$25 PC priced like a textbook, works with old analog TVs • Hacker News Board

Re: $25 PC priced like a textbook, works with old analog TVs

#61

Post by obarthelemy » Sat, Sep 10, 2011, 7:20 AM UTC

joezydeco wrote: post #53

handelaar wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you have to be an old fart... I was here for this last time, but then I remembered that 'last time' was 1981. This still looks like the most important thing of any kind for three decades to those of us who came out of the cheap home computer wave of the early 80s. (Me, I'm even closer to the Raspberry Pi heritage since I got my CS O-Level in 1987 with an IRC-alike network chat app for BBC LANs.) So try not to c…

I should throttle back my skepticism as well. I understand the intent of the project and I think it's a noble one. We've already lost an entire generation of potential programmers by not having something like this in the post Apple ][ / BBC Acorn / C64 era. Maybe I'm an old fart by thinking that we don't need a full desktop running at 1080p to make the kids happy, but what do I know anymore. It's an exciting and ambi…

Actually I could never afford a C64 nor Apple II. ZX81 and Spectrum where the thing for me.

Re: $25 PC priced like a textbook, works with old analog TVs

#62

Post by obarthelemy » Sat, Sep 10, 2011, 7:25 AM UTC

reemrevnivek wrote: post #4

$25 for a textbook? If only! I spend $50-$300 per class for engineering textbooks. Also, the analog port is, I believe, only available on the $35 version of the Raspberry Pi. It also works with HDMI and DVI (the latter through an adapter), so you don't need to go scrounging for an analog TV.

I think both the analog port and the hdmi port are available on both versions (model A and model B, shades of the BBC micro). THe only difference between the 2 is the amount of RAM (128 vs 256) and the IO (1 USB vs 2USB + Ethernet). Be aware that the B's 2 USB + ETHERNET are internally connected to the Broadcom's single USB port though... you're not adding bandwidth, just ports.

Re: $25 PC priced like a textbook, works with old analog TVs

#63

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Sep 10, 2011, 7:31 AM UTC

nitrogen wrote: post #29

What's to stop some consumer electronics manufacturer from buying Raspberry Pis and building them into a device? I'd actually like to do that myself, but if they're selling the boards at cost, that wouldn't be sustainable.

[deleted]

Re: $25 PC priced like a textbook, works with old analog TVs

#64

Post by obarthelemy » Sat, Sep 10, 2011, 7:32 AM UTC

nitrogen wrote: post #29

What's to stop some consumer electronics manufacturer from buying Raspberry Pis and building them into a device? I'd actually like to do that myself, but if they're selling the boards at cost, that wouldn't be sustainable.

Nothing. It would actually be welcome. There's a small margin built into the product, so it's nit like the foundation is losing money of sales. Plus, for the more charitably inclined, I understand there will be a buy 1 give 1 program, and a slightly pricier Pi with an inbuilt donation (same specs)