable? by LordLucless · 2012-03-08 15:24 · Score: 2
  
  Aaaaand, the obligatory: http://xkcd.com/644/
  
  --
  Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
2. Re:Smell, powerful, and... implantable? by psergiu · 2012-03-08 21:24 · Score: 1
  
  It's credit card size. Not "smell" at all.
  A bit hard to "safely implant"
  Want a covert storage device ? Implant a microSD under a nail. :-) It may hurt a bit. :-)
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
Re:mod Dup by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 16:57 · Score: 0

Seriously? Goat.cx hasn't had the shock image in YEARS. Get a new link already.
Waiting for Pi Day? by mdsolar · 2012-03-08 17:20 · Score: 3, Funny

3-14 at 3 pm?
Pi Pad by hierophanta · 2012-03-08 18:52 · Score: 1

Im awaiting for the day when someone makes a capacitive touch screen and a bunch of batteries that one of these can be plugged into (enclosed pls).
Sugar Labs? by Ian.Waring · 2012-03-08 19:03 · Score: 2

Any ideas if all the work at Sugar Labs will work on this remix within the current memory size constraints of a Raspberry Pi?
1. Re:Sugar Labs? by Ignacio · 2012-03-08 20:30 · Score: 1
  
  It ought to. The XO-1 has 256MB RAM and a bulkier instruction set, so Sugar should be just a yum install away.
Just stop it! by itsme1234 · 2012-03-08 19:07 · Score: 1

What the heck is going on? You can't even preorder one and the ones ordered already are delayed. In the meantime there are about as many distributions for it as devices out there "in the wild".
We sold only like 10 devices on ebay (and yes, they fetched good money) and now there are thousands of seeds in the torrent for distribution X. And we need even more seeds! And today we repackaged distribution Y, go and download that as well!
Just take the buzz down a bit and start freakin' shipping!
1. Re:Just stop it! by psergiu · 2012-03-08 21:20 · Score: 1
  
  Mine is shipping.
  You should have stayed awake at 06:00 GMT that day.
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
2. Re:Just stop it! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 22:59 · Score: 0
  
  ...and relocated to a country where they didn't take orders from businesses only.
Further slight delays by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-08 19:53 · Score: 4, Informative

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but the first batch of 10000 pi's have
A component issue
The Ethernet jack on the pi is supposed to include the magnetic components but the Chinese factory
Appear to have substituted the jack for a standard wires only
This issue was only discovered during testing , they had to x-ray the jack to prove the substitution
It won't delay the first batch by much but there may be delays in volume production
Arduino? by ThirdPrize · 2012-03-08 20:41 · Score: 1

How is the Pi going to affect the Arduino market? Is the Pi higher specced and cheaper?

--
I have excellent Karma and I am not afraid to Troll it.
1. Re:Arduino? by robthebloke · 2012-03-08 22:49 · Score: 2
  
  The Pi is basically an iPad 1 with HDMI instead of the touchscreen, is much powerful than an 8bit arduino, and both are similarly priced. The Pi is basically a nice platform for children to start learning how to program, and for adults who like playing with awesome toys. The arduino is much more geared towards hardware/electronics projects rather than software development. The two platforms don't really compete with each other, but they do compliment each other rather well.... I suspect most people would own both.
2. Re:Arduino? by makomk · 2012-03-08 23:45 · Score: 1
  
  The Raspberry Pi's actually slower than the iPad 1 at least in terms of CPU - it has an older generation of ARM processor clocked at a lower speed. It's more in the ballpark of the iPhone 3GS. I'm not sure how the GPU compares because they're designed by different companies and there's a lot of marketing BS out there. The older ARM CPU does also mean that it can't run the ARM version of Ubuntu.
  These days, there are actually cheap made-in-China ARM tablets with more capable hardware.
3. Re:Arduino? by ZeroSumHappiness · 2012-03-09 00:53 · Score: 1
  
  Also, it's easy to go from Arduino to production of an AVR device. If you build an RPi machine you're always stuck running it on a full Linux machine.
4. Re:Arduino? by mlush · 2012-03-09 01:33 · Score: 1
  
  These days, there are actually cheap made-in-China ARM tablets with more capable hardware.
  link?
5. Re:Arduino? by makomk · 2012-03-09 02:57 · Score: 1
  
  Google/eBay/whatever the Allwinner A10. On paper at least, it's a really quite impressive chip powering some really cheap hardware.
6. Re:Arduino? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-11 03:21 · Score: 0
  
  The Pi is a very complimentary board with Arduino. They are not competition in any way. That is, unless you believe most people buy sledge hammers to pound in a one penny nail.
  Think of the Pi as a general purpose computer and an Arduino as the sensor interface for that computer. The Pi does have some General Purpose I/O (GPIO) ports but they are 3.3V (arduino is typically 5V) and requires some modest additional hardware. Which means the Arduino's GPIO is more accessable to a broader range of people. Not to mention, I don't think the Pi has any analog ports.
  But, if you use them both together, you can use the Arduino to do all the heavy lifting of sensor/device interface and let the Pi do the computational work. Meaning they will work very well together.
  Let me give you an example. Let's say you want to create a small hexapod robot. Let the arduino control all the servos which move the robot's legs and let the Pi perform all the heavy heavy lifting via image analysis, route planning, body position, and commands to move the body (whereby the low level stuff which actually moves the servos and sensors are done via the Arduino).
  Bluntly, Arduino and Pi exist in two completely different segments of the computational world. They are not competition in any way. They are about as complimentary as you can get.
Minix/ARM by unixisc · 2012-03-09 00:16 · Score: 2

Methinks the ideal distro for this box would be the ARM version of Minix 3. They should get that on the RP, and start from there.
Wrong name by maroberts · 2012-03-09 01:08 · Score: 1

they should call the release Raspberry Jam or similar. No one puts Fedoras in Pies.

--
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Karma: Chameleon
Re:Phil Kessel by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 01:21 · Score: 0

Hey dickwad, /. does nofollow on all of its links so your attempts at search engine manipulation have failed...
Free Pi by tomweeks · 2012-03-09 03:34 · Score: 1

I'm in line to get my FREE Pi. Picked up a coupon at the Blacksbug FudCON:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Archive:FUDCon:Blacksburg_2012
Planning on turning mine into a MythTV frontend unit. :)
Good times..
Tweeks
I know! by Pirulo · 2012-03-09 04:38 · Score: 1

Beowulf! ..hm, no?
1. Re:I know! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 05:57 · Score: 0
  
  Fine... I'll say it. Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these!!!
  But wait, I can't even buy a single one, let alone a cluster :(
Is this really ready... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 06:45 · Score: 0

And I mean not just "you can download it - it doesn't have 2d drivers yet so your experience will lack" kind of "ready"