[GLLUG] Fw: Re: Raspberry Pi has a competitor?

Rocky Lichen rockylichen at yahoo.com
Wed Jan 18 15:19:59 EST 2012


According to http://rhombus-tech.net/faq/#index11h2
"Satellite TV 'Conditional Access Modules' are in PCMCIA form-factor, meaning that the connectors, housings and assemblies are all still mass-produced" and "the pricing on parts is still good in mass-volume quantities."

Note that the Rhombus-Tech Allwinner is just about the same size as the Raspberry Pi.

According to http://opensource.com/life/12/1/linux-hardware-race-tiniest-and-cheapest-15-cheap
the Allwinner is GPL-compliant open hardware, while Raspberry Pi has yet to make a decision on HW openness.

As for how they can do it cheaper, prices are falling so rapidly in the smartphone-ish device space that if you start later and develop faster . . .

The second link above also discusses the CuBox, which is already shipping.  It costs a whopping $129, but includes case, p/s, ethernet, eSATA, Ubuntu on microSD, etc., in a 2" cube.

Last and least, the line about politicians in NASCAR suits might more properly be attributed to Jim Hightower.


--- On Wed, 1/18/12, Charles Ulrich <charles at bityard.net> wrote:

> From: Charles Ulrich <charles at bityard.net>
> Subject: Re: [GLLUG] Raspberry Pi has a competitor?
> To: "Robar Philip" <philip.robar at gmail.com>
> Cc: "GLLUG" <linux-user at egr.msu.edu>
> Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 8:11 AM
> Looks interesting. I'm not sure what
> the point of the PCMCIA
> form-factor is, though. Will it slot into another box that
> houses all
> of the peripheral connectors? Then it's not really $15, is
> it?
> 
> Raspberri Pi is using every trick in the book to get their
> unit cost
> down to $25, and they're a non-profit organization (so,
> presumably
> with access to grants and subsidies) thus I'm curious how
> they intend
> to hit $15 for a much more powerful board.
> 
> One advantage that RaspPi has is that they will be shipping
> their end
> product in a few weeks.
> 
> Charles
> 
> On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 7:27 AM, Robar Philip <philip.robar at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > 1.5 GHz Cortex A8 ARM (3X the Pi’s speed), 2160P
> Hardware-accelerated Video, more RAM than the Pi...
> >
> > A $15 Linux computer?:  http://www.ubuntuvibes.com/2012/01/now-15-linux-computer.html
> >
> > Rhombus-Tech: http://rhombus-tech.net/
> >
> >
> > Phil
> > --
> > "All Congressmen should wear uniforms like NASCAR
> drivers so we can identify their corporate sponsors…”
> —“Lexington”
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > linux-user mailing list
> > linux-user at egr.msu.edu
> > http://mailman.egr.msu.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-user
> _______________________________________________
> linux-user mailing list
> linux-user at egr.msu.edu
> http://mailman.egr.msu.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-user
> 


More information about the linux-user mailing list