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Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

raspberrypi.org

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Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#421

Post by picozeta »

Tepix wrote: post #221
StavrosK wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only case where it matters for me is that this runs Linux, which means that I'll have an extra computer to secure against intruders. An Arduino can't do as much damage to the rest of the network if it gets hacked.

Linux also isn't a real-time OS which is often important when dealing with motors and sensors.

However, you can get very far with the built-in real-time capabilities. If your software stack can deal with occasional jitter in sensor updates (and normally you have to take that into account), you can compile a stock kernel with PREEMPT_RT and can use C to build software that has to do IO every 1ms. In POSIX. That is huge.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#422

Post by StavrosK »

comrh wrote: post #420
StavrosK wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm, it looks like I open-sourced most of it a while ago (way to go, past me!): https://github.com/skorokithakis/ArduiRC I'll write up the details, but this is a good chunk of it.

I JUST started this exact functionality to communicate with a wireless scale, thanks for sharing!

You're welcome, I'm working on some NodeMCU-based designs now, with IR as well.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#423

Post by cdnsteve »

When I see $5 all I can think about is a massive cluster of these working together with something like Apache Mesos (http://mesos.apache.org/). The Raspberry Pi Zero, due to low cost, low power requirements (Around the 160mA mark (0.5/0.7W!) and small form factor, could be the future of data centres.

You could literally build a 100Ghz machine for $500.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#424

Post by Spooks »

Jemaclus wrote: post #417

I've got three Raspberry Pis. I don't know why. I don't know what to do with them. None of the projects that I've seen have been particularly compelling to me, and I'm not creative enough to come up with a good idea. So they sit on my desk, gathering dust, and act as a conversation piece when friends come over. "That? Yeah, I can build X, Y, or Z." and they say, "oooh, cool" and then I never actually follow through.…

why not build a htpc or an arcade box? very straight forward and you'll have more to talk about when your friends come over!

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#426

Post by jokoon »

rockmeamedee wrote: post #333

This is great, but for people who want to "get started in computing", don't they also need a display, a mouse and a keyboard? LCD screens are like, $100, a mouse is $10-$20 new and low-end keyboards are $10-$30. At that combined price, why does it matter if the computer is $25 or $5? And if one is going to outlay the 150 bucks in peripherals, they might as well spend a bit more than $5 on the computer to get a signif…

I'd be more interested in a cheap LCD+keyboard plastic thing with batteries. I hope raspberry is considering this option, or that somebody is trying it.

To be honest the cheapest android phone costs 60 bucks, so I wonder if there should not be some attempt to have a development suite that can be usable with a touch screen.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#427

Post by TheCapn »

Jemaclus wrote: post #417

I've got three Raspberry Pis. I don't know why. I don't know what to do with them. None of the projects that I've seen have been particularly compelling to me, and I'm not creative enough to come up with a good idea. So they sit on my desk, gathering dust, and act as a conversation piece when friends come over. "That? Yeah, I can build X, Y, or Z." and they say, "oooh, cool" and then I never actually follow through.…

Build them out as dummy media boxes and sell them for a markup. I've had people knocking my door down after they saw my Kodi setup but I simply pointed them to the how-to guides and told them to learn for themselves. I'm sure there's a few people out there who'd take one for $50 or so.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#428

Post by neltnerb »

kbart wrote: post #216
maheart wrote: post #26

This is seriously impressive. While the Raspberry Pi is not the perfect hacker-friendly computer, it has done a lot of good. Some reasons off the top of my head: 1. Providing a low cost computer has given many people access to computers. Giving more people access to the web, email, an office suit, a programming environment AND giving people the ability of safely tinker without the fear of bricking an expensive device…

"1. Providing a low cost computer has given many people access to computers. Giving more people access to the web, email, an office suit, a programming environment AND giving people the ability of safely tinker without the fear of bricking an expensive device." I seriously doubt about your first point. Adding the cost of accessories (mouse, keyboard, screen) and a shipping cost, Raspberry Pi costs the same as a decen…

It seems awfully silly to argue that it costs the same once you add in the price of a retail monitor. You're just saying that the price of the computer is negligible to the setup. They don't manufacture the peripherals, it's weird to blame them for not magically also dropping the price of those other things that they don't make or sell. Besides, it's pretty easy to get free mouse/keyboard/screen via donations from companies or individuals who upgrade if you're that worried about cost.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#429

Post by rorykoehler »

Tepix wrote: post #232
rdancer wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what you mean by "these type of devices", but you will be overjoyed that on Raspbian, updating the system is as easy as `apt-get udate && apt-get -y upgrade`, the kernel is currently v4.1.13 [1], and the rest of your comment is also FUD. [1] https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/blob/master/boot/ker...

I wouldn't call it FUD. Embedded devices tend to get updated less frequently than PCs. Connecting them all to the internet is not helping.

If security is an issue set it up to run a system cron job to update.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#430

Post by duskwuff »

intrasight wrote: post #361
Yaggo wrote: post #284

Too bad they didn't include camera module connector (CSI). Low-latency hardware-encoded h264 stream from camera is one of the most cool features in RPi platform. The Zero would be great e.g. for FPV fying folks, if it supported camera module. (USB cameras aren't answer here, as they typically don't have low-latency hw-encoding.)

Yeah, I had hoped for that as well. But connectors cost money. Could the camera module be attached via the header?

> Could the camera module be attached via the header?

No. The Raspberry Pi GPIO header doesn't include all pins, and in particular it doesn't include pins that were used for other peripherals, such as the camera and display interfaces.

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