Pi vs BeagleBone-Black

It's a good idea, it will really help for collaboration. I've started reading up on the device but I ordered very late on the 22nd, so I think unfortunately I won't receive mine for a while :-(

For just $10 extra you get more and better hardware with added features such as analog inputs, extra GPIO, a better design power supply and you can boot from the eMMC memory on board. I've got mine early this week (got it from Mouser, Newark didn't show any stock earlier) but didn't have a chance to power it up yet, that btw to get started you can do it just via de USB device port.

I believe that for certain applications and users it will be a much better value proposition than the Raspberry Pi, and I agree that the previous Bbone was kind of pricey.

-J

Morgaine Dinova wrote:

 

The knode thread at http://www.element14.com/community/thread/22258?tstart=0 is interesting in the way that the community pieced together snippets of pre-release information and accidental leaks into an early picture of what BeagleBone Black would be like, even before the name was known.  And Jason Kridner's informed remarks from the horse's mouth are always interesting to read, as is his strong interest in and clarity about BB[B] openess.

 

Perhaps the time has come at last for BeagleBone to get its own Element 14 group, to focus discussions about these two highly compatible boards better than occasional ad hoc knode threads can provide.  Sagar's thread would make a fine initial entry, given its historical perspective.

 

Once BBB is in the hands of 5-figure numbers of people, I suspect there is going to be quite a feeding frenzy around it, and large numbers of related discussion threads.  Indeed, this has already begun.  Price really is king.

 

Morgaine.

The discussion you reference is in the "BeagleBone Black" group at http://www.element14.com/community/community/knode/dev_platforms_kits/element14_dev_kits/next-gen_beaglebone.  While it's buried too deep for the casual element14 user to find it, it seems at first glance to provide the same capabilities as the RasPi group.  Maybe it just needs a pointer or two so that people can find it.  There's quite a few useful and/or entertaining pages at element14 that are hiding in the file hierarchy.  If you know they exist you can find them by searching for the correct terms, otherwise it's like an Easter Egg hunt.  For example, there's a real photo of me somewhere at element14 but have fun finding it

Morgaine Dinova wrote:

 

I don't know PSoC4, but a quick glance at Element 14's linked summary suggests that it's along the lines of PSoC5, which John has often described here (in CPLD/FPGA threads) as being a microcontroller SoC with partially documented programmable logic features.

 

That makes this board rather eclectic and somewhat alienating to those who prefer traditional CPU software programming.  Perhaps the manufacturer is trying to dispell that image by releasing the board at prices that fall below the worry radar ... except in NZ, that is.

PSoC4 is a low-cost version of PSoC5, replacing PSoC5's Cortex-M3 with a Cortex-M0.   The PSoC line is quite interesting: Cypress integrates a processor, various digital blocks, and analog blocks all onto the same chip with a programmable interconnect to tie everything together and route to the pins.  The idea is to have a single chip provide everything for an embedded product, including the analog circuits.  The functions of the blocks and the routing are all programmed by the CPU through addressable registers, almost all of which are documented.  Cypress has a Windows-based tool called PSoC Creator that lets you select and interconnect the blocks, and it generates a C program that does the register initializations for you so you don't have to read an 1800-page manual.

My beef with the chip has been that I want to be able to use it for teaching logic design using my own tools.  Cypress almost provides enough data to do this, but as far as I can tell the routing control registers aren't documented well enough to use them.  It may be that I'm wrong and the information is now there -- please tell me if that's the case!

PSoC has had limited success, largely because the chips have been rather expensive.  PSoC4 is supposed to change this by providing a highly capable SoC for US$1.

John Beetem wrote:

 

The discussion you reference is in the "BeagleBone Black" group at http://www.element14.com/community/community/knode/dev_platforms_kits/element14_dev_kits/next-gen_beaglebone.  While it's buried too deep for the casual element14 user to find it, it seems at first glance to provide the same capabilities as the RasPi group.  Maybe it just needs a pointer or two so that people can find it.  There's quite a few useful and/or entertaining pages at element14 that are hiding in the file hierarchy.  If you know they exist you can find them by searching for the correct terms, otherwise it's like an Easter Egg hunt.

That discussion is under  "the knode > Development Platforms and Kits > element14 Development Kits > BeagleBone Black", but I think it's probably not correct to call it an Element 14 group --- you can't become a member of it.

If you look at http://www.element14.com/community/groups/ and search for a BeagleBone group or anything with "Beagle" in it, you won't find anything.  The knode holds an ad hoc mixture of discussions about development kits, and the strong cohesion you find in Element 14 Groups like this Pi one doesn't seem to be a goal there.  It's fine for low-volume discussions, but I suspect that official Element 14 groups are better for centres of community interest like Pi, Arduino, and quite probably the BeagleBone family, soon.

Time will tell.

PS. There's also the added situation that the BeagleBone community doesn't have an effective forum of its own at the moment. (There's a Google Group, but it's pretty lacklustre like they all seem to be, and you can't use it without becoming a cog in Google's targeted advertising.)  An Element 14 group would provide a useful resource that is currently  lacking, as well as as a handy group blog for description of BeagleBone projects.

John Beetem wrote:

For example, there's a real photo of me somewhere at element14 but have fun finding it

 

Challenge accepted,  http://www.element14.com/community/community/members/blog/2013/04/25/having-a-blast-at-design-west

Morgaine Dinova wrote:

 

That discussion is under  "the knode > Development Platforms and Kits > element14 Development Kits > BeagleBone Black", but I think it's probably not correct to call it an Element 14 group --- you can't become a member of it.

There's probably all sorts of interesting stuff hidden in the bowels of "the knode", the problem being that you can't find it unless you know it's there and know exactly how to get to it i.e. you have the direct link. When I try to follow the path you list, starting at the homepage, I don't see any beaglebone stuff under "element14 Development kits".

Had the same problem with the Sabre-Lite area in the knode. If you try to follow the links you get re-directed to a document in a different area - with no clue there's a discussion area for it. There's been some activity - mostly me posting links to useful external info sources. but I suspect the few other posters have only found it due to something I've posted appearing near the top of the global discussions list at an opportune moment.

I've also stumbled across other interesting areas from time to time, totally by accident, but it's clear that a lot of information or groups have been lost in the mists of time when you see the only two or three posts for some group were from 3-4 years ago. Is the subject just un-interesting, or is it that it's too well hidden?

Hehe, yes, it is a bit ad hoc.  That's OK a lot of the time though, not every board creates a community as such.  I think it's mainly a matter of low cost and easy approachability.  Does BeagleBone Black have both?  I don't know, but the original BeagleBone may simply have been too expensive to sustain a really large and vibrant community.  BB-Black has a far greater chance, and I'm already sensing that something is stirring.

Maybe it's just dinner settling.

I agree with you - there really isn't much of a price difference when you factor in no SD card or power supply is required.  The out of box experience is quite nice.  You simply connect the BB Black via USB cable to your computer.  It appears as a mass-storage device with a start html page.  Opening that takes you through a tutorial. 

The BB Black also creates a virtual Ethernet network over USB cable, so the HTML-based tutorial can communicate with BB Black.  Right off the bat, you can edit BoneScript (Javascript for BeagleBone) in the starter tutorial page and that code will run on the Bone. 

For a fuller experience, you can also click the link to open the Cloud9 IDE.  All that without any need for power supply, SD card, Ethernet cable, WiFi adapter or serial cable.

selsinork wrote:

John Beetem wrote:

For example, there's a real photo of me somewhere at element14 but have fun finding it

 

Challenge accepted,  http://www.element14.com/community/community/members/blog/2013/04/25/having-a-blast-at-design-west

I'm relieved to note that John bears a passing resemblance to a 21st century Jules Verne.