Raspberry Pi Gets 512MB Filling 178
sfcrazy writes "Good (and bad) news for Raspberry Pi lovers, the Model B has been upgraded to 512MB RAM from 256MB. Bad news is for those who already got their Model B shipments because all those who have outstanding orders with either distributors will get the *upgraded* version of the device, means with 512MB RAM instead of 256MB. The upgraded devices should be arriving to customers from today onwards. Raspberry Pi team will be pushing a firmware upgrade soon so these news devices can detect and use the additional RAM."
Bring on the Android Pi (Score:5, Interesting)
How about actually shipping them? (Score:5, Interesting)
How about actually, you know, shipping the things? Ordered a month ago, only thing I've got from it so far is an automated email and a PI-shaped hole in my paypal account..
Less mucking about, more actually delivering stuff please.
Re:How about actually shipping them? (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's a useful reference point: I ordered one from both element14 and RS at the same time. The RS one arrived several weeks after the one from element14. I ordered another one from element14 more recently, and it arrived in under 3 weeks.
AFAICT, most of the people complaining ordered theirs from RS. I suspect part of the reason may be that RS is using a completely separate website and therefore likely has a completely separate administrative process for fulfilling orders, which isn't as capable. Element14 just added them as items to their regular site, so they aren't subject to the same limitations. (I'd say that was a pretty good move on their part, given that I've since ordered lots of more obscure components from them.)
Re:"Bad news" (Score:5, Interesting)
Everybody STOP!
Do not improve anything. AC just bought something and we must respect his feelings in this matter.
Re:"Bad news" (Score:2, Interesting)
The manufacturers weren't convinced there'd be enough demand for the Pi and therefore getting a deal for 512MB chips would indeed have increased the price of the device quite a bit.
I was not aware of this, do you have a link elaborating on that? Given that the VIA APC has 512 of ram and almost the same price I am slightly skeptical of this claim.
Also, your argument is like saying that they should never ever do upgraded versions of anything whatsoever because -- gee whiz! -- there will be new versions of stuff to make use of new possibilities!
No it is not like that at all. There IS such a thing as reving your product so often that nobody wants it, see Desktop Linux for proof of this. With a constantly shifting baseline, a good base of stable well developed software cannot be created because developers are constantly redeveloping for the new baseline. If the Pi was out for 2 years before the 512 came out, that would be one thing, but reving the baseline so drastically mere months after the initial hardware shipped is not smart when you are trying to get your new product established.
Come to think of it, hasn't Microsoft gotten a TON of flack for doing the exact same thing for WinPhone7? Depreciating the old version by reving the baseline to a new version just as the old version was starting to establish itself?