<div><div dir="auto">It seems that power is supplied through GPIO. So some soldering is required.</div></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I love these boards, but they need to realize that not everyone feels comfortable firing up a soldering iron.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, Sep 16, 2019 at 12:30 PM D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk <<a href="mailto:talk@gtalug.org">talk@gtalug.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">This is an inexpensive Atom-based Single-Board Computer (SBC). It<br>
created a flurry on Amazon a few months ago and then seemed to go out<br>
of stock. I just assumed that it was some surplus board that was<br>
being blown out. Maybe it is.<br>
<br>
Now it is being sold by AmeriDroid, a distributor/vendor of several <br>
interesting single-board computers. Cheap!<br>
<br>
<a href="https://ameridroid.com/products/atomic-pi" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://ameridroid.com/products/atomic-pi</a><br>
<br>
Why I think that this is interesting:<br>
<br>
- SBC is an interesting form factor<br>
<br>
- cheap: US$37.95 for board + US$12.95 for power + ? for shipping.<br>
That's cheaper than a Raspberry Pi 4b with 4GiB.<br>
<br>
- x86 so any off-the-shelf distro should work. And the video driver<br>
is in-tree open source (a big missing piece with ARM).<br>
It would run Windows 10 but has no licence.<br>
<br>
- OK resources:<br>
+ Intel Atom x5-Z8350 (hence name)<br>
+ 2G RAM (not expandable)<br>
+ 16G eMMC (preloaded with some Linux) (should perform better than<br>
Raspi's SD)<br>
+ SD socket (supports up to 256G)<br>
+ gigabit ethernet, dual band WiFi, Bluetooth<br>
+ some kind of potentially interesting audio amplifier<br>
+ HDMI<br>
+ USB 3.0 port<br>
+ fanless, with a big heat sink<br>
<br>
- oddities<br>
+ need to add a weird power supply connector and a power supply<br>
+ need to add WiFi antennae<br>
+ no case<br>
+ I don't really understand the choice of power supplies offered by<br>
AmeriDroid. The cheaper one has higher output (possibly useful<br>
in support of the audio amp).<br>
<br>
Why I won't buy it:<br>
<br>
- I have too many small PCs already. And too many unfinished<br>
projects.<br>
<br>
- 2GiB is a little cramped these days. First-world problem!<br>
But it is certainly fine for most SBC applications.<br>
<br>
I recommend browsing Ameridroid.com for other interesting toys.<br>
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</blockquote></div></div>