All the marketing for this advertises it as a desktop computer. What's the appeal of this compared to a cheaper and more powerful N150 NUC, or a used mini PC if it's for personal use where you just need one?
A N150 has about twice the CPU performance, hardware video decoding that isn't crippled, and much more software built for its architecture among other things.
And the N150 had mainline linux support from day one, whereas I'm not sure if there's proper support for pi5-family devices in a released mainline kernel even now, two years after the launch.
They used to do an good-to-adequate job of linux support, but nowadays they seem rubbish at it. Nobody wants to be stuck on a downstream kernel full of cobbled-together device support that's too poorly-written to upstream.
This has been the primary hurdle for me. I like it when I can just install regular linux and be on my way. Having to do a bunch of kernel nonsense is just not fun. I don't even mind messing with the kernel, but I want to use the mainline kernel.
Give it to your kid. Plug it into the family TV. Let them learn to hack while you're around to answer questions. Just like when you were a baby hacker in the eighties.
Less software is good - it makes kludging up your own more appealing, and there's a guide to getting started with that right there in the manual.
(Or you could try plugging a goggle-mounted display into it and using it as your personal cyberdeck.)
Hacking into some platform makes very tied to it. I still recall how to program smooth scrolling in EGA/VGA. It becomes an explored world, and is ARM good for being tied to? ARM has an ongoing problem of being proprietary, and RISC-V is to come as a solution. If ARM is neither past nor future, then we should not getting tied to it.
Maybe get ITX-Llama and let parent and kid be tied to all the same platform? Have something common to discuss, something common to play. And MiniMig or Apollo A600 may do the trick. CheckMate Retro IPS display. It is past, but great past. Alive in our souls.
Good news we are not in the 80s anymore. A $200 used thinkpad is much better for your kids to learn hacking. And you can use your TV when they are messing around neighborhood AP.
The appeal is the form factor, really. A decent amount of compute (not amazing, but decent) built into a decent mechanical keyboard (jury's out, but I'll believe the sales pitch until shown otherwise) is unusual.
> What's the appeal of this compared to a cheaper and more powerful N150 NUC, or a used mini PC
This is a very good question. The Pi 500+ is a beautiful product, but when compared in terms of price/value to the NUC and various other mini PCs, its value proposition is questionable.
Perhaps the target group are enthusiasts who had 8/16-bit "all-in-one" computers like Commodore64, Amiga, Atari, ZX Spectrum, Acorn etc., in their younger years and now want to buy something similar (non-x86) for themselves or force it on their kids. :)
Right, this thing is priced from an earlier (pre-BeeLink) era. There’s just so much more you can get for $200 nowadays, right off Amazon.
I hadn't looked lately but you're right. Intel N150 @3.6Ghz mini-PC with 16GB RAM, 512GB M.2 SSD, 3 USB 3.2 ports (10gbps) and dual 2.5 Gbps Ethernet all for $199 delivered tomorrow. https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-Lake-N100-Mini-Computer-Suppo....
It is fundamentally just a novelty product at this point.
It requires a separate keyboard, which means more space usage and more cables. And not sure, but I think the N150 has a fan, so more noise.
N150 machines come with or without fans, the chip is cool enough to run passively with a decent heatsink.
e.g. https://www.minix.com.hk/products/minix-z150-0db-fanless-min...
The ones with fans tend to be cheaper and have better sustained performance though.
ASUS PN42 is also passive, but they do not mention it. You can find this out from teardown pictures. They also have certified 32GB memory sticks from Crucial.
Looks like the whole tiny case is the heatsink, I like it.
It can be used as a usb gadget device, i am not aware of any SFF x86 PC that has such a chip.
Software support could be one if N150 wasnt x86 from intel.