Video Raspberry Pi Now Has Distributors -- and Will Soon Have Boards for All (Video) 304
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In an exclusive Transatlantic Skype conversation with Slashdot editor Timothy Lord recorded on Feb. 22, Raspberry Pi project leader Eben Upton talks about the state of Raspberry Pi, and tells us that yes -- finally -- they now have distributors in the U.S. and other countries instead trying to ship every unit from the U.K. Even better, instead of buying a batch of boards, selling them, and only then ordering another batch, the new distribution agreements mean they can keep a steady flow of orders coming in and going out. One slight downer is that people who have donated to the project may not get their Pi(s) right away; the distributors have spoken for all of the current order. Eben talks about this, and about how Raspberry Pi is going to take care of contributors, starting at about 4:15 in the video. You can also look at an in-person interview Tim did with Eben in January -- or wait until the end of today's video for a list of other Raspberry Pi videos.
Re:Pissed off with Farnell (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Electronics supplier DDoS (Score:3, Insightful)
"That is the kind of reception that Apple wishes the iPad 3 would get (although it probably won't.)"
The delusional noise that comes out of certain dark corners of the universe never ceases to amaze me.
A.
Re:Model A vs Model B (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Electronics supplier DDoS (Score:4, Insightful)
The hardware is actually based on a mobile phone SOC, not a router SOC. That means more memory and a GPU but it also means the ethernet is stuck behind USB.
I agree though that even given the fact it's less than half the price of the cheapest comparable linux board i've previously seen (the beaglebone) the buzz round the thing is still insane.
Outraged? Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Those who donated to the project prior to completion have to wait for their boards while the folk who order direct get them shipped first?
Why don't you let the people who donated comment instead of putting words in their mouths? How about this hypothesis: many donors saw a charity with a good idea, one that they liked and wanted to support, and they saw their donation as exactly that and nothing more - there was no guarantee that they would be first in line, and they didn't expect that there would be any such guarantee in the future. They just wanted to show their support for a cool project that had little financial backing.
When you donate to a charity, do you always expect to get something in return? Is that how you think the world works for everyone?
Re:Donators might have to wait? (Score:5, Insightful)
I did.
By buying the Raspberry Pi stickers. They said they were overpriced (thus they considered those money to be a donation). I say they were fair-priced. And they sent me 6 instead of the 3 i ordered.
I don't expect any favours for this.
I'm sad i didn't "donate" more as they are now out of stickers and i don't think they will sell them again (each were indivdualy cut and packaged by the members of the foundation)
Re:Major disappointment to say the least. (Score:4, Insightful)
Agreed.
I expected a neat and tidy order form on raspberrypi.org. Instead, I'm directed to search the homepage of two UK electronics retailers for the Raspberry Pi and follow the normal checkout process. At just a fraction of a second after launch, one retailer is completely down and the other is only showing a form collecting names and addresses of people interested in buying the RP - no actual checkout process. Soon it goes down, too.
Following Twitter, it seems one retailer won't start selling the RP until later this week, and the other won't even ship to many international or non-corporate buyers. The Raspberry Pi people are just as in the dark as the rest of us, and it's up to random folks calling the retailers in question to gather this info.
I really respect what the Raspberry Pi Foundation are doing, but they bungled this launch. Yes, their own site was prepared for the traffic, but when you partner with idiots and fail to guarantee those incompetents can hold to promises you made, it does reflect a bit on your own abilities.
Pissed people need to calm down (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, I did it too. I was there, hitting refresh. They sold out almost immediately, and now whole swaths of folk have to wait to get one just a little bit more.
For that, people are pissed, Eben's a jerk, worst launch ever, etc etc etc.
Guys, they're a non profit. Demand was too great. That's not a BAD thing. Yes, you have to wait. That does not mean that it was the worst launch ever... It means you need to be patient a while longer. Instead of being upset that you didn't get yours, how about taking a step back. You can wait. It won't kill you. This is a good thing. The raspberry pi team did something cool, and that coolness is not diminished just because some of us didn't get one.
Sheesh. Calm Down.
Tony
Re:Electronics supplier DDoS (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, when you think about it this unit has the potential to be a one-size-fits-all solution for numerous problems. The cost is starting to approach the chip in a toaster and yet the thing can do anything a PC can do (sans horsepower), but potentially do it while running on a few AA batteries worth of juice. Anybody who makes kiosks, DVRs, in-car entertainment, or even cheap PCs should be looking at this.
Re:Failed big time (Score:5, Insightful)
According to information gathered from the Twitter stream, the Raspberry Pi foundation was assured by both RS & Farnell that:
- They have world-wide distribution;
- Individual buyers (not companies) will be able to easily order one;
- Their servers will hold.
The failure is on the part of the big companies, not on the part of the "6 guys who mortaged their houses for founding" not-for-profit foundation.
Re:I love the new business model (Score:4, Insightful)
The retailers don't, but the initial shipment was sent directly to the foundations address and they are then being forwarded to RS and Farnell as required.
It's a totally roundabout way of doing it, but think this was due to the timing of everything as well as the foundation wanting to get them into the country as soon as possible.
I was hoping they would hold back a few hundred for sale directly through their own site! but alas! looks like i'm stuck with RS or Farnell for now
Worst Comments Ever (Score:5, Insightful)
"I couldn't get one immediately! Well, I guess I won't buy one any more!!!!"
Who cares? Certainly not the non-profit you're slating. Voting with your wallet doesn't work against a non-profit with a massively in-demand item. That's you just sitting in the sad corner by yourself.
You know what the foundation want? They want people with intellegence to get into developing, and to get others into developing. Half the comments I've read in this thread show personalities that need more development than the Raspberry Pi.
Re:Failed big time (Score:3, Insightful)
If they'd kept quiet, it would not have looked so bad.
There's a difference between misinformation and things changing.
Re:Newark is taking orders online and by phone (Score:5, Insightful)
I managed to pre-order one in the USA through the Farnell export site; this was about 8:20am GMT. The page has now gone to a register-your-interest form [element14.com], so probably not much use now.
Price GBP 24.55, estimated delivery date 16/04/2012. No idea what postage will cost, I'm prepared for something horrendous to get it to Seattle.
What people are missing is that they're now build-to-order. Instead of before, where the Raspberry Pi organisation had an initial batch of 10,000, the sale of which would fund the next batch to arrive at some indeterminate point in the future - RS and Farnell are ordering the things from the manufacturers themselves.
I was watching with amazement as both RS and Farnell got nuked off the intertubes within seconds of the announcement. This board is popular. The previous plans for ordering wouldn't have worked at all.
Would Apple have coped better with such a launch? Probably. But as the Raspberry Pi twitter feed [twitter.com] says: "Apple has a market cap of $500bn. We have Liz's collection of fridge magnets and a few coins down the back of the sofa."
I'm really looking forwards to my Pi arriving. Given that I was expecting to wait at least until the summer to get one, things are going well!
Didn't you get your stickers? (Score:2, Insightful)
Unless I'm mistaken all "donors" such as myself received their stickers. At no time did the foundation imply that donors would be first in line or get any special privileges. I suspect only non-donors are raising a stink.