21 May
2013
21 May
'13
12:08 p.m.
Why is everybody loving this raspberry pie (sic!)
board?
'Everybody' does lot love the RPi.
It has its uses. For me, it's a machine with a USB host interface and a
serial port, and can run kermit. It lets me transfer files to USB sticks
for those who can't read real mass storage devices.
On the other hand, for me it is not suitable ad an embedded controller.
The PCB is awkward ot mount (with conenctors on all sides). There is
nowhere near enough user I/O (for want of a better term). The supplied
software has imprtant thigns missing. The documentation is attrocious,
which makes it totally unsuitable as an educational machine.
Have never used mine. I prefer the beaglebone.
Raspberry pi and it's Broadcom
chip are a bit too closed source for me. And it has nearly no expansion pins.
Yes, that was a major problem for me too. OK, it is clearly impossible ot
pring any kind of real processor bus out, but there should be enough I/O
lines to simulate something like the BBC 1MHz bus and there should be
drivers for that in the OS. So you can link up standard I/O chips and
talk to them. I was thinking of linking an RPi to HPIB, but the extra ICs
needed (probalby invovlign yet another microcontroller) maen it's not
worth doing it. Better to design the whole system from scratch.
-tony