Some little bits and bobs of news - and more photos

Keep the updates coming Liz, I think we all appreciate it ver much.

:)

Awesome .. now just TAKE MY MONEY ;-p

Just can’t wait to get my hands on the product!

the raspberry bushes :)

hope you can post a high-res close-up photo from all sides of the retail board as i noticed the analog video is now yellow and not orange, would be nice to have retail photos.

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/264/200/acb.jpg

^ what he said

Awesome! From the picture of the pi that has been taken out it looks like it has GPIO pins in place, is this the case for all of them?

Contrary to earlier news, yes, they have GPIOs populated. I think you have to blame Eben for his generous heart and busy schedule :)

And there was much rejoicing!!!

woo hoo :-)

It could be a problem to omit the GPIO pins, if all the compliance tests were done with the pins.

It would be nice to dander in to town and pick some of these up, rather than have to buy them from your partners :)

But you can’t switch it on because you might upset your neighbor’s peacemaker.

Even if I promise to do it inside my Faraday cage in my back garden? And to be honest, the dude should be more worried about my Tesla coil…

Gert, the ‘peacemaker’ is the Colt 45 single action revolver. Are you implying Stray Taoist’s neighbor is planning armed robbery in order to obtain a Pi? I hope nobody has gotten quite that desperate yet.

Looking good! Here I’m sitting and gets a little hypnotized by those pictures.
Must buy Pi *droooool*

Is that sitting in someone’s garage?

It looks that way to me too. I’m thinking Jack the trustee may need to invest in some extra security and/or several large dogs now that Liz has implied he has an entire pallet of pi’s in his garage. I for one would like to offer to donate the services of a pair of very large (the ‘little’ one is over 100 lb) dogs in return for one very thin slice of Pi :)

Do these ones all have GPIO pins already in place?
I thought they were going to come without those. Not a problem or anything, just wondering. One of the photos I think I can see them.

Contrary to earlier news, yes, they have GPIOs populated.

This was due to them being accidentally left on the BOM for the order, and the price coming out within reason anyway.

Exactly right – Eben slipped up and left them on the BOM, but the price the factory quoted on them was so low we left them in place.

Will the second batch have them as well then?

I hope all the next ones got the GPIOs.

Nice photos :)

Changing a BOM (Bill Of Materials) is a pain in the B(dark place) so with a bit of luck Eben leaves it this way. If so it would upset some user who wanted different connectors. It upsets my gertboard geometry as now the big gertboard has to be on top of the smaller Pi, but I still prefer Pi’s with connectors.

Can you have some form of extension headers and just turn the RPI upsidedown? Or mount it on its side like in most computers – it really isn’t that much wider than it is tall and would probably make access to the gertboard easier.

Speaking of the Gertboard – is this going to have to traverse the certification maze as well?

Nope. You have to solder that little sucker together yourself according to your own requirements. That’s practically the definition of a development board.

A pity he didn’t slip up on the BOM and left a Real-time clock in there too :-)

Great stuff. It’s a real shame to hear about RS and Farnell demanding CE certification. Back-handed compliment though? They are so in demand that they foresee huge numbers being sold and a much higher chance that they need to cover their backs.

It must have been lovely to see that pallet arrive though :)

I think the high-profile and wide range of people ordering means the ‘only for development gov’ *wink* doesn’t wash any more :)

Bear in mind the closest things to an equivalent, the Beagleboard and the Arduino, shipped in much smaller numbers initially, mainly to hacker and makers, so they could fly under the radar for a while, even though they’re certified (to FCC or CE) now.

Selling a (few) hundred thousand on day one means the Raspi doesn’t get that luxury.

It is the EU-%#&!^-union that demands the darn CE-compliance. If RS/Farnell would ship untested and unmarked products they would break the law. There are no exceptions, in a case like this.
They absolutely know what they are doing!

Absolutely. As I said in my post, we support their right not to break the law :)

Can the changes to the HDMI port (which caused problems in the testing) be done with software? Or is hardware modification necessary to get the CE certification?

Yes; they do require some software and firmware changes (which Pete and Eben have already written), but no hardware alterations.

Um, firmware updates – does this mean you have to unpack each RPi and physically hook it up somehow to update chip code, or are all the mods on what is loaded to the SD card? Here’s hoping for the latter….

Everything is on the SD card. You cannot update anything on the board itself (which is why its pretty much indestructible from a SW point of view)

‘Firmware’ suggests not on the SD card.The bootloader is stored in the chip, is or can anything else be in there?
Presumably either it is a ROM made during the chips manufacture or it is a PROM/Flash ROM programmable via the JTAG header.

All the code is on the SD card. There is a very minimal boot code in the GPU which then loads a bigger bootloader from the SD card, which then loads everything else from the SD card. The only stuff you can change is on the SD card. The firmware you may be thinking about is the GPU code, which is regarded as firmware. This is stored on the SD card, and loaded in to the GPU by the bootloader on the SD card.
So, it’s on the SD card.

Does that mean that we’ll need to download new images – and that the current images will be EMC violating?

Good question, you probably only need to change one file on the root partition of the SD card, rather than the whole image. Images will be updated as necessary.

That’s an interesting position – having already released the binary that is causing issues is it sufficient (and my reading so far suggests that it is) to declare that the board is only certified when run with version X binary?

Does this mean that retesting will be needed for each future binary release (not that I’m expecting many, but you know…)

John

@JamesH
Actually the firmware is not on the root partition of the SD card, it sits on a separate FAT 32 partition.

Ah, true. By default the images are a fat32 partition (what I refered to badly as the root partition), then an EXT3 partition where all the rootfs lives. I then put another partition for data in the remainder of the card if there is space, and you can also create a swap partition if necessary,.

Is the USB port blue just for the sake of being blue, or do I spy some USB3 >.>

I *highly* doubt it. USB3 chips and licences are probably very expensive right now, and would blow the budget for the board completely.

Not seeing any blue! No, I’m afraid it’s not USB3.

The Video connector has gone from black to Yellow. The Audio connector is now a Black component, from powder blue on the Beta board pics.
The anti-static bag is blue so that’s wise the ‘tang’ of the USB sockets are showing up blue on the stacked up Pi’s in the box.

I only want one….

I’m following you, your site and your activities since mid 2011. I’ve never seen a blog and a tracking system with so many information about a single (even if revolutionary) device. I really love full disclosure and your polite policy about product information even if you’re driving me mad on future shipments. I’m really considering a cheap flight to the UK to get them from you :-)

Thank you! Honestly, the compliance thing is driving *us* mad too – we’re looking forward to being able to let you know about future shipments as much as you’re looking forward to reading about them!

“I’ve never seen a blog and a tracking system with so many information about a single (even if revolutionary) device. I really love full disclosure and your polite policy about product information”

Seconded!

Liz –

I just sent this info to you via email but I’ll put it here as well just in case.

I am writing as an American friend of your project to boost FCC compliance of the RPi so it can be released in the United States (and to me for my grandiose plans for it!!!) . I understand you have your hands full with CE European compliance right now but I want to give you some info that could expedite American compliance for the RPi as well.

American FCC Part 15 Certification for computers and computer peripherals are performed not by the FCC itself but by a so-called TCB or Telecommunications Certification Body. This is basically an independent lab that has been approved by the FCC to run tests and issue the ultimate goal of a FCC Part 15 Declaration of Conformity document.

There are a handful of currently authorized British TCBs. They are:

TRaC EMC & Safety Ltd
100 Frobisher Business Park
Leigh Sinton Road,
Malvern, Worcestershire
WR14 1BX
Mark Heaven
44-1684-571700
test@tracglobal.com

British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT)
Balfour House
Churchfield Road
Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
KT12 2TD
Hilton Carr
44-1932-370900
Hilton.Carr@babt.com

RFI Global Services Ltd
Pavilion A Ashwood Park, Ashwood Way
Basingstoke, Hampshire
RG23 8BG
Nick Hooper
44-1256-312097
nick.hooper@rfi-global.com

Another thing to realize is that the American FCC has authorized a representative of the British government to designate other TCBs in the UK, perhaps somebody worth contacting. That person is:

Norma McGovern
Dept for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)
1 Victoria Street
London SW1H OET
Phone 32-2-2954836
Norma.Mcgovern@ec.europa.eu

Hopefully you will find these contacts useful. If you want to sell the RPi in the US, it seems inevitable to me that you are goinig to have to go thru one of these TCB labs. Please shoot for sooner rather than later. Maybe they can do your CE paperwork too!

PS –

Here’s a link to a discussion of the US FCC TCB process and how they file your Declaration of Conformity:

https://apps.fcc.gov/eas/comments/GetPublishedDocument.html?id=17&tn=220737

And an overview of the entire American FCC TCB Part 15 Certicfication program:

http://apps.fcc.gov/kdb/GetAttachment.html?id=34701

Thanks Ricky – that’s very handy. We’re making sure that the EM testing we do over the coming week meets the requirements for CE, FCC and other regional regulations.

Ricky,
Going to such a TCB with a board that does not comply is an expensive exercise. So as far as I can tell they are now doing the verification “at home”(*) to be confident that once an external bureau gets their hands on one , that it will be compliant. Apparently, some time mid next week there will
be more info on this.

With a bit of luck, when the RPi passes the tests, that will mean CE certification: that is a “self-certification” based on: “we’ve tested it according to the standards, and found it to comply”. You’d get in trouble if you’d be lying, but you don’t need to pay expensive testing-bodies in advance.

(*) i.e. apparently someone near the RPF has access to the equipment necessary to do the measurements. That’s what I mean with “at home”.

That’s correct; Pete is a trustee and our CTO, and he’s also MD of Norcott Technologies, which are the labs you’ll have seen in some of our videos from when we were preparing the beta boards, and where Pete and Eben did the work to make sure we were within EM tolerance this week. (Those x-ray pics of the jacks from a little while ago were also taken at Norcott.)

I certainly understand your desire to show up at a TCB with a board you’re convinced will pass based on your own previous tests! I have a bit of experience in this, in the late 1990s I was working for a small company that was making custom emergency warning radios for distribution in a 15 mile radius around US Army chemical weapon inceneration plants – three completely different versions for three different plants in Alabama, Kentucky and Colorado. We too had oh-crap issues that involved major rework on 60,000 completed units – so I can understand your current pain! All I can say is hang in there, you’ve gathering a wonderful set of stories to tell in the bar for the rest of your life….
I am interested to hear that CE certification has an “honor system” self-certification option. As far as I know there is no corresponding FCC “exemption” – I think for the Part 15 declaration you MUST go thru a TCB. Hope I’m wrong about that, you undoubtedly know a lot more that I. In any event, I wish you all much luck and will stand by patiently as long as it takes for a product that is most definitely worth it!

Awesome, now just take my money, just take it…

Oooh come to papa!

I would like to see them connected in one cluster. Imagine them working together, ruthlessly crunching numbers with a metallic glow coming from their LEDs .. =)

I wonder how long it will be before someone actually runs a LINPACK on a bunch of them connected over OpenMPI/Ethernet.

I know the GPU has been quoted as up to 24Gflops, but this is of no use if you can’t get at it. So, any guesses for the number of R-Pis needed to run a teraflop benchmark? TOP500, here we come…

A beautiful sight. I’m really appreciating the frequency of the updates in the last couple of day….I guess the end of the beginning is in view.

Just got a mail from Farnell that I could order my Raspberry Pi
Ordered and now waiting for a delivery date…
:-D

I got an email from farnell saying I could order back when the first batch came out; I did so, and then a couple of days ago somebody in their sales dept marked my order as “cancelled”, with customer service unable to help >:-| Looking into RS now…

Ouch. Sorry about that. No joy about finding out why it was cancelled?

Got this 2. However there is no Brazil in country’s list! :/

Can I second the request made above please for a larger ”close up and personal’ photograph of an actual production board please?

Thanks in anticipation! :)

I’ve asked for one (I don’t have a board here, but Eben’s got a couple) – hopefully I’ll be able to post it over the weekend or early next week.

Just need it in france !

The trademark rules look good and sensible on the whole, clearly protecting your trademark makes shutting down scammers

but I think ‘h’ could do with a little more clarification

“h. You use the acknowledgement “Raspberry Pi is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation””
This could probably do with a clarification of when and where you have to have the acknowledgement. Does it need to be on every single page? The same page, just in the documentation, every time you mention the words etc.

Also a link and description of what the best way to donate money would be very useful to comply with the last point – and for us in the UK doing stuff how we can gift aid as well

I’m expecting people who need to get a licence to use the trademark to contact us as a result of that page, so if they need any more clarification on any of the points, that’s when we’ll be discussing it with them!

I was more thinking for people doing fansites/zines/blogs/software about/for the RPi rather than cases where approaching you for a license is needed. Though I guess use common sense is the simple answer :)

The way I read it, those terms say people can’t produce merchandise using the name and/or logo, but there’s no specific term to control its use on commercial product, whether compatible or not. Surely the thing to do would be to state outright that if you want to use it commercially, you ask first, not haggle later when someone from the foundation notices. I’d be concerned that with such loose terms a US court could easily challenge that trademark.

Can’t say that’s how I read it.
Items a-h control how you can use the trademark, and pretty much boil down to the same restrictions as how you are allowed to use any other logos such as for Microsoft Windows.
In particular ‘a’ is particularly definitive – it can’t be part of the product, company or website name.

Strictly i is written slightly wrongly when combined with the lead in sentence (You may use Raspberry Pi trademarks and logo provided:.. i. You may not manufacture, sell or give-away merchandise items…) but switch i’s ‘may’ with ‘do’ and it makes perfect sense.

I can’t see any feasible way to wiggle round the conditions personally (though I’m not a lawyer) and while they may be a bit more restrictive than I would have liked I wholly understand why they need to be.

Speaking of scammers, any news of the various people who were trying to sell quantities that didn’t exist on eBay?

Myra (our new education coordinator, who I’ll ask to write an introductory post so she can introduce herself and tell you all about what she’s doing – our first employee!) is following those up for us with eBay, sending out takedown notices to fake shops elsewhere on the web, and generally kicking scammer butt.

Go get ’em, Myra! I’d love to see those scammer usernames posted before eBay takes action, and see what kind of damage some hacktivists could do to them.

So happy to see these pictures.
I’m absolutely loving the Bright Yellow component connector, it goes really well with the green PCBs.
Starting to get all excited again at the thought of having one of these tiny PC’s in the palm of my hand!

So I noticed that Palate is 1 of 1 and that there are 50 RPis in a box, how many boxes are on each palate? Is this all that is going to got out in this batch?

I think we were able to fit all 2000 on the one pallet.

I’d guesstimate 4 layers of 8 boxes containing 50 RasPis, say 1600 little wonders on that pallett. So there should be a few palletts more a’comin!!!

My understanding was there were 2000 Pis in the first shipment. The pictures show 8 boxes in a layer so if there were 5 layers on the pallete (which seems reasonable from the pictures) that would match up.

Presumablly the rest of the first batch will be shipped over as soon as complianec testing is done.

Well, 8 boxes on the top level. Probably about 3 or 4 levels, so I would guess about 1200 or 1600 RPIs on that pallet.

I presume 40? You can see 8 boxes from the top, so would think 5 layers?

That’s exactly correct (not that we’ve got to the bottom of the heap yet).

Wow! they do actually exist :)

Oh ye of little faith!

Of COURSE they exist!!!

Yes, they are not as vapourous as many (elsewhere, e.g. /.)have been implying. All the vapourware mongers are going to look like right wuckfits.

JamesH, didn’t you take a €100 bet with someone on the forum (in February) that RPIs wouldn’t launch in March? Looking like good money now. ;-)

They launched in February AFAIK! And I know a few people who have already got them. Phew. Saved me 100euro. Not that I remember…

The RPi’s haven’t actually “Launched” yet… I’m sure that a few Beta’s have been auctioned off but the LAN Ferrite(filter) problem/replacement and CE certification is holding back the majority of the production models from being in “Delivery”.

We have different definition of launch. Many companies launch a product at, for examples, trade shows, but it’s doesn’t get to customers for some time. For example, the Nokia 808 phone was launched at MWC, but has not gone on sale yet.

Yes. That pallet is the reason Liz and I still have our old crap^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hdelightfully rustic kitchen and not some new shiny thing. $70k of computers in such a small space :)

But rarely has $70k produced so much anticipation, excitement and news coverage!

When you and Liz get round to buying a new kitchen, be sure to pop in and see us in Swavesey! http://www.foxglovekitchens.co.uk

:) :) :)
I am trying to wait patiently, but I can’t do it anymore!

Re Trademark & name rules. I like the “don’t use as a noun’ bit. I think you might want to add don’t verbify it either! Doh now I’m going to have to shhot myself ‘Verbify’. In my defence Liz did use ‘enbiggen’ on the front page 15th December, now that is one damn ugly word!

It’s a perfectly corpulent word. :)

[[Edit – it appears my spellcheck autocorrected that. It said “cromulent” when I typed it…]]

I’d go for cromulent.

May I offer you my deepest contrafribularities !

I am anispeptic, frasmotic, even compunctuous at your reply.

“I’m wondering if this counts as the first unboxing post!”

Close enough for me, congratulations!

nooo,

, first un-boxing only counts if its on youtube, had a really crappy unscripted voice over with lots of “Errs” and “umms”… followed by plugging it in and booting up…..

Thats just being picky :-)

So somewhere in England (presumably the Cambridge area) there is a crate of raspberry-pi’s in a garage… sounds like an easter hunt to me!!

I live in the Cambridge area…. so all Easter I’ll be on the look-out for over weight geeks in ill-fitting ninja suits tripping over each other like some badly made 70s comedy film. That mental image will keep me smiling all through the 2 week school holiday. :D

Damn rumbled allready!

What effect does this have on Canadian orders?

I’m just hoping that we could reroute enough to cover my order while the certification tests get sorted out :)

I think it halted production, so no luck there.

I just want to thank you guys for being so open and communicative with the community. It’s really interesting, and definitely makes me understand and appreciate the reasons for the delay. The pictures are very exciting. I don’t remember any other company being this open, and I think that is one of the things that makes RPi special. Looking forward to getting my Pi as soon as it is fully baked!

Qusestion for Pete Lomas: Why are the ports and plugs on the Raspberry Pi where they are?

Specifically, it would seem to make more sense if:

1) Power and ethernet were on the same side (instead of opposite sides!!).

2) USB ports were on the opposite side from 1.

3) Ideally, HDMI would be on the same side as 1, but this is less important.

If you scroll down the main page a bit, you’ll see he did a Q&A session last week in which this very question was answered.

Now I’ve got a real race! Which will get to my “door step” first: a rapsberry pi or Ice Cream Sandwich on my Acer Iconia A500?

I’m more interested in the A501… The A500’s have had it too easy, for too long. Actually, I’m interested in when my Iconia A501 will be able to talk to my (pigs might fly yet…) R-Pi.

To the whole RP team,

I just want to say that your work on this project has been phenomenal, and you deserve an enormous round of applause for success thus far.

The Raspberry Pi rocks, and you guys rock even more!

Keep up the good work! Keep the pictures coming, and believe me, we want to give you our money!

~Mark

oh it looks so delicious…I would eat one!

Not only will the Raspberry Pi computer (adjective not noun) be highly educational in itself, but your journey along with open and honest updates should be studied by anyone studying new product development!

Nearly there!

Well the inclusion of the GPIO pins slightly lessens the pain of waiting to get hold on one

Thanks for posting the trademark rules, but I wonder if the last section in your posted rules (reposted below) where you are expecting a royalty for companies selling accessories is not a mistake. I’m not sure how the Raspberry Pi Foundation can force anyone to pay them a royalty for selling a product that is promoted as being compatible with their cool little computer. Such a stance on your part may even have the effect of chasing people far, far away from what you’re doing.

“If you are using the mark commercially (that is you charge for products) the Raspberry Pi Foundation would appreciate a charitable donation and reserves the right to charge a royalty, or impose further conditions.”

The text doesn’t seem related to making an accessory board per se, but rather specifically the use of the official logo. So you’re still free to say your expansion board “designed for and is compatible with the Raspberry Pi”, without actually putting the red berry logo artwork on it. (correct me if I’m wrong!)

…whoops, I see they have trademarked the words “Raspberry Pi” and refer to that as a “mark” also, not just the graphical logo. I guess to avoid any possible royalty you’d need to use some generic equivalent word on your accessory (“for use with credit-card-sized Arm computer” ? Doesn’t have the same ring….) Is there a sanctioned royalty-free term for the RasPi ?

Yes, the royalty thing needs clarification. If I sell software for the device I should not have to pay “a royalty” to sell my software. Of course it would be good to make a donation, but the whole “you should be grateful to be allowed to develop software on OUR platform” vibe one gets from locked down cell phone manufacturers is precisely the kind of thing I was hoping Raspberry Pi would be getting away from.

Bee-u-tee-full!

I like how your own government is screwing you when trying to advance technology in the west. The Chinese will come out with a knock-off before a single raspberry pi is sold…. :(

It’s not the UK government; CE marking is an EU requirement. We’ve had some really helpful talks with BIS (the Department for Business, Industry and Skills) – they’ve been going out of their way to help us out. [[Edit to add – and I’m not sure if you’ve read around the site very much, but we actively encourage other people to clone what we’re doing. The more tiny, cheap computers there are in the world, the better; it’s one of the things our charity was set up to try to achieve.]]

well, not much different, my point, I believe, still holds :)

Thank you soooo much for the photos. It’s great to see you are providing form-fitting cases in the embodiment of the cardboard separators :) Heck, toss the bags, and you’ve got a terrific Raspberry Pi Bramble “missively”-parallel stuporcomputer cabinet, ready for wiring up!

I’m sure no one else has made this offer, so, I feel confident in making you aware of my unique volunteer services as Foundation Fotographer, Gaffer, Best Boy, Grip and All Around Good Guy Who Will Hold Proof-of-Life Newsprint. Just tell me whenever you can’t park in the garage due to such pallets taking up all of the space and I’ll be right over (well, I’ll need a day or so notice, since I’ll be flying SFO to LHR). Oh, and I do excellent kitchen cabinetry and other carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work for much, much, much less than $70,000 – in fact, I can guarantee that it won’t come in at a haypenny more than GBP 70,000! ;) The work will also be completed on just as aggressive and timely a schedule as that for the R-Pi development, and the plumbing will be both CE and FCC compliant within five years of start of the project :)

I can be round in 2hrs nay 3hrs Friday night is hell on the M25,will have the job done by feb 29th no prob’.

No fair! Enough rA5pb3rry p0rn! We want it, we need it, we gotta have it!

Hi Liz

Regarding the trademark rules: ”b. The Raspberry Pi word mark is used in a referential phrase such as “runs on,” “for use with,” “for,” or “compatible with.” Raspberry Pi is an adjective, not a noun., thus “runs on the Raspberry Pi computer” is correct, while “runs on Raspberry Pi “ is not.”

I think the last sentence isn’t right; isn’t “Raspberry Pi” a noun (actually, a proper noun), not an adjective (a word that describes a noun)? I suggest you have “adjective” and “noun” the wrong way round in that sentence.

I’m surprised none of our other learned friends have pointed this one out. It must be the excitement of seeing a picture of a load of R-Pis on a pallet…

Cheers

JonB

I’ll ask Jack to swing by and have a look at that (this is his area, not mine, the poor thing). Thanks for pointing it out; must say, I agree with you, and it’d be interesting to find out what the lawyers’ rationale was.

If you think of “Raspberry Pi” as a flavor (oh, all right, “flavour” :) ), then it is definitely an adjective modifying the noun “computer”. Now, who here, being of sound mind and body (well, OK, I just eliminated all of us), when presented the phrase “Raspberry Pi”, doesn’t start salivating so much that we would drown all of Pavlov’s dogs? Guilty as charged, Your Honor, and I rest my case for, of, and by The People.

No, it’s a Raspberry Pi single board computer, just as you use Kleenex facial tissues, Kodak cameras, and Xerox photocopiers.

If you use the brand as a noun to refer to the device, it can become the generic name for that sort of product.

Hmm interesting. Raspberry Pi is a type of computer, just as Ford Fiesta is a type of car, is it not? Does that qualify as an adjective? I don’t think it describes the computer; it’s more like identifying a computer uniquely, hence my suggestion of “proper noun”. Hmmm… Grammar conundrum alert!!

Is there any graphical (like-Windows) user interface in Debian or Arch Linux???

Yes, there are several you can pick from.

LXDE is the one used on the Debian image.

Can I install Ubuntu on RP?

Only an older (compiled for ARM instead of x86) version of Ubuntu like 8.04, Newer versions do not support the ARM6 that is used by the R-pi.

Allegedly, 9.0.4 is the last Ubuntu that supports the ARM11v6 in the R-Pi CPU, which is what Eben used for early demos until it was discovered that Ubuntu wasn’t going to support v6 going forward, instead concentrating on the Cortex multi-core capable series starting with v7.

It should be a rather simple matter to take the /proc/config.gz from a recent Ubuntu configured for Cortex-A*, change the ARM options to those which apply for the Rpi’s ARM1176JZF-S core, and compile up a replacement kernel.

I don’t use Ubuntu or I’d give it a go myself. Someone is bound to do it before long, if they haven’t already.

I imagine that the only reason Ubuntu have for not providing an ARMv6-capable version is just to avoid download proliferation, but that decision seems a bit shortsighted now that Rpi is around.

Morgaine.

Or just use Debian, which is pretty much Ubuntu anyway, and definitely works already, and has a huge range of prebuilt applications and libraries.

That’s the kernel, but what about all the other programs/packages ? See https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/848154

The problem isn’t the kernel, the Pi will need a specific kernel anyway and building it with the right CPU options shouldn’t really be a big deal.

The problem is the rest of the distro, to adapt to a lower arm variant would require recompiling everything with new compiler defaults, that is a rather large task (not insurmountable though IMO).

That’s all well and good, but which one is MINE? ;o)

Second from the left, fourth row down :)

I may have to hold you to that Eben! ;o)
It was me who rang you at early o’clock on release day moaning about “ordering problems”. Sorry about that. ;-D
You sounded remarkably calm, all things considered…
Thanks again for all of the effort you have ALL put in to this marvellous project.
Nils bastardus carborundem.

Take a look at element 14, one of there Road testers has taken delivery of his Pi and has posted the first unboxing!

http://www.element14.com/community/message/48362#48362/l/re-first-unboxing-pictures-maybe

Seems the pictures on here aren’t very recent or Farnell has had there own delivery of stock before the foundation?

It’s not production board; it’s one of the qualification prototypes (but it does also have the yellow connector).

THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! *nerdgasm*

I love trademark stipulation b: “The Raspberry Pi word mark is used in a referential phrase such as “runs on,” “for use with,” “for,” or “compatible with.” Raspberry Pi is an adjective, not a noun., thus “runs on the Raspberry Pi computer” is correct, while “runs on Raspberry Pi “ is not.” it seems like an English lesson to bloggers.

Hi, I think I’m loosing my interest to this device. I have tried to register with element14 (twice so far). First time it was first weekend after 29th February, but I never got any email back from them. I send the link to my friends after registration and they already could order the device.

So I think I will just buy something different and not wait 1 year to get it.

OK. That is entirely your decision.

Are you stupid??

I don’t understand why the trademark is to be an adjective when everyone and his aunt on the forum uses Raspberry Pi as a noun.

Raspberry Pi on its own is ambiguous as it can refer to the single board computer, the Foundation, or even some future product

Has the open market not taught you that you don’t dictate to people how to use something – you let the masses use it. If you listen to Steve Jobs launch of “iPod” he referred to it as “iPod” not “The iPod”. It sounds stupid now. Let them use it in any form they wish

There need to be some ‘rules’ for legal reasons. Whether others obey those rules is up to them!

One of those Pi’s can be mine, because I ordered one ;)

Awesome!!! Just as many others wrote: Now just take my money!
That really is a great view.

Wow! Really hope to get mine soon from RS ;)

This post made me all giggidy

A previous post on here suggested they should meet Class A easily, and possibly even Class B. This blog post suggests things might not be going quite so well.

Is (uncased) Class B still a possibility do you think?

The most recent info I’ve seen on EMC compliance is this:
http://www.element14.com/community/people/PeteL/blog/2012/03/29/spikes-in-the-ether-emc-and-compliance#comment-13112

If I make a DIY case for personal use can I put the official logo on it?

Yes, you can put an official logo anything you like. (Otherwise the foundation stickers would be useless) Only if you try to sell it, is where you have to take it off.

Gert, I am een beetje boos
wil ook een sticker on my doos
dr was there at the top
a very little shop
but laatste tijd it’s closed….

There once was a shop in old Cambridge town
but when I went back there it had closed down.
My project box needed a sticker you see
but now this shop’s link is eluding me.

Me: Oh Gert, there was a shop there !
Gert: Where ?
Me: There on the page !
Gert: Where on the page ?
Me: Right there,
a little shop with stickers in.
Gert: Where had it been ?
Me: I’m going click clickety click on the page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fg7w49UnGA

The shop link has been removed until it reopens in the near future – it’s to reduce any confusion about where you can order a RasPi and the subsequent, “I clicked on the link and you your shop was closed!” complaints. You will be able to buy stickers and other merchandise soon :)

Seems this whole CE / FCC thing could be put to the side by buyer’s agreeing to only use this as a component not as a finished product. I know that’s how I want to use it.

It’s not that simple. Drugs which are illegal for people to sell and acquire may be legally allowed when provided for medicinal purposes but the authorities aren’t going to automatically believe “it’s for medicinal use”. The bureaucracy involved would be a bigger nightmare than getting CE certification.

Looking forward to my Raspberry Pi, great news they have arrived and almost ready.

Here’s something to keep amused as we wait for the Raspberry…….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH24YIRhIrI&feature=related

Have 1 million people really placed orders for the Pi? Not surprised – just haven’t read about it here.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/mar/31/why-kids-should-be-taught-code

“Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, there are some astonishing developments happening – such as the fact that more than a million people have already placed orders for Raspberry Pi, the cheap, credit-card-sized computer developed by Cambridge geeks, which began shipping last week.”

I love you! (Er, that’s Eben, right? :) )

You guys are truly amazing…

Hey Liz,
I have been lurking around this blog for ages, but I haven’t posted anything yet.

First of all, thanks to everyone who made Raspberry Pi computer a reality. I really can’t wait for my one! And yes, I read the post about the trademark issue. I am that sad.

I would like to stress how important electromagnetic compliance is. If you guys ship out Raspberry Pi computer which interferes with other electronic equipment, people are going to complain to Ofcom. [1]As an amateur radio license holder, I can assure you that has happened before.

All I want to say is that don’t be disheartened by the red tape, and the red tape exists for a reason. I think if you guys ship out the device in large volume now, and it doesn’t pass the compliance test when it eventually gets tested, you guys might have to do a recall, if Raspberry Pi does annoy everyone else.

I think BeagleBone didn’t get into trouble, because the volume was relatively small, and it wasn’t targeted to the general public. There is no reason why kids in secondary school won’t buy the model B.

I really hope you guys can sort out this regulatory issue as soon as possible. However, please don’t work too hard. :)

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_computer#Radio_frequency_interference

Does this Raspberry Pi come with a case??

Not at the moment.

Hi everyone.

I have been following this forum for a while now.

I am so excited to see a project like this, that despite a few issues, things are still moving forward.
I started programming at 7 with basic and this device will allow me to teach programming fundamentals to my son.
I have other projects in mind too.
I’m sure other charities put in a similar position would not have managed to even get a device like this to this stage.
An extra few months is nothing to wait.
I am very excited about what the next 12 months will hold.
I would just like to thank all the team for all the time and effort they continue to put into the project to make it a success.
Thanks :-)

Thanks for the update!

I got an email from Farnell yesterday, with a link of pre-order, but I’ve already preordered it. What does that mean??

follow the links and see where it leads you

Raspberry Pi has just garnered a mention in the online version of Maximum PC. The delay for the CE mark made their web based version. Same story as here.

how to take one of this in iran :(

I think that sanctions prevent selling this device in Iran. Sorry.

Great! Looking forward to experimenting with these when they finally arrive.

Stephen on March 30, 2012 at 11:19 am said:

Keep the updates coming ,cant wait , cant wait /////

I, still, haven’t seen a photo of one in a plastic box? Which, I believe, is how they will be sold.

First few batches (so about 200k!) are unboxed. Educational release will have a box, which is under development. Check the forums for many case designs!

Will a case be available to purchase?

I wish I had my pi!! :(

think of that beowulf cluster!!!

Fiendishly tantalising, my fingers are itching !!!!

Looks good all that stuff coming into the UK. Can’t wait to get my hands on it and join in the community.
JB

Wow. looks great, can’t wait to get my hands on one of these boards, any ideas of shipping date? Do you know where i am on the list?? Oh so happpy.
Cheers

Ray

I hope I’m high enough up the waiting list to finally get one of these!!!!!

Sweet. I live in cambridge. Any chance I can drive down the road and pick one up :-) ?

Er, no.

Definitely not!

I am excited about the concept of RPi as well as the technology. I am buying this as a 10th birthday present for my grandson who lives in New Zealand. He is computer literate and uses music software as well as power point for his schoolwork. RPi will lift his understanding and skills to a new level. It will balance his appetite for playing games with the intellectual challenge presented by this wonderful invention. Well Done to you all!

Thanks, I hope your Grandson enjoys his present!

niiice guys, can’t wait, keep ’em updates coming ^_^

Good to see the Pis getting ready to serve! We do have a huge need to teach our young people more about writing (rather than simply usinf) code. I have four children, all towards the top of the grade in school, but none have ever been taught anything about programming in school (they have at home!). I was in secondary school 30yrs ago and DID get to write a few lines of BASIC code there – baught a BBC micro a few years later. I work in technology education- the UK has been going backwards in this field for 15 years, I’m glad to see a step in the right direction! Well done Rasberry PI! Support for teachers & excellent written and online material is chritical. I howpe we can do this as a community.

Great to see some have arrived! Exciting times ahead!

I love the fact that the box says “50 pcs” :D

I think it is faster and small extended in OS Gnu / Linux but it is not alternative fot portable Good luck pi ;)

Hi Liz and all at Raspberry Pi. Just letting you know how much fun it has been being part of your sudden world wide fame and for all the right reasons. I was part of that mad rush to order the RasPi and I guess mine will come some time..Thanks for all the tutorials and Videos. Keep up the good work, you have started something big…John from Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies

All looking goo, can’t wait to get our first sample

I want this computer :D

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