Folks,
Looks like there’s been some good Broadcom baking to make my SBC list obsolete with the latest spin of the Raspberry Pi hitting the headlines:
BBC: Raspberry Pi 2 unveiled with faster processor and more memory
A new budget-priced Raspberry Pi computer has been unveiled, offering child coders and others a faster processor and more memory than before, but at about the same price.
The Raspberry Pi 2 Model B is roughly six times more powerful than the prior version, the Model B+ …
… Another UK-based firm, Imagination, recently released a [CI20] bare-bones computer of its own, and the Arduino, Intel Galileo, Gizmo 2, BeagleBone Black and Hummingboard also form part of a growing list of rivals.
The Raspberry Pi 2 makes two major changes to the previous version, while leaving other components unchanged:
The CPU (central processing unit) is now quad-core rather than single-core… In addition, the Cortex A7 processor now runs [ARMv7 code] at [900]MHz rather than 700MHz [and running ARMv6 code];
The board now features one gigabyte of RAM (random access) memory, double the amount that was previously included…
BBC: Sony creates 30 new jobs at Pencoed factory
Sony is creating 30 new jobs at its factory in Bridgend county as the technology giant quadruples its production to cope with the expected demand of a next generation computer.
It is taking on the extra staff at its Pencoed site after unveiling the new budget-priced Raspberry Pi 2. The production rate will rise from 18,000 units to 80,000 units per week…
RaspberryPi.org: Raspberry Pi 2 on sale now at $35
Raspberry Pi 2 is now on sale for $35 (the same price as the existing Model B+), featuring:
A 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU (~6x performance)
1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM (2x memory)
Complete compatibility with Raspberry Pi 1Because it has an ARMv7 processor, it can run the full range of ARM GNU/Linux distributions, including Snappy Ubuntu Core, as well as Microsoft Windows 10…
Phoronix: The Raspberry Pi 2 Makes A Big Difference Even For Web Browsing
The just-announced Raspberry Pi 2 is said to be six times faster than the original Raspberry Pi thanks to finally moving over to ARMv7 and going with a quad-core SoC design. While the RPi2 doesn’t compete with the higher-end ARM SBCs that cost more and perform dramatically better, the Raspberry Pi 2 speed improvement is very noticeable even for tasks like web browsing.
Marco Barisione of Collabora has written about the WebKit speed on the new Raspberry Pi 2…
The Register: Turbocharged quad-core Raspberry Pi 2 unleashed, global geekgasm likely
… foundation head honcho Eben Upton said: “I think it’s a usable PC now. It was always the case that you could use a Raspberry Pi 1 as a PC but you had to say ‘this is a great PC in so far as it cost me 35 bucks’. We’ve removed the caveat that you had to be a bit forgiving with it. Now it’s just good.”…
… Outwardly, there’s little to distinguish the Pi 2 from the Pi 1 Model B+, as it’s now designated … The new BCM2836, on the other hand, contains four 32-bit ARMv7 Cortex-A7 cores with 1GB of RAM (and the same VideoCore IV GPU)…
The Register: Microsoft eyes slice of Raspberry Pi with free Windows 10 on top
Keen to meet your makers, eh?
Microsoft is working on a free version of Windows 10 that runs on Brit-tech hit Raspberry Pi in order to penetrate the Internet of Things (IoT)…
… Redmond has always been keen to get its tools and runtimes into the hands of young coders, experimentalists, hobbyists and early-stage developers.
With 4.5 million Raspberry Pi sold since February 2012, and 200,000 units of the credit-card-sized unit selling a week, according to project founder Eben Upton, it’s proving the mother of all boards among student developers, hobbyists and pioneers. You get compute power at a low price, just $35.
Microsoft last year teamed up with Intel and hardware maker CircuitCo on Sharks Cove, an Intel-Atom-based quad-core chip board running between 1.33GHz and 1.83GHz and packing 1GB of RAM. You got a Windows 8.1 image for $299. Sharks Cove targeted hobbyists and hardware vendors…
Intel, meanwhile, has tried to counter the popularity of Raspberry Pi with its Galileo board, updated last summer to run Windows.
Raspberry Pi is Microsoft’s second stab at Windows on ARM – following Windows RT on Surface slablets. As ever, Microsoft’s challenge will be in knowing when to start charging people for Windows 10. Experimentation is one thing, but where does one go when you have to pay licences for Windows 10 and the developer tools for commercial use?
Linux seemingly is the answer: Raspberry Pi 2 runs the full range of GNU/Linux distros including Canonical’s Snappy Ubuntu Core – the new spin of this popular Linux distro that has been deliberately shrunk by Canonical to work in SoC in IoT.
The Register: Why Windows 10 on Raspberry Pi 2? Upton: ‘I drank the Kool-Aid’
Raspberry Pi and Microsoft love-in to support latest Pi venture
… “We’ve had people queuing up and saying they want Windows, the whole time,” says Upton. “I think there’s a sense that ‘you’re a real PC’ if you run Windows.”
Porting Windows is now possible because of Microsoft’s work on Windows RT for devices like the original Surface, which runs ARM v7. Previous releases of the Pi run ARM v6, but Pi 2 is also ARM v7…
… “We’ve had a very good relationship with them for a long time, and it was just, we can do this now with ARM v7, let’s do it.”
“What we’re talking about here is Windows 10 for IoT [Internet of Things]; there hasn’t been a statement about capabilities,” Upton explains. “We’re not necessarily talking about PowerPoint or the Windows desktop. Microsoft will make a statement on what exact capabilities they plan to bring to the device fairly soon.”…
… Will Windows on Pi appeal more to industrial and business users, or hobbyists?
“It’s a maker pro kind of thing,” says Upton. “People see Raspberry Pi as essential to enabling the growth of that maker pro world. The pitch from Microsoft is they’ve got great tooling to get it started and then they’ve got a trajectory with the Azure stuff that means you’re not going to end up reinventing the wheel, probably insecurely … I’ve drunk an enormous amount of Kool-Aid by the sounds of it.”…
Who can blow the most raspberries?…
Let the battle (or cooperation) and learning commence! 🙂
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