Meet CHIP, the $9 computer

You know, my first computer was a Timex Sinclair 1000, hooked up to an old black and white TV, with a cassette player to save the "programs" that I wrote. If I really correctly, even though it had 2K memory, things got dicey writing programs any longer than 500B. I don;t think I ever successfully loaded a program from tape. I believe it cost over $1000 in 1982.


Now you have this. A computer that costs $9, capable of being built up when you add peripherals. Supports both wifi and bluetooth. Shields just a couple of dollars more.

Now I like to play with my Arduino, no pun intended, as language closer to C/C++ is more relevant for me, I have never gotten into the Raspberry Pi, but this new computer certainly makes me wonder how much more communication will spread across the world as computers get not only less expensive, but more accessible.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/205447-meet-chip-the-9-computer

Next Thing’s CHIP could be the next big little thing: A $9 literally chip-sized BYOP (Bring Your Own Peripherals) computer that runs a variant of Debian Linux. The hardware design is Open Hardware, meaning you can study and learn how it works and modify the design, if you want to fabricate your own tiny computer. With nearly a month of backing left, it’s nearing $1 million in Kickstarter funding — far exceeding its target goal of $50,000.

Although it is somewhat similar to the successful $35 Raspberry Pi, CHIP has just enough differences to make interesting beyond its ultra-low price. For example, it has WiFi and Bluetooth support built-in. This means you can connect to the Internet as well as a keyboard and mouse without using any cables — although Bluetooth keyboards and mice are generally a bit more expensive than the wired models.

CHIP has 4GB of NAND flash storage built-in. The Raspberry Pi, on the other hand, requires you to add an SD card on your own. However, it also means that CHIP is limited to 4GB of storage. It only provides support for a composite video display, but, borrowing a page from Arduino’s playbook, there are options for VGA ($10) and HDMI ($15) “shields” that plug on top of CHIP for higher-resolution video output.

nextthing_chip_02_pocketchip

The option that may draw the most interest is the PocketCHIP case (pictured, right). It creates a battery-powered portable unit based on CHIP that includes a 4.3-inch, 470×272 resistive color touch screen, a 3000mAh battery, and a tiny QWERTY keyboard that is somewhat reminiscent of the classic Blackberry.

The AllWinner Tech A13-based R8 is a 1GHz single core processor (ARM Cortex A designed primarily for use in low-priced Android tablets. By comparison, the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B released in February 2015 has a 900 MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor that may have a bit more processing “oomph.” CHIP includes 512 MB RAM as well as the built-in 4 GB flash storage mentioned early. By comparison, again, the Raspberry Pi 2 includes 1 GB RAM and can use SD cards larger than 4 GB for storage.

If you can’t wait a year, consider picking up a Raspberry Pi 2 now and then buy a CHIP next year. Total cost for both? $44. Don’t get too excited about this project just yet though. The projected ship date for CHIP and its add-ons is May 2016, and the company website illustrates plenty of uses for it, including learning to program, playing old DOS games, and making music — things you can also admittedly do with the Raspberry Pi. That said, an “alpha” model of CHIP for developers has an estimated ship date of September 2015.

 

Why bother with these at all? The portability? Seems to me you're better off even with a budget laptop. It's not hard to put Debian or any other Linux distro on one of those, and you get so much more to work with.

 

My prediction? You'll put on a pair of glasses and be totally jacked in. It will read your thoughts and one lens will transmit info back to you when you command. The glasses will range from thousand dollar fashion statements to dollar store jobbies next to the book lites. All in a decade, if that long (No believe? what kind of cell phone did you have in 2005, did it talk? could it take motion pictures in HD?)

 

I just ordered my first RasberryPi and am excited to see what I can do with it

 

Computers have long been amazingly cheap. The only thing you have to consider is that you get what you pay for.

A decade ago I was building units generally in the range of $600-1,200 each. On the upper level of the quality curve, but solid units that would do anything asked of them at the time, expandable, and durable.

And at the same time companies like Dell were pushing out millions of boxes at under $250. No capability to upgrade video, impossible to upgrade, and many things people wanted not included.

To give an idea, my desktop I built in 2006 was damned high end for the time. And even 7 years later it still does anything I ask of it. All I have had to do was upgrade the video card and stick in more RAM.

$9 computer, great. But what can you do with it? Very few people would have a use for something like that to be honest.