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Raspberri PI Release Announcement

raspberrypi.org

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Re: Raspberri PI Release Announcement

#201

Post by arghhh »

forza wrote: post #109
lancefisher wrote: post #38

Fulfillment by Amazon would be awesome for this. Free two-day shipping and the site wouldn't go down. Edit: Seriously, you send them a big box, and they mail out all the little boxes. Check it out: http://www.amazonservices.com/content/fulfillment-by-amazon....

While it would have been a good idea to distribute some of the devices from the US that wasn't the main problem. A common way to do a launch like this is: 1. Make people register with their e-mail adress. 2. Send order links with unique and expiring tokens in batches. 3. Process payments.

If their forums were up, you'd see that they said that they have no plans for U.S. distribution anytime soon.

In addition, the HDMI support means you are locked into a T.V., or a computer monitor with HDMI which isn't as common, and the ARM architecture means most of the pre-built code out there won't run on it.

I was caught up in the hype too originally thinking of everything I would do with it, but basically, it is a slow computer without a case that will have few OS options, few software options, and that you could connect to a T.V. While there is much you could do with that, it certainly puts it into perspective.

A better option for most would be to find a used computer on Craigslist or eBay. However, if you live in the UK and are truly interested in a small ARM computer and have everything else you need to use it, go for it. I won't.

Re: Raspberri PI Release Announcement

#202

Post by arghhh »

PKeeble wrote: post #176
fmstephe wrote: post #172

This reaction is really surprising to me. The Raspberry Pi charity was set up in order to produce a product that could be used as an education tool. They have managed a spectacular feat, that has been 6 years in the making. This is a very exciting development but not just from a technical point of view. The Raspberry Pi represents the idea that computers are interesting to us intrinsically, that there is real value i…

Education might be the stated aim of the project but its not the limit of the device. This is a device similar to an Arduino except for the fact its got HDMI, USB, is about 700 times faster and in the order of 256 million times more RAM and its only 25% more expensive. Its a hardware hackers delight and a desktop capable computer. It is also a very real competitor for nettops which sell in the millions at a price poi…

"Education might be the stated aim of the project but its not the limit of the device."

Actually, I think it was the stated aim, but then they realized that, learning from the OLPC project, they needed to cater to the developers and techs that would buy these for projects.

Re: Raspberri PI Release Announcement

#203

Post by gaius »

ajays wrote: post #198
freehunter wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would fear more that 9500 of them end up on eBay at $200 per unit until the next batch comes along. I really don't like people profiting from squatting.

Then the eBay buyers would post projects. Eventually the units (or most of them) will end up in the hands of a hacker, regardless of the route taken to get there.

They're not supposed to end up in the hands of hackers for $200+. They're supposed to end up in the hands of kids for $35.

Re: Raspberri PI Release Announcement

#204

Post by apl »

PKeeble wrote: post #170
youlost_thegame wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, dying from success is never the desired outcome, but at least they managed to send a first batch, which will be reviewed, will increase the hype, and hopefully give them a second chance to do things right and stock some more units

Or it could tarnish their reputation and kill the whole product. Lets hope the engineering of the actual product is a little better than the sales process. But I still think its kind of important not to give your potential customers a 404 as your first interaction or you run the very real risk of having zero conversions from all that homepage traffic.

  >  you run the very real risk of having zero conversions
  > from all that homepage traffic.
Dear God. Don't use web-y start-up lingo in situations where none of the platitudes apply. R-PI faces demand severely outstripping demand, which is the polar opposite of what conversion rate-optimizing Bla-ly companies experience.

Re: Raspberri PI Release Announcement

#205

Post by cicero »

This is a very inexpensive product produced by a charity. How can they afford what it would take for a launch like this to run flawlessly? I work for a non-profit that does all it can to provide a high quality service at a below market price, so I have sympathy for these guys. If you want first class service from day one, expect to pay a little more than $35. Even Apple with their high profit margins has had difficulty with launches for high demand products.

Re: Raspberri PI Release Announcement

#206

Post by DanBC »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #165
rjsamson wrote: post #72

The hard link that RS had given out on their twitter was here: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/generalDisplay.html?id=raspberry... if anyone wants to keep trying...

That gives me, in the UK, "Register here to express an interest in Raspberry Pi". Which I did. Farnell then tell you: "By providing your contact details you are agreeing for your details to be used for marketing purposes by companies within the Premier Farnell Group." Which I find rather off-putting.

And since they are, in theory, business to business you don't get the already weak UK legal spam protection.

Re: Raspberri PI Release Announcement

#207

Post by djhworld »

cicero wrote: post #205

This is a very inexpensive product produced by a charity. How can they afford what it would take for a launch like this to run flawlessly? I work for a non-profit that does all it can to provide a high quality service at a below market price, so I have sympathy for these guys. If you want first class service from day one, expect to pay a little more than $35. Even Apple with their high profit margins has had difficul…

Yeah the amount of moaning is really shocking, I'm disappointed too but I'll be able to get a R-PI eventually. Patience is a virtue

Re: Raspberri PI Release Announcement

#208

Post by learc83 »

gaius wrote: post #203
ajays wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then the eBay buyers would post projects. Eventually the units (or most of them) will end up in the hands of a hacker, regardless of the route taken to get there.

They're not supposed to end up in the hands of hackers for $200+. They're supposed to end up in the hands of kids for $35.

This first run is not the educational release. These are specifically for hackers.

The educational release will be later this year, and will include cases, power supplies, and an OS for the same price. This release is lacking all those.

This early release is for hackers to play with, develop projects, and write tutorials, so that there is an ecosystem already in place for the educational release.

Re: Raspberri PI Release Announcement

#210

Post by outworlder »

zvrba wrote: post #178
DanBC wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you want a teeny tiny Arm development board? Because you want to make a fanless media server? Because you want to learn programming and your elder brother is hogging the PC surfing for whatever teenage boys surf for?

So it's a minicomputer without the disk, keyboard, mouse, screen, and speakers, which quickly adds up to $250 with cheapest components if you want to use it as a general-purpose computer. At the same time, it runs linux and the same linux distro runs also in qemu, so you can do most of the develompent without actual hardware. So where's the rush, why does everybody have to get it right now?

Really, can't you think of any use for a powerful, small, dirt cheap ARM computer?
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