[Oberon] oberonstation vs. a $9 computer

[Lars]

On Mon, February 8, 2016 12:18 pm, Ken Boak wrote:
> Lars,
>
>
> Perhaps you could choose a cheaper FPGA - such as the Altera iCE40 series
>  ($7) and a couple of 512K x 16 SRAMs at $13.35.
>
>
> Then there's the FT2232 at $6.69, and then something like a FTDI Vinculum
>  to act as USB host at $3.99.
>
> A 2.25" x 4"   4 layer board  will be about   $10 from China - but MOQ is
>  5off. Then there's about $5 to $10 of assorted other components like the
>  connectors, voltage regulator, LEDS, microSD card.
>
> So we are up to almost $65 and you haven't even placed a single
> component. Add another 25% for assembly. What about programming and
> testing?
>
> Right, board built, untested for $81.25.  Do you need to make a profit on
>  this?
>

Yet somehow Orange Pi managed to sell for $15.00... The whole point of
orange pi and C.H.I.P. are that you can start creating hardware
immediately without hiring all these engineers. Embedded is now "muddy
waters". What does embedded actually mean any more, if an orange pi can
run a desktop like O.S. on it? Is it even embeddeded, if it's actually a
desktop PC that fits almost inside a credit card sized wallet slot.

> Now you just have to port the risc 5 across to the Altera iCE 40 - which
> should take a good FPGA engineer about a week.....
>
> Alternatively you could run Oberon under Linux on a Pi or a chip,  or
> perhaps just  order a $3 PS/2 mouse online.
>
>

Or buy Orange Pi for $15 and forget about the ps/2 mouse altogether since
I have 5 USB keyboards sitting around doing nothing.  And run oberon using
a oberon linux compiler, or an oberon emulator. All for $15.

Now on the other hand, if I purchase C.H.I.P. it's $9 but I have to wait 6
months for it to arrive in the mail. Oberon Station beats it in this
sense, as Oberon Station can be shipped immediately. No 6 month wait.

C.H.I.P. has also been exposed for selling at a loss. $9 is not the actual
price it costs to make chip at a profit. They make the money selling
accessories. However, orange pi one at $15 is selling just fine, and has
been for years. Or Orange pi for $25-$30 that's not a "one", but the next
model up.

Do you really think that educational institutions and schools are going to
buy a ps/2 system like oberon station for over 100 dollars when they can
instead buy Orange Pi and have their students actually learn something
about USB, which is used in the industry. Schools prepare kids for the
industry, and the industry no longer uses ps/2. Far separated from
reality, academics sometimes like to ignore the industry altogether. Some
schools are more industry oriented, and prepare the students for the real
world. The real world uses USB and has long abandoned PS/2, except for
some old systems and terminals that still use it.... I'm guessing there is
at least one active Nuclear power plant that still uses a serial keyboard,
or a membrane keyboard that uses something much older than ps/2.