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Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

raspberrypi.org

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Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#491

Post by Klathmon »

daveguy wrote: post #328
Klathmon wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a kickstarter I backed called C.H.I.P. that is exactly this. It's very similar in specs to the pi but comes with onboard wifi and bluetooth for $9 pre-shipping!

Should probably include an asterisk there to explain the shipping with the C.H.I.P. $9 pre-shipping* * shipping is $10 to $20 depending on destination So, a "$9" computer that's actually $19-$29 due to sketchy shipping practices. I expect Raspberry Pi will not gouge customers on shipping to make up for their advertising gimmick.

I paid $5 for shipping[1], i'm not sure where you are getting $10-20 from. (I was charged $14 total)

And i'd rather they try not to roll shipping price in with the actual component.

[1]http://i.imgur.com/x5rQ73y.jpg

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#492

Post by nebula »

girishso wrote: post #178
cconcepts wrote: post #158

Amazing. If only I'd get my act together and do all the amazing stuff I planned when I bought my first pi - then I could justify buying this

Two years after buying mine, I put the pi to a good use only last week! Now I am using it as ad-blocker thanks to http://pi-hole.net/ , works like a charm. I ported the web interface for pi-hole to Go single executable ( https://github.com/girishso/pi-hole-web ) Now looking for something interesting to do on my second pi! Edit: Added pi-hole-web link.

I just love the idea.I may finally put my Pi for some good use. I am hoping enough people have looked at it to trust this with my network.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#493

Post by agumonkey »

Aissen wrote: post #107

Just as CHIP was announcing their $8 computer: http://getchip.com/ . It has wifi and bluetooth though. Same as Pi, watch for high shipping costs.

And 4GB of flash on SoC, also apparently some direct support for LiPO batteries. Not that I really understand it but makes the $9,$8 fair compared to the $5 pizero.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#494

Post by nsgi »

OJFord wrote: post #297
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…

To add a fifth point if I may - it was also rocket fuel for getting CS into the (what most here will call 'K12') curriculum. When I (only ~5 years ago) took GCSE (last compulsory qualification) 'IT' - even though it was the slightly different course for 'more able' pupils - we were learning how to make Flash animations, use MS Office, Windows Movie Maker, and sorry things like that. Forget "fifth point" - I think it'…

Pre-GCSE was even worse. Taking screenshots of each step of copying a folder to show that we knew how to do it.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#495

Post by mongol »

anonu wrote: post #453
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.…

I hear ya. One of my Raspberry Pi's sat around for a year or two. Then I got this idea to connect my sheet-fed scanner to it and scan pages directly to Dropbox. That worked nicely. My 2nd RPi I got 2 Canon Selphy Printers and setup a gmail account where I could send pictures to. The RPi picks up the images and send them to the printers in a round-robbin fashion. ... I guess what I'm saying is the sky is the limit...…

What brand of sheet feed scanner?

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#496

Post by j4d3 »

SarahofGaia wrote: post #450
jedahan wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's $5 at Adafruit. The starter pack has a whole bunch of stuff you might want for your first Pi, but probably can scrounge around for free or cheaper.

If it's $5 at Adafruit, then how come it doesn't show it? Most of the time a store will list something even if it's out of stock, but will just put a sticker on the entry that says "Out of stock".

The $5 standalone was on their site yesterday morning with an "Out of stock" label. I suspect I wasn't the only person who was annoyed to see that listed next to the bundles, and they removed it because complaining.

I still bought a bundle, because I haven't found any other way to get this in the next few weeks, and the board plus a few basics will be a great <$10 white elephant gift (after I see if I want to keep it for myself).

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#497

Post by rebootthesystem »

rebootthesystem wrote: post #389

To me the most significant event is that of a magazine giving a way a computer. For me something like NVidia Jetson is a far more significant (and useful) development than the ever-shrinking bubblegum stick computers that simply aren't that useful. Yes, it costs 100x more but there's no comparison when it comes to what you can do with one. And, if that's too much, how about something like this for $39 (includes CPU):…

I wish down-voters would take a moment to explain why they think a $5 crippled computer is better than a $39 full-featured board.

The context is that, in order to make use of the $5 crippled computer you have to spend, at a minimum, $100 in a keyboard, mouse monitor and power adapter.

I'm sure someone will say you can build little sprinkler system controllers and LED light blinkers and all all manner of other little projects.

Well, here's the problem: Why aren't we teaching our kids to do just that with little $0.50 microcontrollers? Why do we need a HUGE operating system running a gigahertz to teach or build the simplest things?

Here's a over 1,000 microcontrollers from $0.55 upwards with peripherals ranging from CAN, I2C, SPI, UART, USB, USB-OTG, A/D, D/A, Timers, Counters, PWM, WDT, Motor Control, LCD, etc.

http://goo.gl/Lc5gP6

What I see on my end, working with lots of kids, are a bunch of Pi's being bought only to collect dust. The idea of a super-cheap computer on a bubblegum stick might be interesting and heart-warming but the reality I see is that the vast majority of them are bought because of the novelty factor and they set aside and ignored.

I've had far more success with the kids by adopting a simple little 8 bit microprocessor and then teaching them how to do all kinds of interesting things with them in assembler at first and C later.

Their eyes and minds really open up and they gain an understanding that simply cannot be had by having a bubblegum computer with Linux that comes up to a command prompt. Worlds apart. And, oh, yes, none of my kids will ever be confused about pointers, stacks, memory management and a whole host of topics that confuse those who's first contact with computing is running Python on a stick computer of some sort...to turn on a sprinklers valve using a bunch of libraries and megabytes of coder running on a GHz processor.

It's a lot more work as a mentor, but if you really care about the kids and want them to learn and engage their brains, you can't throw a "done for you" solution at them.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#498

Post by walterbell »

rebootthesystem wrote: post #497
rebootthesystem wrote: post #389

To me the most significant event is that of a magazine giving a way a computer. For me something like NVidia Jetson is a far more significant (and useful) development than the ever-shrinking bubblegum stick computers that simply aren't that useful. Yes, it costs 100x more but there's no comparison when it comes to what you can do with one. And, if that's too much, how about something like this for $39 (includes CPU):…

I wish down-voters would take a moment to explain why they think a $5 crippled computer is better than a $39 full-featured board. The context is that, in order to make use of the $5 crippled computer you have to spend, at a minimum, $100 in a keyboard, mouse monitor and power adapter. I'm sure someone will say you can build little sprinkler system controllers and LED light blinkers and all all manner of other little…

Bravo. Even more infantilizing are the electronic kits from http://littlebits.cc.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#499

Post by el_benhameen »

dakotasmith wrote: post #479
el_benhameen wrote: post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly what I'm going to use this for, too. Right now I have an original Pi B logging GPS and OBD data, but it's crammed into a small storage spot in the car and is a big waste of space. I'm super excited to be able to cut my project to less than half its original size. I don't need ethernet (other than for debugging), four usb ports, etc. etc. I think this is going to be fantastic for creating homemade embed…

Do you have or did you follow a write up for this? I know I would be interested in reading how you set that up!

I don't right now, unfortunately, but a writeup is next on my list of projects after the carputer is complete. I'll post it here if there's interest. For learning about the OBD protocol, though, these resources have been very helpful:

The ELM 327 data sheet (this is the chip in most OBD devices you'll find on amazon): http://elmelectronics.com/DSheets/ELM327DS.pdf

Wikipedia's article on OBD PIDs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OBD-II_PIDs

"A complete guide to hacking your vehicle bus on the cheap & easy": https://theksmith.com/software/hack-vehicle-bus-cheap-easy-p...

There's a PyOBD python module out there (my carputer is built in python), but it's a fairly simple process so I just rolled by own using pyserial.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#500

Post by rebootthesystem »

walterbell wrote: post #498
rebootthesystem wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish down-voters would take a moment to explain why they think a $5 crippled computer is better than a $39 full-featured board. The context is that, in order to make use of the $5 crippled computer you have to spend, at a minimum, $100 in a keyboard, mouse monitor and power adapter. I'm sure someone will say you can build little sprinkler system controllers and LED light blinkers and all all manner of other little…

Bravo. Even more infantilizing are the electronic kits from http://littlebits.cc .

The weak link is always curriculum. Without a "plan" and mentorship kids learn very little. Sure, they can follow step by step instructions, click things together but they are learning very little.

Most kids learn nothing about strength of mechanical shapes by clicking together lego blocks. However, a curriculum that explicitly teaches how different structural shapes behave under various loads does teach them a lot. Ergo, the vast majority of kids only learn so much by following lego assembly instructions kit after kit.

That's not to say that these toys are not useful. They are. What I am pushing back against is that the cost of the educational toy or tool is directly related to the level of learning it can provide.

BTW, I do think that "little bits" can be useful with the right curriculum. Yet, we are talking about $200 again. This only strengthens my argument that a dive for the bottom it utterly meaningless when it comes to delivering usable value, either for education or for other applications.

In the case of poor countries or really poor people, yes, of course, lower cost could be the difference between access and no access. Yet, that's not the whole story because they need to spend at least $100 to play.

Is that the primary argument and mission of the various Pi boards? To serve the poor? Because, if it is, then I'd like to understand why it uses a video interface that requires fairly recent monitor that will cost somewhere around $80 and $100 in the US. Anyone who can spend that kind of money can afford something much better than a Pi. And far more useful...

Something like this:

http://goo.gl/QnkvrS

or this:

http://goo.gl/Mrgatw

Most Pi's end-up off in a corner collecting dust or in landfills. They are neat, but I have yet to find them useful. They are not the best financial investment in terms of education. And they are certainly not good enough to be used in commercial or industrial systems. I think their popularity is more of an emotional reaction than a rational decision. You can buy a fully functional Windows laptop for $100. And, if want to run Linux you can dual boot or install a VM.

I just don't see it. And I am talking out of experience with kids from ages 9 up to 17.

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