http://www.raspberrypi.org/
I'm sure that lots of folks have been thinking about this, but I think it could be incredibly cool for Atari 8-bit and other retro enthusiasts.
If an interface was built to directly communicate with the raspberry Pi (or other really small computer), software could be developed or adapted to have an integrated peripheral emulator, IP bridge, etc.
Has this been considered?
How feasible is it to do this? Would the interface have to be USB or is there a batter way?
/bbking67
0
Raspberry Pi Possibilities
Started by bbking67, Jan 20 2012 2:36 PM
9 replies to this topic
#1 OFFLINE
bbking67
-
-
- 98 posts
Star Raider
- Location:Osgoode, ON, Canada
Posted Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:36 PM
#2 OFFLINE
nathanallan
-
-
- 5,505 posts
Quadrunner
- Location:El Paso, TX
Posted Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:47 PM
Why so small text?? Dial that up!
The Raspberry Pi *is* a great thing, and it looks like ti would make an excellent gaming and developers' platform. I'm looking into it, might be making a team to do some cool stuff
Doing something liek that would be excellent after the loss of the store 
The Raspberry Pi *is* a great thing, and it looks like ti would make an excellent gaming and developers' platform. I'm looking into it, might be making a team to do some cool stuff
Doing something liek that would be excellent after the loss of the store
#3 OFFLINE
bbking67
-
-
- 98 posts
Star Raider
- Location:Osgoode, ON, Canada
Posted Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:23 PM
I have no idea what happened there with the text... ghost in the machine.
I think interfacing the raspberry Pi to an Atari (or any classic computer) would be very cool... you could use the Atari to terminal in to the machine to issue command, etc and then the raspberry Pi could emulate peripherals, connect to network resources, etc. Many very cool posibilities...
I think interfacing the raspberry Pi to an Atari (or any classic computer) would be very cool... you could use the Atari to terminal in to the machine to issue command, etc and then the raspberry Pi could emulate peripherals, connect to network resources, etc. Many very cool posibilities...
Edited by bbking67, Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:43 PM.
#4 OFFLINE
amiman99
-
-
- 441 posts
Moonsweeper
- Location:San Antonio, TX USA
Posted Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:57 PM
I'm too watching the development of Raspberry Pi, wanting to use it as an Amiga emulator, like Minimig.
I think there will be 2 versions, one for $25 and other for $35.
I think there will be 2 versions, one for $25 and other for $35.
#5 OFFLINE
griz
-
-
- 52 posts
Star Raider
- Location:Canada
Posted Sun Jan 22, 2012 8:38 AM
Quote
Why so small text?? Dial that up!
No kidding. He he. Most of us have eyes that are starting to get old no?
Quote
I think there will be 2 versions, one for $25 and other for $35.
That was the target. The $35 unit has an ethernet port and twice the ram IIRC. I think it would make for a great little server. Also an easy way to make a miniature mame cabinet.
#6 OFFLINE
bbking67
-
-
- 98 posts
Star Raider
- Location:Osgoode, ON, Canada
Posted Sun Jan 22, 2012 4:34 PM
I'm blaming the IE8 I am forced to endure at work for the teeny tiny text.
#7 OFFLINE
falcon_
-
-
- 32 posts
Space Invader
Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012 10:54 AM
The RasperriPI is TOO KWWL - mainly the price! If it were $200 there
wouldn't be as much to rave on.
I'm glad to see someone else thinking like I would/have.
There could be
much power available to _alter_ the A8 in magical ways we haven't thought
about yet! There is a video on YT of the Rasperri playing Quake1 on 1080p and
it's decently smooth! Is 128 Meg ram enough???
dream=on
Imagine - installing a rasperripi INTO your atari for feature upgrades and
unlimited software and development on your XL/XE.... It could provide
interpretation or execution of code hosted on the rasperri. You could
program A8 games/apps using custom Python or Java or BASIC or even LUA!
Oh and C++ or Objective-C or LISP! Tools to make better entertainment
using the ole A8 hardware...
dream=off
Could be interesting.
falcon_
wouldn't be as much to rave on.
I'm glad to see someone else thinking like I would/have.
There could bemuch power available to _alter_ the A8 in magical ways we haven't thought
about yet! There is a video on YT of the Rasperri playing Quake1 on 1080p and
it's decently smooth! Is 128 Meg ram enough???
dream=on
Imagine - installing a rasperripi INTO your atari for feature upgrades and
unlimited software and development on your XL/XE.... It could provide
interpretation or execution of code hosted on the rasperri. You could
program A8 games/apps using custom Python or Java or BASIC or even LUA!
Oh and C++ or Objective-C or LISP! Tools to make better entertainment
using the ole A8 hardware...
dream=off
Could be interesting.
falcon_
#9 OFFLINE
eeun
-
-
- 75 posts
Star Raider
Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:44 AM
It's a really impressive device, and I've joined their mailing list in attempt to ensure I can snag at least two of the boards soon as they're available for purchase.
Just saw a demo of it running XBMC at full 1080p, so I think there's finally a small and electricity-sipping replacement for my original Xbox.
The big issue with Atari augmentation is not so much the hardware as getting someone to develop software. An Arduino could perform a lot of the same tasks we'd assign to the Raspberry (excluding full system emulation), like drive emulation, additional interfaces, etc., and it's been available for cheap for years but so far it looks like only one person has stepped up to do some coding so far. That's not a criticism of anyone, or our community at large, it's just the number of people who could take on the task by way of talent, motivation, and having the free time, is going to be painfully small.
Just saw a demo of it running XBMC at full 1080p, so I think there's finally a small and electricity-sipping replacement for my original Xbox.
The big issue with Atari augmentation is not so much the hardware as getting someone to develop software. An Arduino could perform a lot of the same tasks we'd assign to the Raspberry (excluding full system emulation), like drive emulation, additional interfaces, etc., and it's been available for cheap for years but so far it looks like only one person has stepped up to do some coding so far. That's not a criticism of anyone, or our community at large, it's just the number of people who could take on the task by way of talent, motivation, and having the free time, is going to be painfully small.
#10 OFFLINE
kogden
-
-
- 123 posts
Chopper Commander
Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:47 PM
The best thing to do with a Raspberry Pi is stick it in a small chassis with an integrated keyboard (maybe a simplified keytronic laptop keyboard) and realize that it itself is a "home computer" with similar goals as the original wave of home computers....
-Simple external expansion with a TON of different devices.... USB was inspired by SIO though they have little in common. Devices could even have integrated 2-port hubs and be daisy chained.
-Simple CPU architechture (relative to most nowadays) that is found in everything from toasters to smartphones that isn't near as painful as x86 to write assembler code for.
-Decent enough onboard GPU capable enough for fluid high-rez 3D graphics at 720p, in many cases 1080p. I heard rumors of OpenCL as well....
-Video output to the two most common television inputs (in the US at least), composite for those who prefer eyestrain and HDMI for those who valued their vision and bought a cheap LCD TV. Many parents already buy such LCD TV's for their kids here.
-Integrated high-speed SDIO for OS and storage. That's as close to a cartridge slot as you'll probably come to these days.
-MASSIVE library of available software due to Linux ubiquity.
Slap in a BASIC interpreter that starts by default after booting the kernel and you basically have a 21st century A8. I'd love to see a simple 3D graphics library integrated with BASIC..... Player/Missle 3D.... PM3D heh... define world, load models and go.
My only issue so far is the default software stack. Some IT guys will buy them for their kids but running typical modern desktop software designed around quad-core desktops with 2GB+ of RAM isn't going to be pleasant on a 600MHz ARM. Now a software stack designed around the limits of the machine would be fantastic. Things like Word processors, graphics apps, etc could easily be written within the machines specs.
X11 is also a terrible environment these days to teach someone how graphics work. A slim but nice looking UI toolkit/window manager with a simple API wrapped around DirectFB would be a better approach for education I think. And both GTK and QT can target DirectFB instead of X11 as well. So a lot of X apps could be ported. Done right it would be very responsive and great for games and experimenting with development.
Basically, I'd stick with the Linux KERNEL but dump the GNU userland and build a simple OS around it with standardized components. I'd offer the GNU userland and libs as a compatibility package that can installed for people who want it. There is also an X11 server that can be run on top of DirectFB for legacy app compatibility.... hmmm....
Not just being a nostalgic fanboy but today's "Atari" could get back into the home computer game if they wanted. Just a little development elbow grease and proper marketing and they could ride the Raspberry Pi wave but also stand out with better performance and cleaner API's with most of the hard work done by the open source crowd. I'm pretty convinced those brits are going to sell the s**t out of those things. I know I'm buying a couple. Atari also has the cash to get broadcom to even sell them those ARM SoCs. No startup will. Power without the price heh.... ARM Yourself would be a good catch phrase too.
I doubt Atari would do it but I've been mulling over trying to actually do something similar and actually turn a decent profit. I wonder how hard venture capital is to come by these days.... Cheap touch tablets are great for CONSUMING content, not creating it. People are starting to realize it. A low-cost computer that's easily put away, easily portable and can be hooked to large readable displays would be more useful for kids learning about computers or even general home usage for typical computing tasks. Especially with the integrated keyboard. SD cards provide cheap mass storage.
-Simple external expansion with a TON of different devices.... USB was inspired by SIO though they have little in common. Devices could even have integrated 2-port hubs and be daisy chained.
-Simple CPU architechture (relative to most nowadays) that is found in everything from toasters to smartphones that isn't near as painful as x86 to write assembler code for.
-Decent enough onboard GPU capable enough for fluid high-rez 3D graphics at 720p, in many cases 1080p. I heard rumors of OpenCL as well....
-Video output to the two most common television inputs (in the US at least), composite for those who prefer eyestrain and HDMI for those who valued their vision and bought a cheap LCD TV. Many parents already buy such LCD TV's for their kids here.
-Integrated high-speed SDIO for OS and storage. That's as close to a cartridge slot as you'll probably come to these days.
-MASSIVE library of available software due to Linux ubiquity.
Slap in a BASIC interpreter that starts by default after booting the kernel and you basically have a 21st century A8. I'd love to see a simple 3D graphics library integrated with BASIC..... Player/Missle 3D.... PM3D heh... define world, load models and go.
My only issue so far is the default software stack. Some IT guys will buy them for their kids but running typical modern desktop software designed around quad-core desktops with 2GB+ of RAM isn't going to be pleasant on a 600MHz ARM. Now a software stack designed around the limits of the machine would be fantastic. Things like Word processors, graphics apps, etc could easily be written within the machines specs.
X11 is also a terrible environment these days to teach someone how graphics work. A slim but nice looking UI toolkit/window manager with a simple API wrapped around DirectFB would be a better approach for education I think. And both GTK and QT can target DirectFB instead of X11 as well. So a lot of X apps could be ported. Done right it would be very responsive and great for games and experimenting with development.
Basically, I'd stick with the Linux KERNEL but dump the GNU userland and build a simple OS around it with standardized components. I'd offer the GNU userland and libs as a compatibility package that can installed for people who want it. There is also an X11 server that can be run on top of DirectFB for legacy app compatibility.... hmmm....
Not just being a nostalgic fanboy but today's "Atari" could get back into the home computer game if they wanted. Just a little development elbow grease and proper marketing and they could ride the Raspberry Pi wave but also stand out with better performance and cleaner API's with most of the hard work done by the open source crowd. I'm pretty convinced those brits are going to sell the s**t out of those things. I know I'm buying a couple. Atari also has the cash to get broadcom to even sell them those ARM SoCs. No startup will. Power without the price heh.... ARM Yourself would be a good catch phrase too.
I doubt Atari would do it but I've been mulling over trying to actually do something similar and actually turn a decent profit. I wonder how hard venture capital is to come by these days.... Cheap touch tablets are great for CONSUMING content, not creating it. People are starting to realize it. A low-cost computer that's easily put away, easily portable and can be hooked to large readable displays would be more useful for kids learning about computers or even general home usage for typical computing tasks. Especially with the integrated keyboard. SD cards provide cheap mass storage.
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users
