Raspberry Pi - $35 Linux computer
- Thread starter daz
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limited edition beta boards, of course they will go for silly money...
It's a charity auction. High profile charity auctions always go for a shed load.
The fact they are limited edition prototype boards makes little difference to the price. It's becuase it's a charity auction.
Look at Eddie Jordan's shirt within went for 107k, there's rich people out there who don't mind giving to charity.
I posted this in GD but noticed there's a RPI thread here as well.
Im really excited about the R-Pi and looking forward to getting my hands on one when they become available. I missed out on programming with the first generation computers and can barely remember playing a few games on tape on the Commodore. Its regrettable that programming or computer science were not included in my school curriculum. ICT was about teaching how to use Excel, Access and Word - which im grateful for, but could have been taught in a shorter 3 week course, or by mixing it with other subjects like the sciences, history, etc.
I do 'get' the RPi and im well behind the mission of the RPi charity. I like seeing all the components, chips, resistors and ports on a small PCB and then make it do stuff. Even just to calculate a few numbers or build a tic-tac console game. With a modern Dell laptop it feels kind of artificial having Windows sit between my fingers and the raw computing goodness inside.
Got a few questions as well:
If the RPi is intended for teaching programming, what programming language will it be using? Im slowly learning Microsoft .net programming C# and VB but have no experience with anything else - i understand OOP in a conceptual sense which is a start.
Will there be a visual studio equivalent? Does what I know from C# carry across or will I be learning a new language from scratch
Ive had a play with Linux Ubuntu, and a couple other distro's. Ive always thought they were a complete PITA to use and you needed to be a computer genius to get anything done in linux. So my understanding is shallow to say the least. Whats the best way to get introduced to Linux and learn some terminal commands?
Im really excited about the R-Pi and looking forward to getting my hands on one when they become available. I missed out on programming with the first generation computers and can barely remember playing a few games on tape on the Commodore. Its regrettable that programming or computer science were not included in my school curriculum. ICT was about teaching how to use Excel, Access and Word - which im grateful for, but could have been taught in a shorter 3 week course, or by mixing it with other subjects like the sciences, history, etc.
I do 'get' the RPi and im well behind the mission of the RPi charity. I like seeing all the components, chips, resistors and ports on a small PCB and then make it do stuff. Even just to calculate a few numbers or build a tic-tac console game. With a modern Dell laptop it feels kind of artificial having Windows sit between my fingers and the raw computing goodness inside.
Got a few questions as well:
If the RPi is intended for teaching programming, what programming language will it be using? Im slowly learning Microsoft .net programming C# and VB but have no experience with anything else - i understand OOP in a conceptual sense which is a start.
Will there be a visual studio equivalent? Does what I know from C# carry across or will I be learning a new language from scratch
Ive had a play with Linux Ubuntu, and a couple other distro's. Ive always thought they were a complete PITA to use and you needed to be a computer genius to get anything done in linux. So my understanding is shallow to say the least. Whats the best way to get introduced to Linux and learn some terminal commands?
They seem to be putting a lot of focus on python, which is an awesome programming language btw for people new to programming. However, I imagine you'll be able to program in any language which works with linux.
I know absolutely nothing about programming for windows, visual studio or C#, so I'll leave it to someone else to respond to this.
Set up a linux install inside a virtual machine on your windows install. That way you can play to your heart's content and you basically can't damage your computer at all. There are many guides online on how to do this.
As said, python I think is the main aim which is a great high level language, but any other languages that work with Linux will do.
Don't forget you'll also be able to do web development on there as well.
Once you understand the basics of programming, OOP, inheritance etc then it's usually pretty easy to move from one language to the other, its a case of learning the syntax and any slight differences. Python for instance doesn't need variable types declaring, where as I know C++ does. (as said, i know a little amount on programming so hopefully that is all correct).
Check out the Python site for instance, follow some of the guides and see how well you can pick it up
Same as me, I've got a dual boot on this Netbook with ubuntu yet I never seem to use it. Just boot windows each time. I think I will look for a command line only version to run on an old laptop so I can use windows to learn from and the old laptop to practice on. I've got to ask for suggestions on which distro to use but might just look and see if I can use the same as the Raspberry PI is rumoured to use and see if I can get to grips with it.
Think its the GUI that puts me off, learn the cmd line basics then i'll move to GUI.
I for one can't wait to see them appear for peanuts on eBay, once the fad has passed and people realise that it's just really another dev board, like hundreds of others 
-- and yes, you can get very cheap dev boards, nothing /really/ stops people from learning programming or whatever it is hyped for. You can learn stuff like Javascript in a web browser, let alone many other website that allow you to run countless other languages.
I'm amazed they have managed to drum out so much hype on that, just mentioning "bbc" and they can release a corporate sponsored dev board while the company gets fantastic press coverage - priceless -.
-- and yes, you can get very cheap dev boards, nothing /really/ stops people from learning programming or whatever it is hyped for. You can learn stuff like Javascript in a web browser, let alone many other website that allow you to run countless other languages.I'm amazed they have managed to drum out so much hype on that, just mentioning "bbc" and they can release a corporate sponsored dev board while the company gets fantastic press coverage - priceless -.
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the only other real dev board thats in the same price tag is an arduino, and its like a stone tablet compared to the RPi
+1 - hehe, a very accurate description. Just wait for the RPi you can boot an entire distro from it in comparison to programming an arduino
mini2440 is a good example of board that is cheap, has complete open source stacks (I'm the maintainer of the kernel and bootloader for it) and has a choice of several screen sizes. And it's been out for years.
Or you can use even cheaper devices too (I bought some at £6!), like the Parrot df3120 which I hacked a couple of years back, and gives you an ARM9, a 3.5" screen and a bluetooth transceiver to play with: https://sites.google.com/site/repurposelinux/df3120
There are many, many others, from the sheevaplug range of "plug computers" to the beagleboard (which BTW even if old has a CPU way better than what's on the Raspberi) or the myriad of others, not even including the ones that are "repurposed"
If you want to learn to program and not just want another gadget to put on a shelf, you can program in your web browser, there are many websites that allow you to play with various languages, like Cloud9 for example. And if you /really/ want to learn program some hardware, you can very well do it on a 8 bits MCU like the AVR (arduino) -- ***er all they are a lot closer to the old 8 bits machines of the 80s.
As a professional embedded linux developer, I really find the "revolutionize the teaching of programming" argument of rasperi nothing short of disgusting, really. The fact it's amplified by the press of course (they got coverage in the Daily Wail for beeeeep sake!) but still, they are milking it.
Or you can use even cheaper devices too (I bought some at £6!), like the Parrot df3120 which I hacked a couple of years back, and gives you an ARM9, a 3.5" screen and a bluetooth transceiver to play with: https://sites.google.com/site/repurposelinux/df3120
There are many, many others, from the sheevaplug range of "plug computers" to the beagleboard (which BTW even if old has a CPU way better than what's on the Raspberi) or the myriad of others, not even including the ones that are "repurposed"
If you want to learn to program and not just want another gadget to put on a shelf, you can program in your web browser, there are many websites that allow you to play with various languages, like Cloud9 for example. And if you /really/ want to learn program some hardware, you can very well do it on a 8 bits MCU like the AVR (arduino) -- ***er all they are a lot closer to the old 8 bits machines of the 80s.
As a professional embedded linux developer, I really find the "revolutionize the teaching of programming" argument of rasperi nothing short of disgusting, really. The fact it's amplified by the press of course (they got coverage in the Daily Wail for beeeeep sake!) but still, they are milking it.
Ah, right. A completely unbiased viewpoint
Actually, I am, it's not like I'm selling anything here. If the raspberi eventually comes out I'll certainly get some -- I love manufacturer sponsored hardware, heck I have 6 O2 jogglers (they were 40 quid each at some point)
What I am against is the silly propaganda. It's just wrong. It' just a silly dev board that is NOT going to teach little Johnny to be a computer wiz.
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The fact that this can run a full-featured desktop environment should make these devices more approachable than other similar machines. I CAN see kids picking these up to have a play with and get working as media streamers. The promise of getting their HD MKV's on the tv in the bedroom should encourage them for starters, and they will have to learn at least a little linux to get it going. They will also have the freedom to tinker without parents worrying about breaking an expensive pc. At this price point they are almost disposable.
I dont think kids play with stuff like this to get into programming. They will do it to make the boards do cool stuff. If they can learn a thing or 2 in the process then its all good!
I will be buying for sure.
I dont think kids play with stuff like this to get into programming. They will do it to make the boards do cool stuff. If they can learn a thing or 2 in the process then its all good!
I will be buying for sure.
Reminded me of this article. Its a good read. I agree with the sentiment of the writer. Theres no going back to BASIC.
http://www.salon.com/2006/09/14/basic_2/
It's one thing to be critical of their 'propaganda', as you term it. But rather than saying 'I don't think they have a hope in hell of achieving what they say', you reckon that the PR fluff is:
Which is a little strong, no?
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It's one thing to be critical of their 'propaganda', as you term it. But rather than saying 'I don't think they have a hope in hell of achieving what they say', you reckon that the PR fluff is:
Which is a little strong, no?
I think hes just abit jealous as the RPi has more attention than the one he works on
That, is hilarious.
I think hes just abit jealous as the RPi has more attention than the one he works on
No, I actually don't give a toss, really. I started maintaining the mini2440 because it was cheap, disposable and the software that existed was chinese crap. Give me something else better/cheaper and I'll use that instead!
What I find disgusting is not just the Raspberi Pi, it's the general "will SOMEONE please think of the Chiiiiildren ?" bullseye that they just hit square in the middle.