Another Raspberry Pi? $49 ARM Single-Board Computer With Android

Android != Pi by JoeMerchant · 2012-05-22 07:41 · Score: 4, Funny

Can't run Qt? Can't be a Pi.

Re:Android != Pi by Hatta · 2012-05-22 07:51 · Score: 1

So, install Debian.

--
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Re:Android != Pi by gl4ss · 2012-05-22 07:53 · Score: 2, Informative

yeah so instead of obscure sw with more obscure installation you can just hook it up and start playing angry birds or viewing netflix or using your market released android app.
or just hack it to run qt if you want, it's not like there's not ports.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtA_7kaB-0g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU_zPnQrM6E etc.
it's a much much more practical than pi tbh. but via didn't really need to do that much hard work (there's shitloads of 2.2-2.3 android boxes on dx for sale for 70-100 bucks which work with usb keyboards and mouses).
pi is a toy like altair, with a real os a device like this is more of a normal home computer.

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:Android != Pi by noh8rz3 · 2012-05-22 09:00 · Score: 1

wait, it doesnt have built-in wireless? what's the point of a wearable computer if it cant connect wirelessly with blutoot and wifii?
Re:Android != Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:17 · Score: 0

This thread should be titled Android Pi. Who wants a crappy mouse/keyboard version of an OS not meant to use a mouse and keyboard. I would much rather have something like ubuntu.
Re:Android != Pi by JohnnyMindcrime · 2012-05-22 09:45 · Score: 2

You're just jealous because RaspberryPi is British design.

--
Windows 10 is great - I used it to download Linux.
Re:Android != Pi by PReDiToR · 2012-05-22 10:17 · Score: 1

Neither this not the RasPi have built in WiFi/BlueTooth.

--

Do not meddle in the affairs of geeks for they are subtle and quick to anger
Re:Android != Pi by Archangel+Michael · 2012-05-22 10:51 · Score: 4, Funny

So, what you're saying is that it has to be a QT/PI ?

--
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
Re:Android != Pi by ozmanjusri · 2012-05-22 11:03 · Score: 2

My Android 4.03 Asus Transformer has a mouse/keyboard and works remarkably well. Most useful computer I own.

--
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Re:Android != Pi by marcosdumay · 2012-05-22 12:21 · Score: 2

How is Debian obscure? And how is "Put this image at the card; boot; you are done" is obscure installation? Pi is interesting because you can do actualy usefull things with it, what you can't do out of the box with Android.
Also, good luck playing Angry Birds without a touch screen.

pi is a toy like altair, with a real os a device like this is more of a normal home computer.
So, the thing running a desktop OS is a toy, while Android is like a home computer?

--
Rethinking email
Re:Android != Pi by noh8rz3 · 2012-05-22 12:37 · Score: 1

The question still stands, wtf?! Total fail if my deck of cards sized computer needs wired Internet. Heck, even many top tier notebooks are dropping the Ethernet port!
Re:Android != Pi by mrmeval · 2012-05-22 14:16 · Score: 1

Is the hardware completely open?

--
I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
Re:Android != Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 16:33 · Score: 0

If it has to be a QT/PI, it follows that the last thing you would want is a BlueTooth. Did you ever see someone win a beauty contest who had a blue tooth?
Re:Android != Pi by jkflying · 2012-05-22 18:17 · Score: 1

Only once every last router installed anywhere has 802.11N will I buy a notebook without Ethernet.

--
Help I am stuck in a signature factory!
Re:Android != Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 19:06 · Score: 1

Applications written in Java. It's definitely a toy.
Re:Android != Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 20:44 · Score: 0

Really? Last time I tried out an Android device with keyboard, you had to enter accented characters by pressing a key for a long time and there seemed to be no way to change the keyboard setting to a different locale. It was completely useless.
Has this been fixed?
Re:Android != Pi by jones_supa · 2012-05-22 22:46 · Score: 1

Also, good luck playing Angry Birds without a touch screen.
Only if the Android version requires a presence of touch screen to work correctly (?). In concept Angry Birds is playable with a normal mouse too - that's how the desktop version works.
Re:Android != Pi by Tsingi · 2012-05-23 00:29 · Score: 1

Excellent question. Anyone?
Re:Android != Pi by noh8rz3 · 2012-05-23 00:56 · Score: 1

You can but a USB dongle to connect to Ethernet. For the 0.001% of the time that you need it. My laptop's Ethernet jack is used less often than my grandma's coochie.
Re:Android != Pi by cupantae · 2012-05-23 01:11 · Score: 1

I have a USB wifi dongle where the part that plugs in is bigger than the rest. It cost about a tenner. Problem solved.

--
--
Re:Android != Pi by Lisandro · 2012-05-23 01:42 · Score: 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqQ6Z-HmAqY
Re:Android != Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-23 02:48 · Score: 0

I think that is a myth. The Raspberry Pi doesn't leak oil.
Re:Android != Pi by PReDiToR · 2012-05-23 04:28 · Score: 1

I came up with another solution.
But that wasn't what my reply was about. GP said that RasPi had built in radio, I just pointed out it doesn't.

For me this is no problem, I don't intend to put WiFi or BT into the machine, although I do have one of those stupidly small BT dongles (from the Pound Shop no less).

--

Do not meddle in the affairs of geeks for they are subtle and quick to anger
Re:Android != Pi by gl4ss · 2012-05-23 04:30 · Score: 1

you're a dimwit aren't you? just so happens I played angry birds just yesterday - on android box that doesn't have a touchscreen(or a screen of any kind)- with a mouse - connected to tv.
debian on a pi is pretty obscure combination. I'd have no trouble using it, but random guys from the street not so much.
and real os here is one that is shipping and familiar to hundreds of millions of people - "put this image on a card" is obscure as well.
does pi even have an android build?

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:Android != Pi by gl4ss · 2012-05-23 04:31 · Score: 1

probably as open as Pi.

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:Android != Pi by noh8rz3 · 2012-05-23 08:19 · Score: 1

I never said that the compuper has wifi or bt. i questioned why it does not, and still question it because it is a very bad design decision.
Re:Android != Pi by PReDiToR · 2012-05-23 08:43 · Score: 1

Sorry, you're right, you didn't. I wonder what it was made me think you had?

Anyhow, to address your points, on the RasPi the design decisions were made to financial constraints. The $25 model A for school kids price point just couldn't accommodate WiFi, nor Ethernet; only the (released) model B @ $35 has it.
The RasPi isn't intended to be a "wearable computer" and this APC looks like it has an aerial built in, although most cases you would put round it would tend to act as RF shields if the supporting circuitry was in place.

--

Do not meddle in the affairs of geeks for they are subtle and quick to anger
Re:Android != Pi by noh8rz3 · 2012-05-23 12:03 · Score: 1

the apple tv costs $99 and it has wifi built in. The apple airport express also costs &99 and is a full fledged wifi base station. How could they not squeeze it into the raspi?
Re:Android != Pi by PReDiToR · 2012-05-23 13:12 · Score: 1

The RasPi has no CMOS because it would put them over budget, there was originally only going to be 128MB RAM on the model A, and there is still a $10 difference because that's how much an Ethernet port, a double USB stack and a chip to run them cost. All because one of the founding goals of the project is to hit the $25 mark.
There isn't a lot of profit on these because they are made by a charity.
The other machines on the market have more power, RAM, ports, storage and power requirements. They cost more and are aimed at a different market. These things are basically priced to be disposable toys for kids to hack, program and experiment with, not run media centres, web servers or games machines.

You seem interested, why not hop on over to the Raspberry Pi site and have a look? There are large quantities of these things in manufacture right now so it shouldn't be too long before you can own one, if you could find a use for one.

--

Do not meddle in the affairs of geeks for they are subtle and quick to anger
Re:Android != Pi by jkflying · 2012-05-24 04:53 · Score: 1

Sure, a laptop, something with a built-in screen and built-in keyboard and built-in mouse. It's almost like it was made to not require wires or something...
A Pi will need all of the above externally, so if you're going to bother with those, how about just a wireless dongle?

--
Help I am stuck in a signature factory!

Toy by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 07:42 · Score: 0, Insightful

Without the GNU userland it's a consumer toy.

Re:Toy by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 07:51 · Score: 1

Whatever. I can see myself replacing $300 wyse terminals with these.
Re:Toy by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 07:57 · Score: 0

You mean useful?
Re:Toy by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-05-22 08:47 · Score: 1

Without the GNU userland it's a consumer toy.
Even if one accepts it purely as an android box, what would possess them to use 2.3, rather than ICS which isn't a total mess on larger screens?
Re:Toy by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:56 · Score: 0

Not enough CPU power or RAM for ICS? VGA out is about its only advantage over RPi for me with lots of VGA monitors around (and often free CRT's and cheap small LCD's on CraigList), and not so many TV's with HDMI (to spare) - really dumb lockdown decision by RPi it seems to me.
Re:Toy by gbjbaanb · 2012-05-22 10:21 · Score: 2

yeah, think of the cost savings... you just need a $250 monitor and keyboard :)
Re:Toy by jmorris42 · 2012-05-22 12:09 · Score: 3, Insightful

> really dumb lockdown decision by RPi it seems to me
No, the really cheap SoC they got their hands on didn't support it. Beggars can't be choosers. On the other hand, VIA's does, probably because they wanted it to and so they made it that way. But the real win is the VIA has a network port that doesn't appear to be just bolted onto a USB bus through a converter. And four (and perhaps a header for two more) USB ports. But the huge difference is 512MB of RAM vs 256MB; especially since at least 64MB has to come out for video and many sources for the Pi are saying if you plan on actually doing 3d or heavy video you will end up splitting it 128/128. Give this board the same 128M for video and you end up with three times the program space, maybe even enough to run a app or two.
If this board had a few spare GPIO pins brought out to a header there really wouldn't be a reason for Pi to exist at this point. Add in the the hard reality that VIA will probably be able to actually ship product near the announced date in whatever quantity you care to order in and that has to count for some extra points in their favor.
And just wait until Win8 ships, bet we see ARM motherboards then with even better specs, stuff good and hefty enough to run Windows on. Of course we will have to wait a few months beyond that so that the usual suspects can jailbreak them before being able to load up a useful OS.

--
Democrat delenda est
Re:Toy by sirnobicus · 2012-05-22 13:28 · Score: 1

I was hoping to do the same using the thinstation project. http://thinstation.org/ However there isn't a port planned for the Pi yet.
Re:Toy by ppc_digger · 2012-05-23 02:32 · Score: 1

If this board had a few spare GPIO pins brought out to a header there really wouldn't be a reason for Pi to exist at this point.
Except that it costs twice as much and draws more power, so it you don't need all the extra functionality it's a waste of money and electricity.

Not that I'm saying it's not needed. There probably will be a larger, more expensive version of the Raspberry Pi.

--
Of all major operating systems, UNIX is the only one originally meant for gaming.

Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 07:42 · Score: 5, Interesting

VIA spent a lot of time customizing Android to enable keyboard and mouse support which natively it does not support.

Uhm, I'm no expert, but I've plugged a USB keyboard and mouse into my Android 2.3 phone and both were recognized and usable instantly.

Re:Keyboard and mouse... by bmxeroh · 2012-05-22 07:56 · Score: 0

Interesting, I was reasonably sure that Android 2.3 doesn't support USB host mode. In fact a quick glance in googles direction indicates that that wasn't introduced until 3.1. I would love to know what phone your using, unless of course your talking out of your ass.

--
Central Ohio Home Theater Installation - The Theater People
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 08:01 · Score: 1

A Motorola Atrix II. I suppose it's likely Motorola added it when they added Webtop.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by vlm · 2012-05-22 08:02 · Score: 2

Maybe "spent a lot of time" meant they copied the work of the "android x86" guys. That's what I used to put android on my EEE netbook. Works great.
Reinventing the wheel?

--
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by jo_ham · 2012-05-22 08:02 · Score: 1

That puzzled me too - I thought Android supported USB keyboards out of the box? I'm sure someone told me they worked fine.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 08:08 · Score: 0

My wife had one of these for her Android 2.3 tablet: http://www.amazon.com/Leather-Case-Keyboard-Acer-Iconia/dp/B0058RWJMW/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1337717250&sr=8-8
Acer Iconica, I believe.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Tough+Love · 2012-05-22 08:14 · Score: 1

Maybe "spent a lot of time" meant they copied the work of the "android x86" guys... Reinventing the wheel?
Ah, ahem, that's what you are supposed to do in open source, that's how it works. It's massively parallel, effort is supposed to be duplicated. Good things happen that way.

--
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by gl4ss · 2012-05-22 08:16 · Score: 3, Informative

http://s.dx.com/search/android+tv+box
don't believe the release notes, believe the released machines. many 2.3 flavors support usb host just nicely.
or install android-x86 on your pc. android has pretty much always had mouse and keyboard support.

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Tough+Love · 2012-05-22 08:16 · Score: 1

Bluetooth keyboards have worked fine on Android since forever, with a few minor oversights like not having an on-screen way (other than settings) to disable the keyboard if it happens to still be in your backpack but associated.

--
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by h4rr4r · 2012-05-22 08:25 · Score: 2

Cyanogenmod has it as well.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Jerry+Atrick · 2012-05-22 08:27 · Score: 1

The 1st Android phone, the HTC G1, had a hard keyboard and trackball. It launched with Android 1.5
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by newcastlejon · 2012-05-22 09:04 · Score: 1

Maybe "spent a lot of time" meant they copied the work of the "android x86" guys... Reinventing the wheel?
Ah, ahem, that's what you are supposed to do in open source, that's how it works. It's massively parallel, effort is supposed to be duplicated. Good things happen that way.
I must have completely missed the point of OSS; I thought the idea was to share code so that people didn't have to continually reinvent the wheel.

--
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by dreemernj · 2012-05-22 09:16 · Score: 2

Atrix 4G and Atrix II can do it but I believe, as you say, they were added by Motorola. You could get a dock to make hooking USB devices up easily or just spend a little time getting them hooked up directly to the phone and then you had keyboard and mouse via USB and video via HDMI for a nice little setup.

--
1 (short ton / firkin) = 89.1432354 slugs / keg
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:49 · Score: 1

VIA spent a lot of time customizing Android to enable keyboard and mouse support which natively it does not support.
Uhm, I'm no expert, but I've plugged a USB keyboard and mouse into my Android 2.3 phone and both were recognized and usable instantly.
"Bother," a VIA spokesman explained earlier this morning. "Well that was two weeks we won't get back."
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:55 · Score: 1

USB host capability was added in 2.3, but most hardware didn't support it.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:57 · Score: 0

Mice as well. There's even mouse pointer options in Android 4.0's Settings app; not sure about earlier versions.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by blackest_k · 2012-05-22 10:04 · Score: 1

the original archos 7 running 1.6 supported mouse and keyboard tends to need a powered hub since the usb port is rather underpowered.

--
Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by oPless · 2012-05-22 10:35 · Score: 2

As long as the kernel is built for USB HID, android will use it.
IIRC I've also plugged in an unsupported (in android) bluetooth dongle, the HID drivers loaded and I suddenly got a working bluetooth keyboard too. Heh.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by JDAustin · 2012-05-22 11:56 · Score: 1

My Samsung Galaxy S2 running 2.3 does USB host along with bluetooth mouse and keyboard out of the box.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by SurfsUp · 2012-05-22 12:39 · Score: 1

Maybe "spent a lot of time" meant they copied the work of the "android x86" guys... Reinventing the wheel?
Ah, ahem, that's what you are supposed to do in open source, that's how it works. It's massively parallel, effort is supposed to be duplicated. Good things happen that way.
I must have completely missed the point of OSS; I thought the idea was to share code so that people didn't have to continually reinvent the wheel.
You didn't complete miss the point, you just missed half of it.

--
Life's a bitch but somebody's gotta do it.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 13:25 · Score: 0

Please enlighten us five-digited one.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 14:59 · Score: 0

I use my bluetooth Apple keyboard and trackpad on Cyanogenmod. Works great.
Re:Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-27 06:59 · Score: 0

VIA spent a lot of time customizing Android to enable keyboard and mouse support which natively it does not support.
Uhm, I'm no expert, but I've plugged a USB keyboard and mouse into my Android 2.3 phone and both were recognized and usable instantly.
how did you plug in USB keyboard and mouse to your Android phone exactly? Did you not have to root and install a custom kernel to support USB host mode?

No 1080 support? by jmorris42 · 2012-05-22 07:44 · Score: 4, Insightful

Kinda wierd to be releasing a product in 2012 that won't play 1080 video. I certainly wouldn't like a desktop on a 1280x720 display.

Some sites say the chip can do 1080, others only claim 720p. And if they are putting it on a *-ITX form factor would a SATA port have killed em to add? Any existing case will have this little guy rattling around in it, might as well have the option to put a small drive in. Sure Android probably won't use it but how many hours does anyone think it will take to get a more normal Linux distro on it?

--
Democrat delenda est

Re:No 1080 support? by Jeng · 2012-05-22 07:49 · Score: 1

They were aiming for in-expensive which means cutting corners.
If you want a mini-computer where they didn't cut some corners for cost you can find tons of them, just not many are under $100
So yea, adding a SATA port would have killed the project most likely.

--
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
Re:No 1080 support? by gl4ss · 2012-05-22 07:54 · Score: 1

most of the sub 100$ android boxes with hdmi on market do 1920p, probably a bit of a hit and miss which video's they can decode at that though.

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:No 1080 support? by cpu6502 · 2012-05-22 07:55 · Score: 3, Informative

You are confused. It can probably DISPLAY 1920x1080, but lacks the power to play full video at speed. Like the computer I have at home.
This thing also lacks sufficient memory. A modern-day browser like Chrome with Flash will not run properly on just 512MB of RAM. I know; I've tried. It's like a snail.

--
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
Re:No 1080 support? by PCM2 · 2012-05-22 07:57 · Score: 1

The manufacturer's site definitely says the chip can do 1080p and H.264. That doesn't mean this particular device can do greater than 720p, but I don't see any reason to hobble it. Anyone?

--
Breakfast served all day!
Re:No 1080 support? by PCM2 · 2012-05-22 08:01 · Score: 3, Informative

Answering my own question: It's just speculation, but based on the memory problems they cite in TFS, maybe the device manufacturer has opted to starve it for video memory. Thus, no 1080p, even though the chip's capable of it.

--
Breakfast served all day!
Re:No 1080 support? by gman003 · 2012-05-22 08:08 · Score: 3, Informative

1920p is not an actual resolution. You're thinking of 1080p, which is 1920x1080 in actual pixel dimensions (assuming 16:9 aspect ratio, which is near-universal for the ___p resolutions). While someone could theoretically make a 3412x1920 display, I do not know of any.
Re:No 1080 support? by Tough+Love · 2012-05-22 08:19 · Score: 2

Maybe try Opera then.

--
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
Re:No 1080 support? by h4rr4r · 2012-05-22 08:26 · Score: 1

1280x720 is pretty standard in call centers these days. These things look like they would make great thin clients.
Re:No 1080 support? by gQuigs · 2012-05-22 08:32 · Score: 1

On an old dell P4 with 512 MB of ram:
Firefox can play a YouTube video (at 360p) no problem, with multiple tabs open. Now if you were saying it can't play 1080p, I would completely agree (it can't even play 480p).
On a low end machine, I find modern version of Firefox to be much better [faster/uses less memory] than Chrome. (Especially when playing Flash content).
Re:No 1080 support? by gl4ss · 2012-05-22 08:38 · Score: 1

ah yes a mind typo. my bad. meant 1080p of course.

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:No 1080 support? by Lumpy · 2012-05-22 09:01 · Score: 1

"most of the sub 100$ android boxes with hdmi on market do 1920p,"
No they cant, in fact NONE of them can do 1920p. Who would use such a bizzare resolution?
In fact nothing out there short of a Nvidia chipset can do 2K ( 2048 × 1536) video resolutions let alone 4K and then there is that pesky no content problem for both of those....
What I think is funny as hell is everyone jonseing all over the 1080p problem as if it will look like melting turds at 720p. Sorry but 99% of all internet streaming content, including netflix and the likes are 720p and compressed all to hell. Anyone having a problem about it not doing 1080p is just a nutball that thinks bigger numbers are better.

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Re:No 1080 support? by EdZ · 2012-05-22 09:05 · Score: 4, Informative

They were aiming for in-expensive which means cutting corners.
The 'Pi can play 1080p h.264. At High Profile level 4.1 too, which means unfettered BluRay streams, not just main-profile low-bitrate transcoded video (as is usually the case with cheap devices advertising 1080p decode support).
Re:No 1080 support? by LWATCDR · 2012-05-22 09:05 · Score: 1

Yep the lack of SATA is a real PITA. I have found only two ARM boards that support SATA but they only have one port.
Give me two SATA ports and you now have a low power NAS or and or VOIP box.

--
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Re:No 1080 support? by ErikJson · 2012-05-22 09:28 · Score: 1

Kinda wierd to be releasing a product in 2012 that won't play 1080 video. I certainly wouldn't like a desktop on a 1280x720 display.
I would definitely like to pay less for hardware not being able to play video at all.
Re:No 1080 support? by chrb · 2012-05-22 11:12 · Score: 2

A modern-day browser like Chrome with Flash will not run properly on just 512MB of RAM
Chrome without Flash, on the other hand, will run fine. I used to run Tiny Core Linux on a Wyse terminal with 64MB RAM, and it was fine for general web browsing. Opera also ran ok.
Re:No 1080 support? by adisakp · 2012-05-22 12:53 · Score: 1

Kinda wierd to be releasing a product in 2012 that won't play 1080 video. I certainly wouldn't like a desktop on a 1280x720 display.
Some sites say the chip can do 1080, others only claim 720p. And if they are putting it on a *-ITX form factor would a SATA port have killed em to add? Any existing case will have this little guy rattling around in it, might as well have the option to put a small drive in. Sure Android probably won't use it but how many hours does anyone think it will take to get a more normal Linux distro on it?
This is the chip they are supposedly using: WONDERMEDIA PRIZM WM8750

1080p is in the specs on that page. It doesn't have SATA but it does have USB 2.0 and a USB-to-SATA adapter is $6.99 on Newegg.
Re:No 1080 support? by bill_mcgonigle · 2012-05-22 14:42 · Score: 1

how many hours does anyone think it will take to get a more normal Linux distro on it?
I tried to use Via parts a couple years back for some embedded work, and it was impossible to get useful video driver/3D info out of them. They had a whole backstory about how this company bought that company, yadda, yadda, but in the end I went with an Atom solution because they weren't interested in actually helping make stuff work.

--
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Re:No 1080 support? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 17:11 · Score: 0

Kinda wierd to be releasing a product in 2012 that won't play 1080 video.

I started computing in 1984 with a Spectrum 48K. From that date until today I have never needed to play 1080 video.
I think your use-case might be a little less common than you realise...
Re:No 1080 support? by petermgreen · 2012-05-22 22:43 · Score: 1

I have found only two ARM boards that support SATA
I can think of a few
I.Mx53 quickstart board
Dreamplug
D2plug
Marvell DB-78x00-BP (what debian use for armel buildds, unfortunately I can't find any further info on this)
hawkboard (though apparently this has horrible stability issues.
But you are right they generally only have one port
I presume you can get more sata ports by looking at devices that are actually sold as NAS boxes but I think they have much weaker CPUs :(

--
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register

Steeling an old Jobs line. by HornWumpus · 2012-05-22 07:44 · Score: 4, Informative

'A computer is a bicycle for your mind' was his line circa 1981. Don't know who he stole it from, but I'm sure he did.

--
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'

Re:Steeling an old Jobs line. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 08:04 · Score: 0

Perhaps a re-appropriation of Gloria Steinham's 1979 quote: "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle"?
Re:Steeling an old Jobs line. by Gordonjcp · 2012-05-22 08:10 · Score: 4, Informative

As documented here...
Re:Steeling an old Jobs line. by steveha · 2012-05-22 09:45 · Score: 2

This ad is reproduced in the book To Catch a Mouse, Make a Noise Like a Cheese by Lewis Kornfeld. In that book, Kornfeld shares his thoughts on marketing, and as part of that, he shows a few ads and then makes comments about them.
He was impressed (in a negative way) that Steve Jobs had his picture inserted in the ad many times. (This was pre-Mac so Steve Jobs wasn't famous yet; Kornfeld was a pioneer in the field of calling Steve Jobs on his ego.)
Also, he was displeased by the tagline: "When we invented the personal computer, we invented a new kind of bicycle" He had something to do with the TRS-80, which predated the Apple ][, so he thought it was rather cheeky for Apple/Jobs to claim to have invented the personal computer.
By the way, Lew Kornfeld was a big part of the project to get a special Superman comic book to try to get kids interested in computers. It's cheesy but perhaps not fully deserving of all the vitriol it gets: http://io9.com/5835188/that-stupid-time-superman-shilled-computers-for-radio-shack He talks about how that comic book happened in the book.
To Catch a Mouse, Make a Noise Like a Cheese is out of print, but I think it's a classic and worth finding a used copy.
steveha

--
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
Re:Steeling an old Jobs line. by gmhowell · 2012-05-22 13:48 · Score: 1

Perhaps a re-appropriation of Gloria Steinham's 1979 quote: "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle"?
The irony that that old cow never figured out is a bicycle doesn't need a fish either.

--
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon

It doesn't say... by tscheez · 2012-05-22 07:44 · Score: 1

but I assume "PC" and VIA mean x86?

--
Supplies!

Re:It doesn't say... by PCM2 · 2012-05-22 07:47 · Score: 4, Informative

The summary says it's an ARM-based device.
Specifically (judging by the photo) it uses a WonderMedia Prizm WM8750 SoC (system on a chip). That bundles the VIA 800Mhz ARM 11 core with some other stuff (click the link to see).

--
Breakfast served all day!
Re:It doesn't say... by Steve+Newall · 2012-05-22 07:49 · Score: 1

From the article "It features an 800MHz ARM SOC", so no, it's not x86
Re:It doesn't say... by Jeng · 2012-05-22 07:51 · Score: 3, Interesting

I know the other two people did mention that it is in the article and in the summary, but I would also like to point out that it was also in the very title at the top of your screen.

--
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
Re:It doesn't say... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 08:01 · Score: 0

I'd also like to point out the GP that his mother dresses him funny and that we saw him wearing white after Labor day.
Typical slashdot B.S. pileon.

Re:No Windows? by Jeng · 2012-05-22 07:44 · Score: 1

Step one: Locate a version of Windows that runs on ARM processors.

Step two: Locate a version of Crysis that runs on an ARM processor.

No need for a step three until you finish the first two steps.

--
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.

Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by a_nonamiss · 2012-05-22 07:45 · Score: 4, Informative

Except twice the size, more expensive, and runs an outdated operating system with no room for internal storage, that doesn't yet support a mouse or keyboard. Also, it requires a proprietary power supply. But otherwise, just like it.

--
-Arthur
Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules

Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by sizzzzlerz · 2012-05-22 07:50 · Score: 5, Funny

And like Raspberry Pi, I can't get one anyway.
Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:11 · Score: 1

Maybe it won't be just like the pi. Maybe VIA will actually document the entire SoC. Ya, broadcom, I'm lookin' at YOU.
Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by White+Flame · 2012-05-22 09:12 · Score: 1

Not to mention drawing almost 15 watts, and seemingly having lower resolution output. At least it's got more USB ports and VGA, but the latter is pretty minor nowadays.
Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:25 · Score: 0

Except twice the size, more expensive, and runs an outdated operating system with no room for internal storage, that doesn't yet support a mouse or keyboard. Also, it requires a proprietary power supply. But otherwise, just like it.
I don't get why people like the Rasberry Pi. It is so expensive compared to an Android Tablet when you consider the cost of buying a monitor and keyboard, and much less portable.
Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by Narishma · 2012-05-22 09:35 · Score: 1

As things currently stand, the SoC they're using is even less documented than the Broadcom one on the Pi. The only thing I could find about it is the block diagram someone linked in the comments above. (http://www.wondermedia.com.tw/en/products/platform/soc/wm8750/)

--
Mada mada dane.
Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:52 · Score: 0

Don't forget Raspberry Pi started with MicroSD but decided it was a mistake. It was too small, the cards were too expensive, and the reader wasn't solid enough.
Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by Blaskowicz · 2012-05-22 09:59 · Score: 1

it's not that minor, if you need to buy a new display for a toy you've just tripled its price instantly. this is why raspi is a no-go for poors, children and the third world.
the culprit is that you will likely have no video acceleration under linux.
Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by White+Flame · 2012-05-22 10:29 · Score: 1

The RPi is intended for people who have at least a television in the house. Composite + HDMI should work with the vast majority of such households.
Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by marcosdumay · 2012-05-22 12:37 · Score: 4, Informative

It runs a real OS (that you can code for easily - no app BS), can do 1080p, is pluggable to ethernet, can host USB, can plug on your TV or any monitor you have, and have an accessible GPIO.
The tablet isn't on the same market.

--
Rethinking email
Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by Joce640k · 2012-05-22 16:23 · Score: 0

can plug on your TV or any monitor you have
Unless it has a VGA connector...

--
No sig today...
Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by Hognoxious · 2012-05-22 19:14 · Score: 1

The VGA connector disables all the other inputs?

--
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."

Obligatory nostalgia by jeffmeden · 2012-05-22 07:46 · Score: 1

An 800MHz cpu and 512MB of ram? Why these days, I have more processing power than that in my phone... Oh, wait.

This sounds nice for a subcompact PC but with the advent of apps on Blu Ray players and embedded in TVs and everywhere else (including phones) with the same or better features, what is the real application for this? I doubt many of the existing Android apps will be a whole lot of fun on this thing. Is there a real market to have for $49 what you could build for $149 and have 3-5x the cpu? The only unique thing is the OS, but even that is hard to make a lot out of unless there are desktop Android apps out there. Are you going to sit and code apps for a $49 widget?

Re:Obligatory nostalgia by Bodhammer · 2012-05-22 07:53 · Score: 2

512MB is enough RAM for anybody...

--
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by gl4ss · 2012-05-22 07:57 · Score: 2

most (pretty much all that don't need multitouch which is very few) android apps will run fine on this like they do on any similar android hdmi+usb kb/mouse boxes available from china.
I recently(tonight) tried a 80 bucks one.. it even had angry birds on it preinstalled.

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by obarthelemy · 2012-05-22 08:16 · Score: 4, Informative

Actually, if that thing gets traction, the interesting thing would be to replace android with a regular Linux, and use it as a home server, a media station... I've got a couple of PCs that could easily replaced by this.

--
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by ajlitt · 2012-05-22 08:23 · Score: 1

800MHz single core ARM11. State of the art embedded for 2008. Spend $30 more and get yourself a Beaglebone.
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by h4rr4r · 2012-05-22 08:31 · Score: 1

I know if I can get it to work as a thin client there will be a market for me. I would even be happier with even less CPU and another $10 off the price.
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:23 · Score: 0

I've got a couple of PCs that could easily replaced by this.
That's kind of sad. good luck though.
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by Max+Littlemore · 2012-05-22 16:05 · Score: 1

Exactly what I was thinking. It looks to me lie a cheap headless server. Sure it has VGA, but I would only every use that to install/configure a decent OS. From then on it's a file/media/home automation server and not bad for the price.

--
I don't therefore I'm not.
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by jeffmeden · 2012-05-23 02:30 · Score: 1

Actually, if that thing gets traction, the interesting thing would be to replace android with a regular Linux, and use it as a home server, a media station... I've got a couple of PCs that could easily replaced by this.
Really? There are a million products or builds that do this for under $100 and with much better specs than this board... You are waiting for this to "get traction"? Come on.
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by obarthelemy · 2012-05-23 17:00 · Score: 1

this is under $50, and do you have examples ?

--
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.

How about one with a standard memory socket? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 07:47 · Score: 0

Put a DDR3 memory socket on it, please! Mount it sideways or something. Then we can pop in a $50 memory stick and have 8 GB of memory!

Re:How about one with a standard memory socket? by Jeng · 2012-05-22 07:56 · Score: 1

Do you have any idea how much that would increase the cost of this device?
This device is not getting talked about because it is a great computer substitute, but because it is cheap. Take away cheap and this has no market.

--
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
Re:How about one with a standard memory socket? by jmorris42 · 2012-05-22 08:40 · Score: 1

Actually, it isn't all that cheap. It is a motherboard with onboard video. Unlike the multitude of x86 motherboards selling for under $50 every day at a hundred different outlets this one comes with a lowball CPU and half a Gig of RAM soldered down. But on the other hand this product consumes a fraction of the board space, probably only needs at most four layers and skips the expensive ZIF socket and attachment hardware for a processor, the memory sockets, PCI/PCIe sockets, etc.
And Via should be large enough to produce in volume, unlike the charity making the Pi so that excuse vanishes. No, this isn't all that great a bargain. On the other hand if you want an ARM motherboard it isn't like you have many other choices to pick from right now. And if you need low power you can't beat em.

--
Democrat delenda est
Re:How about one with a standard memory socket? by Lumpy · 2012-05-22 08:56 · Score: 1

Point me at a X86 Motherboard with processor that runs on 5 watts of power like this does.

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Re:How about one with a standard memory socket? by jmorris42 · 2012-05-22 09:33 · Score: 1

> Point me at a X86 Motherboard with processor that runs on 5 watts of power like this does.
This one doesn't either. It can peak out at a little over 13 watts. And I suspect that doesn't include draw on the USB ports. It has four on the rear shield and if that yellow header is for a front mounted pair that brings the power supply needs about thirty watts. Still most excellent but high by phone standards so one has to wonder what is up.

--
Democrat delenda est
Re:How about one with a standard memory socket? by lysdexia · 2012-05-22 09:48 · Score: 1

http://pcengines.ch/alix.htm
... of course, it's not going to do what you want, but there you go. :-)
Re:How about one with a standard memory socket? by obarthelemy · 2012-05-22 09:55 · Score: 1

the VIA stuff has RAM (512MB), a small HD/SSD (2GB), and an SD slot. x86 MB+CPU combos usually have neither. so a *working* x86 setup does turn out 2-3 times more expensive, let alone bigger, noisier, and more power-hungry. even the lowliest of x86 will give you a lot more power, I/O, OS choice... though.

--
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Re:How about one with a standard memory socket? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 18:16 · Score: 0

Oh, I use the good ol' ALIX since beta days when it replaced WRAP. Pretty awesome as a router and haven't had a problem with it since years. I odered it with a nice case and it serves it's purposes glued to the wall now. Too bad it uses CF, which is kinda expensive.
Nowadays, you could also get a way cheaper normal AP and put DDWRT or similar on it but eh, it was fun building it and this box will probably continue working forever.
Re:How about one with a standard memory socket? by Junta · 2012-05-23 00:32 · Score: 1

That has about nothing to do with his point. Initial cost is not particularly driven by wattage. His point was that ~50 dollar x86 boards exist (though I think he is overly optimistic to say the price can include processor and memory). Even ignoring the cpu and memory, x86 boards incur more than enough complexity to offset the cost-add of an ARM chip and 512MB of memory. To support pci-e slots and a couple of DDR3 sockets, traces get significantly more complicated. To support a pluggable CPU, a much more expensive processor interconnect is used. The memory+cpu is probably cheaper than the average southbridge on a motherboard anyway.
So the question is not of 'value', the question is 'cost'. Lower power consumption adds value, but in this case doesn't really change the cost part of the equation.

--
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.

Actually sort of cool. by Nyder · 2012-05-22 07:47 · Score: 1

While not as small as the Rasp Pi, it seems pretty cool. Old School VGA connector.

Of course, you need a real OS on it.

Decently cheap, I like the direction this is going.

--
Be seeing you...

Re:Actually sort of cool. by MickyTheIdiot · 2012-05-22 07:59 · Score: 1

I know we are going to get a bunch of these "not a real OS" comments, but I can come up with a half dozen applications without thinking since this running Android. Not everyone needs a "real" OS, and if your parents/other oldsters in your life can deal with an Android phone and don't need a Jitterbug (because they don't all the "cutsey" pictures) then this might just be for them.
Re:Actually sort of cool. by h4rr4r · 2012-05-22 08:28 · Score: 1

What's not real about android?
You can run busybox and have a debian chroot if you want.
Re:Actually sort of cool. by hAckz0r · 2012-05-22 10:06 · Score: 1

Old School VGA connector.
It has both a VGA and an HDMI connector running 720p. Considering the low horse power of the CPU that resolution is somewhat impressive without a GPU power hog .
Thats not too bad for $49 if you have a specific need for Android. If the Android toolset was self hosting and the board had some extra digital IO interfaces, like the Ardrino, I would be sold on it already.

Re:No Windows? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 07:48 · Score: 0

Install Google Play and play NOVA or Shadowgun?

Hardly a Raspberry Pi by Gaygirlie · 2012-05-22 07:49 · Score: 5, Interesting

Raspberry Pi is first and foremost meant for hardware hacking which is quite obvious from the generous amounts of GPIO, I2C et. al. connectors on it. This thing lacks all that and is apparently aimed more at half-assed HTPC-tasks.

Even on the hardware-side this one is quite lacking. Yes, 4 USB2.0 - ports and a Gigabit ethernet are good features to have, but then they're paired with a measly 720p video output? What do you need all that bandwidth for if you can't even do full 1080p? In theory it could be used for data-processing or such, but then again, the thing would need more RAM and faster CPU for that. Well, it will make for a quite useable small box for running emulators and watching low-quality media, like e.g. YouTube videos.

Re:Hardly a Raspberry Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 07:56 · Score: 0

* Put Linux on it
* Sell it with a box as optional as well. Bare boards are a pain if you actually make something cool to run on it.
Re:Hardly a Raspberry Pi by grumpyman · 2012-05-22 08:10 · Score: 1

"a quite useable small box for running emulators and watching low-quality media (720p), like e.g. YouTube videos."
I'd want one of those. It seems the 'full' system will be around $150. Wait a minute, isn't that the cost of some cheap version of Android tablet directly from China?
Re:Hardly a Raspberry Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 08:25 · Score: 0

Maybe it has something to do with compatibility of programs. After all, 2.3.3 is the most widely used version of the OS.
Re:Hardly a Raspberry Pi by obarthelemy · 2012-05-22 08:29 · Score: 1

Nope. The pi is meant for software hacking above all.

--
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Re:Hardly a Raspberry Pi by santiagoanders · 2012-05-22 08:30 · Score: 1

Summary is wrong. It does not have gigabit ethernet.

--
"There can be little doubt that union activities lead to continuous and progressive inflation." F. A. Hayek
Re:Hardly a Raspberry Pi by Gaygirlie · 2012-05-22 09:35 · Score: 1

It actually says in the TFA that there is a gigabit ethernet.
Re:Hardly a Raspberry Pi by santiagoanders · 2012-05-22 10:05 · Score: 1

Well, in that case, the TFA has it wrong as well. http://apc.io/product/

--
"There can be little doubt that union activities lead to continuous and progressive inflation." F. A. Hayek
Re:Hardly a Raspberry Pi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 21:19 · Score: 0

Summary is wrong. It does not have gigabit ethernet.
To be fair to the summary, it accurately quotes the article; the article is wrong. If you follow the link in the article to the product page then yes it does indeed have 10/100 "fast" ethernet, not "gigabit".

Lone Starr is Smiling by Kamel+Jockey · 2012-05-22 07:53 · Score: 1

There's only one who will dare give the raspberry...

--
In case of fire, do not use elevator. Use water!

Re:No Windows? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 07:53 · Score: 0

Yeah, hope they a standard Linux build to it as well.

and... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 07:58 · Score: 0

The VIA option currently lacks any details on software development as well. All they talk about is that it runs a pre-installed custom version of Android; nothing about SDK's for the platform, etc.

What's needed is not this by drwho · 2012-05-22 07:59 · Score: 1

I don't care about video output, a serial port would be just fine. What I DO care about is D/A-A/D I/O - even a sound subsystem would be fine. The PI is missing this. The VIA board seems to have it, if the color of the ports are any indication of it. More USB is good too. I want a decent SBC for various apps, that has good I/O. A bonus would be lower power consumption, which I imagine this has, but what I probably won't get is extended temperature ranges.

Re:What's needed is not this by rthille · 2012-05-22 08:10 · Score: 1

Why not a "shield" for the Pi, with USB 2.0 and lots of D/A-A/D? Sorry, but as my friend used to tell me, "you are not a market", so adding that stuff to the base Raspberry Pi doesn't make sense.

--
Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/

Re:No Windows? by RoboRay · 2012-05-22 08:05 · Score: 1

Step four: Profit?

Re:No Windows? by Sarten-X · 2012-05-22 08:06 · Score: 0

Now, now... let the shill do his job and get his paycheck, for the good of the economy!

--
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.

yes it does support keyboard and mouse by farble1670 · 2012-05-22 08:07 · Score: 3, Insightful

VIA spent a lot of time customizing Android to enable keyboard and mouse support which natively it does not support.

yes, it does.

Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by a_nonamiss · 2012-05-22 08:15 · Score: 1

...starting in 3.1. Not 2.3.

--
-Arthur
Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by farble1670 · 2012-05-22 08:18 · Score: 4, Interesting

well you'd have to wonder why they "spent a lot of time" adding keyboard support to an outdated version of android when they could have used a slightly less old version of android that had it natively.
probably has to do with the memory constraints, but lame nonetheless.
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by gl4ss · 2012-05-22 08:43 · Score: 1

...starting in 3.1. Not 2.3.
the 2.2 box(with rca-audio, optical audio, hdmi, component and composite outs) I have in my backpack disagrees. so does android-x86, so does cyanogen. with 3.1 they just put it in the release notes.

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by Lumpy · 2012-05-22 08:52 · Score: 1

Yeah, it supported keyboards and mice from day one. Where the hell did they get that bizzare piece of FUD from?

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by Lumpy · 2012-05-22 08:53 · Score: 1

You can get 1.X version with keyboard and mouse support, you have been able to for years.
The androidX86 people have had it for a very long time.

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by DrXym · 2012-05-22 09:34 · Score: 1

I was running keyboard and mouse on a MIPS device running 2.1 (IIRC) 18 months ago. I never used it in anger so I don't know if it would have been a tolerable way to control the OS (probably stuff like advanced editing and stuff would have been a complete mess) but you could certainly do it in 2.x.
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by Belial6 · 2012-05-22 09:55 · Score: 1

The first Android phone used a hardware keyboard as it's only way to enter text.
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by phoenix_rizzen · 2012-05-22 10:22 · Score: 1

And they could have just used the work that Asus did for the Transformer. :)
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by farble1670 · 2012-05-22 10:26 · Score: 1

the transformer just uses stock android which has support for USB and bluetooth keyboards.
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by phoenix_rizzen · 2012-05-22 16:31 · Score: 1

But not pointing devices. Asus did a lot of the groundwork to add pointing device support to Android.
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 18:08 · Score: 0

Cyanogenmod has had it for a long time. CM7, which is 2.3-based, certainly has it.
Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by farble1670 · 2012-05-23 06:42 · Score: 1

no ... ICS supports bluetooth and USB keyboards and mice out of the box. you can see a video of a guy doing it here,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK7sK0qCDqI
note the Galaxy Nexus is a 100% stock Android device.

Re:No Windows? by Jeng · 2012-05-22 08:13 · Score: 1

Naw, step four is laugh when it runs at 1 frame per minute.

--
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.

Re:No Windows? by RoboRay · 2012-05-22 08:17 · Score: 5, Funny

Oh, I'm familiar with the turn-based variant of Crysis.

Re:just comment by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 08:29 · Score: 0

STFU

Now that's how the pros do it. by Animats · 2012-05-22 08:29 · Score: 1

Now this is how a real board looks. All the outward facing connectors are on one edge. The connectors are of types suitable for external connections, properly mounted hard to the board. The board has mounting holes.

There will probably be additional models. Note that the silk screen shows spaces for two more ICs that aren't populated here.

It's even assembled in Great Britain.

Re:Now that's how the pros do it. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-23 03:33 · Score: 0

Except that this board is huge in comparison to the raspi. They just took a Mini-ITX and chopped it in half, keeping the connectors and mounting holes,
Routing a board as small as the Raspi and getting all the connectors on one side without using an insane amount of layers is rather difficult.
Also, the types of the connectors are pretty much the same, and properly mounted in both cases.

Re:Seriously, please give these sane names by Jeng · 2012-05-22 08:35 · Score: 1

So as long as it has a cool name you'll use it, even if it just plain sucks ass?

--
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.

No 1080p? by ThePeices · 2012-05-22 08:36 · Score: 1

No 1080p hardware decode/encode?

Pi > 'APC'

Re:No Windows? by mitzampt · 2012-05-22 08:38 · Score: 1

Dammit, I'm begging you to mod this up! Do it for the tears in my eyes as I struggle to type this laughing out loud...

--
uhm...

I hope it's easy to blowout the OS by Lumpy · 2012-05-22 08:46 · Score: 1

and install BSD+IpCop on it. That would make a killer cheap firewall device.

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.

Re:I hope it's easy to blowout the OS by rubycodez · 2012-05-22 09:23 · Score: 1

only one NIC though, you'd need a USB ethernet dongle or something
Re:I hope it's easy to blowout the OS by bill_mcgonigle · 2012-05-22 14:44 · Score: 1

only one NIC though, you'd need a USB ethernet dongle or something
Router-on-a-stick isn't so bad with VLAN's and gigabit, at least for small networks.

--
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Re:I hope it's easy to blowout the OS by ArsenneLupin · 2012-05-22 21:28 · Score: 1

That would make a killer cheap firewall device.
Wouldn't it make more sense to buy an off-the-shelf router instead, and put OpenWRT or DD-WRT on it? Smaller, even cheaper, less power consumption and hardware specialized for the task.

Re:Seriously, please give these sane names by Lumpy · 2012-05-22 08:48 · Score: 1

Chevy sold a car named "doesnt go" car in mexico.

Their fault for calling it a No va!

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.

A bicycle for your mind by sl4shd0rk · 2012-05-22 08:51 · Score: 1

FTFA: "a bicycle for your mind". The tires are huge to support the weight. Overall too heavy to pedal. I need to trailer it everywhere. Due to copyright restrictions, I can only ride^H^H trailer it around Oracle's campus unless I agree to a 5 year license based on the number spokes on the wheels and size of the tires. I can pull off one wheel to save money, but then I need to purchase the 10-year license instead of the 5.

--
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!

usb is doable by Chirs · 2012-05-22 09:18 · Score: 1

If you're not willing to fork out for a proper NAS or a more expensive board with SATA ports, you can always use dual external drives with USB. Sure there's a speed penalty, but it's certainly functional.

Re:usb is doable by LWATCDR · 2012-05-22 21:03 · Score: 1

An Arm board with two SATA ports running OpenFiler would be a "proper NAS".
One of the strengths of FOSS is the ability to create systems using off the shelf hardware and FOSS software.
USB is not going to fast enough or reliable enough for anything but a home NAS.
You can get as I said two ARM boards that I know of with SATA ports. http://www.linaro.org/linaro-blog/2011/03/01/new-low-cost-cortex-a8-board-from-freescale/ and http://www.hawkboard.org/
Both lack GigaE and more than one SATA port.
Now this is an option http://www.embeddedarm.com/products/arm-sbc.php.

--
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.

Re:No Windows? by DrXym · 2012-05-22 09:31 · Score: 1

Depends if NOVA or Shadowgun work on ARMv6 devices. If not they'll be filtered out. There are a fair smattering of v6 phones but mostly low spec so I doubt the high performance games bother to target them.

Re:Seriously, please give these sane names by Jeng · 2012-05-22 09:31 · Score: 1

Still sold well in spanish speaking countries.

--
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.

gertboard or USB audio by Chirs · 2012-05-22 09:34 · Score: 1

The gertboard for the RPi will have ADC/DAC capability (2 channels, though apparently only up to 12-bit). Alternately, I see USB audio devices starting at $17 or so.

Re:gertboard or USB audio by PReDiToR · 2012-05-22 12:30 · Score: 1

$3.99 with free shipping.
In the UK we can get them for a quid.

I don't see this cheaply made devices having a DAC (or ADC) worth spit, but I knew $17 was a little high. Maybe the extra $13.01 buys you something that will last long enough to listen to the whole of the first song you play with it?

--

Do not meddle in the affairs of geeks for they are subtle and quick to anger

Re:Seriously, please give these sane names by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:40 · Score: 0

This well-known "fact" turns out to not be true. Ask a native Spanish-speaking person.

I don't get it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 09:56 · Score: 0

Android is a mobile touchscreen OS specifically designed for smartphones and tablets, and the latter took a lot of work on Google's part; so why are so many putting Android on devices like this when it seems such a poor fit? Lack of better alternatives? Don't flame me; I seriously want to know.

Are they trying to leverage... by unixisc · 2012-05-22 10:20 · Score: 1

... existing Android apps? That's the only reason I can imagine to put Android on something like this, instead of Minix 3.0, TinyCoreLinux, NanoBSD or something else.

Re:Are they trying to leverage... by tftp · 2012-05-22 12:35 · Score: 2

They are trying to leverage not only existing Android apps, but also future ones, and the Android SDK, and all the libraries, and all the skills and the numbers of developers who are familiar with Android.
If you write a Qt application you write it for a specific device. In fact, it won't work anywhere but on the system that has Qt runtime. If you write an Android application you can run it on more devices than you dare to count.
I used Qt for at least a decade, and I believe that for one Qt hacker there are 100 Android hackers.

Another Raspberry Pi? by Iniamyen · 2012-05-22 10:23 · Score: 1, Troll

Only if it's delayed until July 2013.

MAME? by Yvan256 · 2012-05-22 10:39 · Score: 1

Anyone knows if this thing will be powerful enough to run MAME? Or at least powerful enough for all the 2D games?

Re:No Windows? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 11:00 · Score: 1

let the shill do his job and get his paycheck, for the good of the economy!

Good of the economy?

His Microsoft bosses take over Nokia and the stock price tanks. People lose their money and jobs.

Google take over Motorola Mobility and their stock price lifts.

Who's good for the economy? Not Microsoft, that's for sure.

Linux does run on VIA nano platform by Taco+Cowboy · 2012-05-22 12:01 · Score: 1

Linux does run on VIA's nano chips

--
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !

Re:Linux does run on VIA nano platform by Tsingi · 2012-05-23 00:26 · Score: 1

Linux runs on everything.

Raspberry Pi has extremely few GPIO, I2C et al by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 13:36 · Score: 0

Raspberry Pi is first and foremost meant for hardware hacking which is quite obvious from the generous amounts of GPIO, I2C et. al. connectors on it.

What? Have you even looked at the Raspberry Pi's spec?

It's got so few such low-level hardware I/Os available that even the worst 50-cent PIC or AVR makes it looks utterly poverty-stricken. The cheapest Arduino is like a luxury yacht of hardware control connections compared to the Pi.

Jeez man, the mods are totally on crack as usual, and you're simply misinformed.

VIA? Yeah. Right! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 14:54 · Score: 0

As usual with VIA: They announce great hardware and then it is ultra giga hard to buy the hardware at your local shop or any other distribution channel.

Since ages I see great nano, pico, mini, whatever boards from VIA and all that fancy stuff but at the end it is not that easy to get your fingers on their hardware. So as much as I like to see VIA announcing new stuff... I still don't trust them to be capable to deliver. And by the time the are capable to deliver, other will already have entered the marketplace and be the de facto standard.

So VIA! Surprise me this time!

End of story.

Re:No Windows? by kdemetter · 2012-05-22 16:48 · Score: 1

Or wait until someone ports it.
I'm sure someone could make a MUD from it , and that would probably run fine on Raspberry Pi.

--
Slipping shoelaces ?

Re:No Windows? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 17:00 · Score: 0

Hint : stock prices != good economy

Whether stock will go down or up after a takeover, highly depends on perception.
But it's neither good nor bad for the economy as a whole. It's just moving money from the pockets of some investors, to others.

Creating added value , that's what's good for the economy. And in order to get started, some investors may be needed.

So if you want to help the economy, don't invest in large companies who barely create added value. Invest in small companies who create added value .

VIA Vaporware by arglebargle_xiv · 2012-05-22 17:35 · Score: 1

This sounds pretty cool, but unfortunately Via have a long, long history of announcing really cool products that then take years to appear, if they ever appear. This is particularly distressing with the EPIA stuff, where you can wait, literally, years after some cool new technology is announced before it's generally available, if it becomes available at all. Something like a SheevaPlug may cost a bit more, but then it's available right now and has an active dev community going for it.

Practical solution by jones_supa · 2012-05-22 19:16 · Score: 1

If you want a good, relatively cheap general purpose computer, get an AMD Zacate system either as a netbook or, a mini-ITX system with some 120€ 1080p display.

PoE ?? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 20:47 · Score: 0

13 Watts max.
Should have PoE written all over it.
Shame it doesn't.

Beaglebone is $89, 256 RAM by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-23 00:50 · Score: 0

http://www.mouser.com/beaglebone/?cm_mmc=google-_-ppc-_-americas-_-TexasInstruments&gclid=CNyp4fK4lrACFYmR7QodxTrz3Q

How is this better ?

Re:No Windows? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-23 00:58 · Score: 0

So, what you're saying is... Step three: ???

Re:Seriously, please give these sane names by vuo · 2012-05-24 07:56 · Score: 1

The name for a real commercial product can be bland, boring or just plain bad, but it can't be unpresentable. Or a silly joke - you could pay maybe $5 for the novelty, but not more.

That, and the other pet peeve of mine is that pi isn't really "pie" [pai], as in the bakery product, but "pi" [pi] (modern) or [pei] (ancient Greek). This incredibly lame attempt at humor is obviously lost on most people.

Slashdot Mirror

Another Raspberry Pi? $49 ARM Single-Board Computer With Android

206 comments