Questioning Person wrote:But... But.. How is that possible?!
Well, don't be getting all excited by thinking it can even come close to replacing your current machine, unless that machine is a toaster. Essentially it's an ARMv6, 700 MHz micro-computer (with the ability to replicate 1080p Blu-ray quality). It also comes with 1 USB (though Model B comes with it (through Model B comes with it (Only 35$)), no Ethernet (though Model B comes with it (Only 35$)), HDMI port, Audio jack, and SD Card. The current operating system is Fedora Linux (Though Debian and Arch are supported (people are also working on making Ubuntu work on it)). It's so small that if you rounded the edges, it could fit into an Altoids tin.
The current release date is somewhere near the end of February, and personally, I'm stoked.
So, I was wondering what you guys think of it? Will you be getting it? Do you have an ideas of what to do with it? Are you going to take over the world? The only thing that's preventing my diabolical plans right now is that they're limiting one per person at initial launch.
My project ideas:
Beowulf Cluster:
This is the very first thing that popped into my head. If you could get 10 of these things, all hooked up into a cluster, you could have decent server for 200$, not a bad idea, eh? Though, of course there are problems. One of the main ones is that the Pi maxes out at a 100mb connection, and the other is a limited amount of RAM. Though, people are finding creative links to get around this. The current discussion on this, is [url="http://http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/projects-and-collaboration-general/cluster-bramble-design-discussion-advanced"]here[/url].
Touchscreen:
I thought it would be pretty cool to hook up a touchscreen to this bad boy and pimp it out. With a browser, alarm, calender, email, and weather applications, it would be extremely useful. The only thing you would have to do is either mod a current touchscreen driver for the ARMv6 processor, or make your own. I personally would love to make my own, but have 0 experience with the ARM processor. The current discussion on this, is [url="http://www.raspberrypi.org/forum/projects-and-collaboration-general/adding-a-small-touch-screen-to-the-pi]here[/url]. (Though there are _many_ others like this)
Solar-Powered Webserver:
With a bit of C and PHP, I could easily have a very nice web-server for hosting all of my work. With the edition of a solar panel it could be even cheaper, and up 24/7/365! But, unfortunetly I live in the Pacific Northwest, and sunshine is a rare sight around here. So, I think a battery-powered/solar-powered hybrid would be perfect. The current discussion on this, is here.
Modding DamnSmallLinux
With the limited storage space and the slow CPU speed, I thought it would be a genius idea to mod DamnSmallLinux to run on this machine. The only thing that would need to be done is to make sure it's compatible with the ARM processor. I would love to undertake this project, as I have a love connection with low-level theory and OS modding. <3
Those, are all my current ideas for projects. (Yes, I did get the ideas before I found them on their forum
). Now, my current standing point on this piece of hardware is as follows:
Pro's:
1. Making my adventures cheaper
2. Making the ability for hobby OS's to be tested on real hardware cheaper
3. Allowing kids, or teens, to be introduced to the programming/Linux scene.
4. Allows new projects to be created easily because of price
5. Cheap parts for robotics
6. Getting the name of Linux a bit more media coverage
7. Allows for easier experimentation with ARMv6
8. ???
9. Profit.
Con's:
1. Because of widespread Linux use and teenagers idiocracy, more Linux based virii may be made.
2. ARM processor = more difficult to program
3. No hardware documentation for the chip because of use of Broadcom's chip
As I see it, the pro's outweigh the con's and it is a wonderful idea. I was just wondering you're guys opinions on it.
TLDR;
centip3de wrote: So, I was wondering what you guys think of it? Will you be getting it? Do you have an ideas of what to do with it? Are you going to take over the world?
