Mastodawn

kdx Sep 28, 2023

With the #RaspberryPi5 releasing, don't forget how they boasted about hiring an ex surveillance cop, then ridiculed the people who criticized them for it.

Also remember how you weren't able to buy a Pi for months because they prioritized supplying their business customers.

I'm not buying #RaspberryPi products any longer, nor do I recommend them to my friends and clients. The Pi Foundation has become seriously out of touch.

scy Sep 28, 2023

Some links for those of you who don’t remember the cop story.

Their original fedi post (kudos for not having deleted it, or maybe they just _still_ feel that there’s nothing wrong with it):
https://web.archive.org/web/20240420011351/https://raspberrypi.social/@Raspberry_Pi/109476972427437410 (edit: raspberrypi.social is gone, I've replaced the link with one to archive.org)

Buzzfeed summarizing the situation, including the Foundation’s conspiracy theories:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisstokelwalker/raspberry-pi-hired-ex-cop-mastodon-controversy

#RaspberryPi #RaspberryPi5

Raspberry Pi :raspberrypi: (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image We hired a policeman & it's going really great. Meet our #Maker in Residence @[email protected]. "I was a #Surveillance Officer for 15 years, so I built stuff to hide covert video & audio gear. I’d disguise it as something else. During all those years of working with Raspberry Pi, I never thought I’d end up working here; as I’ve always been a #RaspberryPi fan, I’m fascinated to see what takes place behind the scenes." https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-raspberry-pis-maker-in-residence-toby-roberts/

Raspberry Pi

Count Regal Inkwell Sep 28, 2023

@scy Considering they never said anything about it, it's pretty much guaranteed they still think there's nothing wrong with it.

Jay 🆘Sep 28, 2023

@scy All the replies to the replies, where they mocked anybody who criticized them, was the weirdest part: https://eiara.nz/posts/2022/Dec/09/a-case-study-on-raspberry-pis-incident-on-the-fediverse/

A Case Study on Raspberry Pi’s Incident on the Fediverse

A short case study covering what happened with Raspberry Pi on the Fediverse.

an interesting bean

@scy a fun little piece of subtext about the buzzfeed article, I’m 95% sure that Liz Upton was personally in control of the RPi account, but in her interview is pretending that her subordinate, the social media manager, was.

Charles ☭ is now tooting from queer.party Sep 28, 2023

@scy its worth noting that they very strongly implied that a trans person on here was the source of doxing and death threats. That person was one of many who spoke up at the hire and arguably the most vulnerable. These false not-quite-allegations very much fit into the anti trans culture war of that moment.

Eepy Lunya cuddly edition

@scy that sounds like a shit company

Martin Haſeneyer Sep 28, 2023

@scy Is there a recommendation for an alternative system which is maintained and updated regularly?

All alternatives I had looked into provided an OS image which was already outdated, and never got updated again.

scy Sep 28, 2023

@mhaseneyer My recommendation would be to buy something that you can install a standard Linux distribution on and use that instead of some pre-built OS image from China.

However, since I haven't had the need to buy a new SBC for quite some time, I can't give you any recommendations, sorry. I'd be happy if other people in the replies could share some, though!

Rob Sep 28, 2023

@scy @mhaseneyer this... also I'm happy with my odroid products (hardkernel).

@rantanlan @scy @mhaseneyer Same! I'm using odroids for all my little project needs and they are fantastic. Better hardware for the price than any raspberry pi you could buy.

Plumeros ☮️Sep 28, 2023

@rantanlan @scy @mhaseneyer
Take Odroid C4 with Armbian.

Calum Robinson Sep 28, 2023

@mhaseneyer @scy It's worth considering Arduino or a cheap ESP32 if you just want to control a few lights/switches/motors. Raspberry Pi is overpowered for those sorts of tasks.

Chris [list of emoji]Sep 28, 2023

@mhaseneyer @scy

I've heard positive things about beagleboard.

https://www.beagleboard.org/

I have no personal experience with them, though.

BeagleBoard

Built on the proven BeagleBoard.org® open source Linux approach, BeagleBone® AI fills the gap between small SBCs and more powerful industrial computers.

BeagleBoard

snugglebug Sep 30, 2023

@mhaseneyer
A lot of these have already been mentioned, but check out this thread: https://chaos.social/@Natanox/110220871952686421

Natasha Nox 🇺🇦🇵🇸 (@[email protected])

First #RaspberryPi earned a shitstorm by hiring an ex-cop specialized in hidden surveillance. Now they accept an investment by Sony for their propr. AI engine to be included in the next Pi. Which "only sends metadata to the cloud". Edit 2024: They went IPO. Here's a list of alternatives: - https://beagleboard.org/ - https://www.banana-pi.org/ - https://www.hardkernel.com/ - https://www.friendlyelec.com/ - https://www.olimex.com/ - https://rockpi.org/ - https://libre.computer/ - https://www.starfivetech.com/en

chaos.social

fraggLe!Sep 28, 2023

@scy This is why I exclusively develop for the $8 ESP1312 boards.

scy Sep 28, 2023

@fwaggle I’d love seeing Espressif actually doing this. Them being a Chinese company I’m not exactly keeping my hopes up though.

jaseg Sep 28, 2023

@scy If you're about to buy yet another single-board computer, consider that right now, for around 150€ you can get a used Thinkpad X270 laptop. That price includes charger, SSD, keyboard, mouse and display, all of which you have to buy separately with an SBC. Additionally, by recycling a used device, you save lots of resources that would be consumed to make a new device.

scy Sep 28, 2023

@jaseg Valid point. 👍

(It’s not gonna be a solution for everyone though, especially when they don’t intend to attach a keyboard and screen and are looking for something with a small form factor to embed somewhere. But other than that: Yes. We should buy more stuff used anyway.)

lori Sep 28, 2023

@scy @jaseg yeah I can't relate to the "use an old laptop" replies, every single project I've used a raspi for has been because of its size.

I mean there are still alternatives for that use too but an old laptop is not a viable replacement for projects like these.

Damon L. Wakes Sep 28, 2023

@lori @scy @jaseg To be fair, one common recommendation for a Raspberry Pi is "It's a cheap way of letting kids try coding etc. on a device that nobody has to use for other stuff" and for that particular niche I think an old laptop is probably much better. As you say, it's not a universal solution, but it does strike me as a sensible first choice (with physical size admittedly being something that'll force a second choice for virtually anything where that's a factor).

@scy @jaseg don't forget stuff like i2c, machine control, sensors,etc, the most common stuff people use SBCs to do, an old laptop is fine if you just want a cheap computer but that's not really the use case for most people.

For some lower power stuff esp32 and arduino could potentially work, they're not a full SBC replacement, but if you're doing anything heavier there's really no alternative than the rpi or clones, at least not in the price range. (you can get similar riscv boards but $200+)

jaseg Sep 28, 2023

@raptor85 @scy You can totally just hook up an Adafruit Feather running CircuitPython to an old laptop, and still save money and the environment. A small microcontroller also has the advantage that even using CircuitPython you get less random scheduling delays when you're e.g. polling something, compared to an SBC running a normal non-realtime linux. You can even reasonably bitbang stuff in CircuitPython.

@jaseg @scy that's cool, I'll just shove a laptop in the 3"x3" space I have available for my remote units running off POE. Again, a laptop is great if you're replacing a computer, not so good replacing an embedded device/machine controller, completely different use cases, plus the screen/keyboard/battery is a ton of useless power draw/weight. There's clones like the Orange Pi and and Le Potato that are...ok, not great, but it would be nice to have a bit more competition in the <$100 range

Niklas Sep 28, 2023

@raptor85 @scy @jaseg

Funfact for i2c you can use the VGA Port of the Computer

https://dernulleffekt.de/doku.php?id=i2c_over_vga

i2c_over_vga [dernulleffekt]

…might work for coffee…Sep 28, 2023

I think it is different use cases, at least for me.

But to chime in, with rpi throwaway computing basicly started. A small Linux server became cheaper than going to the movies.

There are plenty of people needing cheap Laptops, so consider donating them after fixes/upgrades.

Draisinen Dieter Sep 28, 2023

@jaseg @scy Also one can get one of those mini PC(Fujitsu esprimo for example) refurbished for like 80€, if there is no need for a screen etc and the size matters.

Only issue I have with these is that I cant get the power usage close to what a rasperrypi is pulling.

Lightning Bjornsson*

evdonia_corner_emblem

@jaseg @scy There are X380 Yogas available for not quite 1.5x that price and they have quad core x86_64 processors and built in drawing tablets.

If you don't need gpio and the power draw isn't a problem it's a strictly superior option.

mei Sep 28, 2023

@jaseg @scy wah, my daily driver laptop is getting compared to a raspberry pi ;-;

jaseg Sep 28, 2023

@mei @scy I didn't mean to throw shade, I've only migrated off an x230 last winter myself 😅

Phil M0OFX Sep 28, 2023

@jaseg @scy I've just read this, and the X220 I'm typing on is suddenly looking very scared indeed.

ToroidalCore Sep 29, 2023

@jaseg @scy If what you need is really just a small, low power server, a thin client is a great choice. I have an HP t530 that runs Debian in pretty well, and only uses about three watts when idling.

Saagar Jha Sep 29, 2023

@jaseg @scy I guess the general issue with this is that the form factor is kind of awkward

LeoBurr Sep 30, 2023

@jaseg @scy I like HP Mini systems. They’re powerful, efficient, cheap, and small. I liked them so much, I built a 3 node proxmox replica cluster on some new models that I run my instance off of.

Here were a couple 8th gen Intel 35w systems with 32gb and 256gb SSDs that I sold a year Ago for $125 per.

Aron Gergely Sep 28, 2023

@scy Has the Pi foundation said anything about that social media meltdown? I thought it was just the incompetence of whoever runs their accounts - but then they should rectify that.

scy Sep 28, 2023

@arongergely I’d say they instead doubled down on that.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisstokelwalker/raspberry-pi-hired-ex-cop-mastodon-controversy

Raspberry Pi Hired An Ex-Cop And People Are Pissed

“I think what we’re looking at is a dogpile that’s being organized somewhere,” a Raspberry Pi cofounder told BuzzFeed News.

BuzzFeed News

Aron Gergely Sep 28, 2023

Alternatives I have good experience with:
armbian OS: https://www.armbian.com/
Hardkernel's boards: https://www.hardkernel.com/

Welcome - Armbian

Get the latest Armbian news, updates, and tips — straight to your inbox! Generic / UEFI ARM64 RISC-V Intel / AMD * Suitable for hardware that supports UEFI boot mode. Ever wonder who the great people are that make Armbian what it is? Check out the project authors page to learn more about them!

Armbian - Linux for ARM development boards

nachtpfoetchen2️⃣Sep 28, 2023

@scy @amberage ye but there is still a lot of content in for of guides, learning books & material for beginners & kids.

So until there is an alternative for these cases: i guess i have to keep recommending them.

nachtpfoetchen2️⃣Sep 28, 2023

@scy @amberage an alternative can be a normal thin client but well: guides for them are rare.

Matt Brunt Sep 28, 2023

@scy @joenash I'm still blocked by them for telling them their responses and approach to that situation were tone deaf and awful, they really couldn't take any criticism and doubled down

Grifdail Sep 28, 2023

@scy What would you recommand using instead ? (Same price range, support and overal power as a Pi 4)

lopta Sep 28, 2023

@scy What would be a suitable replacement for the #RaspberryPi Zero 2 W?

HugoPoi Sep 28, 2023

@scy and to add on this matter
Raspberry Pi hardware is mainly closed source hardware, gpu and some other stuff are only working with binary drivers. It's a huge issue, because we can't easily run other linux flavor beside extracting the binaries from Raspian images. The great Armbian supporting every boards on earth minus Raspberry Pi is very funny to see.

Annie Sep 28, 2023

@scy I'd honestly have not cared much about the cop hire, everyone they hire came from somewhere and I'm sure he's not the only one with a background I wouldn't approve of... but the way they bragged about it specifically and lashed out at critics... Yikes.

Ölbaum Sep 28, 2023

@scy Thank you, I actually had forgotten all about it.

cagey Sep 28, 2023

@scy Any recommendations for alternative single board systems in the same price range?

Aroop Roelofs Sep 28, 2023

@scy I quite like the Raspberry Pi5 (the board itself) but they indeed kinda betrayed the people that allowed them to exist in the first place.