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DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

jeffgeerling.com

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Re: DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

#481

Post by close04 »

zozbot234 wrote: post #425
close04 wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too bad they have these long lists of "this doesn't work so well" and I'm too time constrained to troubleshoot for too long or dig for solutions. And I'd also need to replace the battery. It's an option for when I actually have some time. The device integrity is a bigger deal, this is also a backup for some banking apps so if they don't work it kind of defeats the purpose. I removed all other apps to minimize the att…

If you're using it as backup for banking apps and the like I totally get not running a custom ROM on it! But you could also set that backup on something even cheaper, any one of the random not-bootloader-unlockable brands, and be left with the OP5 as a Linux phone. You're also right that the Linux support on OP5 is not up to standard yet, this is more of a question for the future if that support improves.

What's cheaper than an already existing phone that would otherwise stay unused or end up in the landfill (recycling center)? It could also be a great experimentation platform, play with Linux on the phone, but the time I have available now leaves little room for this kind of play.

Re: DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

#482

Post by MikePlacid »

zx8080 wrote: post #206
pilgrim0 wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how long these shortages have to last until software developers are required to be mindful of RAM usage like in the decades before,

Probably not. AI code generation will not allow to use memory efficiently.

Is it not enough to add to your prompt “use memory efficiently”?

Re: DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

#483

Post by Expurple »

megous wrote: post #126
throwaway85825 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Rust ecosystem and build tools are much easier to use than C. The value of a language isn't just syntax.

LLMs are great at C, probably because C is historically the most popular language in the world, by far. It only declined slightly very recently. But there's insane amount of code written in it.

But are they "no UB in the code" great? For my use, Opus is absolutely good enough at Rust

Re: DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

#484

Post by alpaca128 »

torginus wrote: post #390
throwatdem12311 wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My iPhone 11 hanging on for dear life…

I replaced my old iPhone XS when they stopped making IOS updates for it. I was also curious what the news ones could do. Turns out not much more.

The only two changes that matter to me are: no more iPhone Mini and no more hardware switch to mute the phone. Instead they got a new "thinnest iPhone ever" that's actually thicker than my 4+ year old one when measured honestly.

I don't see myself replacing mine any time soon.

Re: DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

#485

Post by alpaca128 »

nl wrote: post #295
tombert wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> AI is the best thing I've seen in 30 years working in software and expensive RAM for 2 years is a price I think is worth it. I think generative AI is pretty neat, but I'm not sure it's worth the RAM increases. I use Claude like everyone else does, and it's cool, but I am a little concerned at how much absolute low-effort crap is being produced with it. It has made YouTube considerably worse; there was already a lot…

Listen to the podcast I linked. 2 years is ramp up time for new memory factories (which are currently being built)

And if the AI bubble is still going then with datacenter construction going as planned, the RAM shortage will be even more extreme than today despite higher production capacities.

Re: DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

#486

Post by kjs3 »

muvlon wrote: post #407
yread wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there really that many small players? Aren't they all just subbrands of Xiaomi, Lenovo and Oppo?

There are a bunch of subbrands but there are also a lot of genuine small Android phone companies, especially in China. Some of these serve some interesting niches that might now disappear due to this DRAM supply issue, e.g. Unihertz for extra small phones or CAT for extra durable worksite phones.

Is there any 'guide' to this ecosystem...because 'odd niche communications gear' is always interesting.

Re: DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

#487

Post by MBCook »

nerdix wrote: post #476
MBCook wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a pair of 4 TB SSDs for like $300-350/ea two years ago. I don’t remember exactly. Around Christmas I tried to order one more. They wanted to above MSRP, like $500. Given the price of everything else I decided to just bite the bullet and do it. After about a month they canceled my order. Whether that’s because they didn’t actually have one and couldn’t get one, or because they just wanted to wait for the pric…

I built a new desktop in 2023 and repurposed my old desktop for my daughter. The old desktop had a couple of smaller SSDs so I swapped them out for a 2TB Samsung SSD. Paid $99 on Amazon. The exact same SSD is $479 on Amazon today. It's not a fancy super fast NVMe. It's a slow SATA drive. I have no idea why anyone would even consider building a PC with prices this inflated.

Mine were SATA too!

Re: DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

#488

Post by SenHeng »

torginus wrote: post #390
throwatdem12311 wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My iPhone 11 hanging on for dear life…

I replaced my old iPhone XS when they stopped making IOS updates for it. I was also curious what the news ones could do. Turns out not much more.

I switched from an 11 to a 15 because my friend got the 14 and it took amazingly stabilised videos while snowboarding.

Photos taken in the dark also became much better.

The default photos app can find words inside photos and translate without going on the internet. My wife’s 13 couldn’t even though we had the same OS.

I’m sure there’s more that I don’t even know about.

Re: DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

#489

Post by devy »

The high cost of high end DRAM (4GB+) cost skyrocketing has caused some interesting shifts:

1. Shifting Hobbyist Focus: Because hobbyists typically prefer parts under the $100 mark (so they don't "fret over breaking them"), the community is shifting away from modern, high-powered SBCs. Instead, people are moving toward:

2. Older SBC models (like the Pi 3 or 4 with lower RAM).

3. Microcontrollers (like the RP2040) which remain cheap. So Used hardware and "repurposing" old tech is retro trending again.

IMO, perhaps there will be push to make software/firmware more RAM efficient with AI assisted coding?

Re: DRAM pricing is killing the hobbyist SBC market

#490

Post by theshrike79 »

SenHeng wrote: post #488
torginus wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I replaced my old iPhone XS when they stopped making IOS updates for it. I was also curious what the news ones could do. Turns out not much more.

I switched from an 11 to a 15 because my friend got the 14 and it took amazingly stabilised videos while snowboarding. Photos taken in the dark also became much better. The default photos app can find words inside photos and translate without going on the internet. My wife’s 13 couldn’t even though we had the same OS. I’m sure there’s more that I don’t even know about.

And it does the word search and image recognition locally, which is the killer feature for me

Anyone can do it in the cloud, but I don’t want them looking at my photos

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