[Oberon] Inexpensive Hardware: Cost vs Objectives

[Lars]

On Mon, February 15, 2016 11:20 pm, skulski at pas.rochester.edu wrote:
> So why do we expect that a $5 machine will serve both roles? Why are we
> unhappy that the Oberon Station, which is clearly a development system, is
>  not as cheap as the final product would have been? (Notwithstanding the
> fact that I am barely aware of any final products built with Oberon.)

Educational institutions and schools have limited budgets. Spending $120
or more on a computer that has virtually no features, is not something an
education institution is going to do, when it can equally get a similar
product for $15 (orange pi).

I never once demanded it be $5 but was reasonable and said maybe $50 or
$70 is pushing it. But even if you make it $50 there is something called
competition in a free market. So you say that oberon is a learning system
and not a final product.  So is the rasp pi and orange pi for $15 so why
would people who want to learn, spend $120 or more on an educational
system when there is one available for $15.

Sorry about my real world business experience. I never once stated I was
political, but rather businessal.

Education purchasing managers are business owners/managers. Educational
institutions can't afford $120 obscure machines when $15 orange pis are
available in the bakery section.