Will the Due be a dud?

why would you need an os on a microcontroller type board? doesn't it just use up space and resources?

Most arduino compatible OLED modules that I've seen cost more than raspberry PI :slight_smile:

So who cares that it uses up resources?
Besides your lcd module is going to use up resources too

The Raspberry Pi isn't intended as a 'microcontroller board', it is intended to be a small computer that let's you experiment without risking destroying the 'family pc' so it is out of the running for a while untill somebody fixes it.
It is geared towards those who wish to experiment with programming and such.
It is meant for totally different things than the Arduino is.

Since the price is so low it will probably be used for a lot of things, and maybe even the same things as Arduino, but it is not intended to be an Arduino on steroids, it is just a small Linux pc which is easy to hack into hardware since everything is documented to death.

I gotta agree with that, well said
That's the best part about the due, for people who want a faster microcontroller or a computer independent one, it'll be nice
If I wanted to use linux and do stuff with that, id just put it on my computer
but im looking for that arduino "on steroids" lol

is it really that much different ?? come on... a microcontroller is a thing with a bunch of I/Os that is normaly used to control some process, like 'when I press this button right here the board tells the motor to spin 10% faster'

who cares that it has specs that most personal computers had in 2003...? it has general purpose I/Os and can handle stuff such as SPI or I2C... isn't that all you need?

One thing that I hate about arduino is that it requires special shields to handle stuff such as WIFI... if raspberry PI can accept usb wifi dongles, cameras and memory sticks does it mean it isn't a microntroller ?

I don't think so... it's a microcontroler that can do a lot more than a typical microcontroller, yet it costs less or more less as much as 32 bit dev boards

The shield part isn't that big of a deal, you can always make a custom shield, or like I recently did, a shield that was mainly just for connectors to make it easy to attach the rest of the project
And I think its not the controller that makes it arduino, more the apparent simplicity
just a quick look at the raspberrypi makes me think that in order to blink an led there's a little more involved than just plugging it into a computer, and uploading the blink an led sketch
the hardest part for some new users is probably installing the arduino drivers, after that its making sure the led is not wired backwards
That's the beauty of arduino

I am surprised that many people are not addressing flash memory.
The Due will not have any more flash then the Arduino Mega.
I know that usually 256K is plenty but if you have images or audio in memory, it chews up the flash memory VERY quickly.
I would think they should have picked a chip with atleast 512K of flash.

And I think its not the controller that makes it arduino, more the apparent simplicity
just a quick look at the raspberrypi makes me think that in order to blink an led there's a little more involved than just plugging it into a computer, and uploading the blink an led sketch

That's why I love arduino... but it seems that the apparent simplicity is in it's IDE

Just have a look at Maple boards... >>> Maple | LeafLabs

It looks as easy as arduino

and here is what they write about it:

In the past, ARM processors were notoriously unfriendly to non-professionals, due to proprietary tool chains, unfamiliar instruction sets, and impenetrable supporting literature. LeafLabs has changed this for Maple by providing a complete ARM platform, built from open source components, which includes an intuitive programming environment and friendly, thorough documentation.

For all the Arduino lovers out there, Maple is offered in an Arduino-compatible format, complete with an Arduino pin layout and programming environment.

I hope this kind of simiplicity could be applied to Raspberry PI too... Though to be honest I have no idea if it's possible to have a single board computer that acts as a microcontroller and runs an OS at the same time so that I could do stuff such as: sending sensor readings over WIFI

Or for example mount the board on an RC car, attach a usb cam and stream it via WIFI while allowing me to control the car

kerimil:

In the past, ARM processors were notoriously unfriendly to non-professionals, due to proprietary tool chains, unfamiliar instruction sets, and impenetrable supporting literature. LeafLabs has changed this for Maple by providing a complete ARM platform, built from open source components, which includes an intuitive programming environment and friendly, thorough documentation.

For all the Arduino lovers out there, Maple is offered in an Arduino-compatible format, complete with an Arduino pin layout and programming environment.

I hope this kind of simiplicity could be applied to Raspberry PI too... Though to be honest I have no idea if it's possible to have a single board computer that acts as a microcontroller and runs an OS at the same time so that I could do stuff such as: sending sensor readings over WIFI

Maple is great, I have one... I wish more people were into it, but it's pretty silent over in Maple-land. Raspberry PI is a different creature. Since it runs Linux, we'll have access to a LOT more code out there. But I don't expect it to be simple, beyond the (likely) limited use cases that people choose to simplify. Simplicity doesn't seem to be an organizing principle of Raspberry PI, like it is for Arduino.

their aims are a bit different - true...
but if it really is just a software problem then some will probably find a way to use an arduino like IDE on it

Question is more likely are some people gonna invest the time to make that a more friendly software? im sure arduino has put in a decent amount of time making things friendly, probably the most time relative to most other platforms

Even more user friendly:

http://labs.teague.com/?p=947

Has anyone heard any news since the makers faire, or the possible specs released in September?

I'm stinging to get the 72Mhz OLIMEXINO-STM32 to let my library run free, but my preference would be the due.

Also, are there any specific technical documents for the cpu architecture or would everything be crammed into the datasheet.
What I mean is, are the things like data type sizes related to general gcc 32-bit sizes, or is it specific to the cpu? ( only ever had 32-bit windows n linux, and I think it is a cpu specific thing. )

Has anyone heard any news since the makers faire, or the possible specs released in September?

Not as far as I know, there are supposed to be some alpha/beta testers with hands on hardware but the information flow from Arduino Inc is essentially non-existent.

I think a few people are eyeing off other 32-bit boards and may jump ship if info is not forthcoming soon.

I've just been working from the SAM data sheet, I don't understand your question about 32-bit sizes.


Rob

cheers, the testers must have vowed to secrecy or something
I was wondering if the size of data types is the same on all 32-bit systems or is it specific to the CPU ( bool 16-bits, float 32-bits... ).

I found the datasheet for the processor, so I will have a squiz in that soon.

pYro_65:
cheers, the testers must have vowed to secrecy or something

The Arduino team has done a very good job staying very silent about this. My theory is that they're doing some of this under Atmel NDA.

The more I see the Project Help section here, the more I am sure that something bigger/faster than UNO and MEGA is needed to cover the more ambitious efforts.

Something to think about, if we get one 32-bit Arm chip going strong maybe we will then be able to use many others. Think about names such as, Due-tiny, Due-mega, Due-alot-more lol.

size of data types is the same on all 32-bit systems or is it specific to the CPU ( bool 16-bits, float 32-bits... ).

Some are, for example int cannot be trusted, that's why you should use uint16_t, uint32_t etc as they are supposed to be portable.

My theory is that they're doing some of this under Atmel NDA.

Quite possible, I just wish there was some more info, for example will the Due support 5v IO? That and many other things wouldn't be under an NDA surely.

And what has been released is just an erroneous dump of the SAM3U data sheet, for example the press release says 16 12-bit analogue inputs, that's not possible on the SAM3U. From that same release

Instead of just releasing the finished platform we are opening the process to the community early on.

Did I miss something? This forum is the community and I've not seen single thing here.


Rob

I also find the lack of information disturbing from an "open source" company/organization.

smeezekitty:
Solid state rectifiers are the only REAL rectifiers.

??? I can probably lay my hands on a 5Y3 here without a huge amount of trouble XD