What can a $25 PC do what a $300 one can't...

[sffvba[e0rt]

... play 1080p video :'(

http://www.osnews.com/story/25147/Raspberry_Pi_Playing_1080p_Video

(And for reference sake, I am talking about my just turned 1 year old Samsung N150 netbook which just giggles at me and stutters when I try and play 720p via Youtube :/)


404

[meh_phistopheles]

i feel your pain. on the bright side though, for netbook owners who are feeling jipped, i just discovered that xournal makes my netbook an amazing pdf viewer/note-taker. so i get to save a few trees this academic year :). but that's off topic.

[cariboo]

[off topic]

Trees are a renewable resource, so you don't need to save any

[/off topic]

[Bucky Ball]

[off topic]

Trees are a renewable resource, so you don't need to save any

[/off topic]



You would need to research where the timber was sourced in this country to know for sure if your timber was coming from a plantation that worked that way. Renewable timber plantations replace native growth areas which we do need (if we intend to still be in to oxygen in the next couple of centuries that is).

[cariboo]

You would need to research where the timber was sourced in this country to know for sure if your timber was coming from a plantation that worked that way. Renewable timber plantations replace native growth areas which we do need (if we intend to still be in to oxygen in the next couple of centuries that is).



I live in British Columbia, we plant over a billion seedlings a year on crown land, they get harvested every 30 years, there are always more seedlings planted then trees harvested every year.

[kerry_s]

... play 1080p video :'(

http://www.osnews.com/story/25147/Raspberry_Pi_Playing_1080p_Video

(And for reference sake, I am talking about my just turned 1 year old Samsung N150 netbook which just giggles at me and stutters when I try and play 720p via Youtube :/)


404

i'd love to get 1 of those boards, $25 is in my price range. :p

[Paqman]

my just turned 1 year old Samsung N150 netbook which just giggles at me and stutters when I try and play 720p via Youtube :/)


With a vertical resolution of 600px, I wouldn't say you're missing much.

[smellyman]

[off topic]

Trees are a renewable resource, so you don't need to save any

[/off topic]

doesnt mean it can't have devastating effects on the environemnt/wildife.

save as many as you can.

[Paqman]

[off topic]

Trees are a renewable resource, so you don't need to save any

[/off topic]

Trees might be a renewable resource, the embodied energy of paper is surprisingly high. So saving paper is a good thing.

[Erik1984]

This is not a Flash video playing on the $25 PC I guess. That shows again how Flash sucks on Linux.

[disabledaccount]

This is not a Flash video playing on the $25 PC I guess. That shows again how Flash sucks on Linux.Obviously trolling.



Samsung N150 is weak and nothing will help, except ... gstreamer.

Minitube.

[Oxwivi]

... gstreamer.

Minitube.
Seconded, Flash performance lacks wherever comparable, in my experience.

[Johnb0y]

Seconded, Flash performance lacks wherever comparable, in my experience.

third!

[Erik1984]

Obviously trolling.



Samsung N150 is weak and nothing will help, except ... gstreamer.

Minitube.

I don't like Flash on Windows (or any other platform) either but the performance on Linux seems worse.

[Johnb0y]

picture me trolling... http://www.webseolive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/trolling.jpg ROFL:lolflag:

[Johnb0y]

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSC50pDPYlbBYA621Ks64BEjrsjc2cks S3F0GHeNBz2ECRkgqScSHdSxykt

[Oxwivi]

Okay, now the last two posts are real trolls here - they were actually off-topic! *insert dramatic lightning sound*

Anyway, I'm off-topic as well. Sorry for the crap, not found.

[forrestcupp]

picture me trolling... http://www.webseolive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/trolling.jpg ROFL:lolflag:

You can't put pictures of naked people on here. :)

[Johnb0y]

any how... back to topic! *yiipppeeee!

found this:

USB stick-sized PC for just $25

TOI Tech May 7, 2011, 10.43am IST
How about a computer as small as a USB stick? Yes that's exactly what UK-based game developer David Braben has built. Braben's Raspberry Pi is a computer that's the size of a USB stick and costs just $25.
And if you thought the small size also means that the PC pales on specs front, you got it wrong. The computer has a 700MHz processor and 128 Mb RAM. It comprises a tiny circuit board with an ARM processor, a USB port and an HDMI connection. Says the company on its site, "Our first product is about the size of a USB key, and is designed to plug into a TV or be combined with a touch screen for a low-cost tablet."


http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/images/pixel.gif
The project is still in its early stages, and more prototypes need to be built before it's finally launched. However, going by the looks of it, here's surely a promising gadget in making.
Raspberry Pi's full specsheet:
* 700MHz ARM11
* 128MB of SDRAM
* OpenGL ES 2.0
* 1080p30 H.264 high-profile decode
* Composite and HDMI video output
* USB 2.0
* SD/MMC/SDIO memory card slot
* General-purpose I/O
* Open software (Ubuntu, Iceweasel, KOffice, Python)


source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-07/gadgets-special/29516289_1_usb-hdmi-touch-screen


hope this helps with what it can put out... i.e. HDMI not sure what ratio, res,etc... but hey from $25... what do we expect... super computer? lol!

[Johnb0y]

also...
KPexEA writes with this excerpt from geek.com: "[Game developer David] Braben has developed a tiny USB stick PC (http://www.geek.com/articles/games/game-developer-david-braben-creates-a-usb-stick-pc-for-25-2011055/) that has an HDMI port on one end and a USB port on the other. You plug it into an HDMI socket and then connect a keyboard via the USB port, giving you a fully functioning machine running a version of Linux (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/rorycellanjones/2011/05/a_15_computer_to_inspire_young.html). The cost? $25. The hardware being offered (http://www.raspberrypi.org/) is no slouch either. It uses a 700MHz ARM11 processor coupled with 128MB of RAM and runs OpenGL ES 2.0, allowing for decent graphics performance with 1080p output confirmed. ... We can expect it to run a range of Linux distributions, but it looks like Ubuntu may be the distro it ships with. That means it will handle web browsing, run office applications, and give the user a fully functional computer to play with as soon as it's plugged in. All that and it can be carried in your pocket or on a key chain."

see underline!!!

[forrestcupp]

There was a thread about this on here not too long ago.

[Oxwivi]

Now we just need a portable, battery-powered monitor.

[Johnb0y]

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/439953100/TFT_LCD_portable_tv_12_inch.html

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/481894943/8_4_portable_LCD_Display_HD.html

LOL!

[forrestcupp]

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/439953100/TFT_LCD_portable_tv_12_inch.html

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/481894943/8_4_portable_LCD_Display_HD.html

LOL!

We need something in the $25 range. ;)

[BeRoot ReBoot]

Well that settles it, I'm getting two of these for file/www/torrent/backup servers and one for a media center. When are they opening pre-orders?

Also, I wish there was a wifi version so you could hack a battery pack onto it and leave them around town leeching internet connections off unsecured/WEP "secure" networks.

[Oxwivi]

Also, I wish there was a wifi version so you could hack a battery pack onto it and leave them around town leeching internet connections off unsecured/WEP "secure" networks.
If there are any electricity-powered USB hubs available, that's pretty much possible. If it's batteries, changing them is going to be a lotsa pain, IMO.

[Paqman]

When are they opening pre-orders?


No pre-orders. They're hoping to have them ready for sale this November.

[sffvba[e0rt]

Glad to see this thread didn't get derailed completely :)


404

PS - Anybody want a Samsung N150 Netbook, hardly used... Will swap for Pi... Raspberry Pi that is :p

[BeRoot ReBoot]

If there are any electricity-powered USB hubs available, that's pretty much possible. If it's batteries, changing them is going to be a lotsa pain, IMO.

I thought it was only a USB host, so it can't be charged via USB?

Also, it's supposed to draw 1W of power, so a battery pack could easily be made to last for days. And I wouldn't mind taking a walk around town twice a week to replace batteries in exchange for a dozen anonymous seedboxes/ftp dropservers.

[undecim]

I thought it was only a USB host, so it can't be charged via USB?

Also, it's supposed to draw 1W of power, so a battery pack could easily be made to last for days. And I wouldn't mind taking a walk around town twice a week to replace batteries in exchange for a dozen anonymous seedboxes/ftp dropservers.

Just make it solar powered.

[Johnb0y]

Just make it solar powered.

EPIC idea.. if the country can shine most of the time! lol

[BeRoot ReBoot]

Not that bad an idea, there are actually plenty of small, commercially available solar panels that can produce well above 1W. They could be used to charge a battery that would last during the night (and cloudy days). However, this would be much more difficult to hide than just a raspi with a battery pack.

[Lucradia]

An IBM T41 has 1080p resolution support with its tiny ATI VGA Connector. (Yes, widescreen even)

[Oxwivi]

I thought it was only a USB host, so it can't be charged via USB?
It is, but where will it get the electricity to operate, if not for the hub or wherever it's going to be attached?

[Linuxratty]

Put it in an intergate Steampunk box with matching monitor and keyboard...Spiffy!

[forrestcupp]

Not that bad an idea, there are actually plenty of small, commercially available solar panels that can produce well above 1W. They could be used to charge a battery that would last during the night (and cloudy days). However, this would be much more difficult to hide than just a raspi with a battery pack.

If it only uses 1W, you probably wouldn't need a very big panel. It wouldn't be as small as a calculator panel, but I'll bet it wouldn't need to be that much bigger. But then again, if you plug in a USB Wifi device it will be using much more than 1 Watt.

[disabledaccount]

Actually, 70W panels are out of stock right now - currently 300W panels (made in china) are relatively cheap: ~$500 in Europe. Honeywell are *that* faaaar more better, but **that** more expensive :)

[BeRoot ReBoot]

It is, but where will it get the electricity to operate, if not for the hub or wherever it's going to be attached?

It has a power plug, and comes with a brick that plugs into 220V AC. The USB hub is meant for attaching peripherals/storage to the raspi.

[sidzen]

Make a young kid any happier!

BTW -- to [off topic] -- people are also a renewable resource, does this mean we "do not have to save any" ? (hijack another thread!)

[sffvba[e0rt]

:) I suspect the size of the power converter that you have to plug into the wall is twice the size of the device (and also several magnitude it's weight... and even it's price).

The cool news is I suspect that if I chuck out the internals of the N150 I will be able to squeeze up to three of these devices in there... The worlds first cluster-netbook-computer .... (OK, that is my queue to step away from the keyboard... it is time for me to go home now and get some sleep while all the normal people around me gets up for a lovely Saturday outside :))


404

[Paqman]

:) I suspect the size of the power converter that you have to plug into the wall is twice the size of the device (and also several magnitude it's weight... and even it's price).


Which the idea of running it off a DC source (like PV) is cool. The Raspberry Pi wiki suggests it'll be 6-20V DC. I would have expected 5V myself, but I guess we'll see.

It'll be a bit useless without a ton of peripherals plugged into a USB hub though, so I suspect it's an idea that won't really fly.

[snip3r8]

I live in British Columbia, we plant over a billion seedlings a year on crown land, they get harvested every 30 years, there are always more seedlings planted then trees harvested every year.

We too farm trees for paper (because the local trees grow skew)