New $74 Android mini computer is slightly larger than a thumb drive

It also matters that I can't get my hands on a Pi.

"No RPi case manufacturers"? I beg to differ...

http://elinux.org/RPi_Cases

Note, they aren't all "concepts" or DIY.

OK, I stand corrected,... But to get many of them, you need a 3D Printer... Like a RepRap, MakerBot, or a Solidoodle...

I count 3D printing as DIY. And ModMyPi as "concept" since they aren't yet shipping. But the laser-cut wood case and the SK Pang acrylic case are real, now.

They also add cost which makes the difference in price between the Pi and the units in the article very much a non-issue.

No argument from me on that point.

For myself, I'm trying the DIY route: the printable fold-up case. One laser-printed page for the template, and one 50-cent sheet of posterboard for the card stock, isn't a bad price. That'll be enough card stock for five or six false starts. ;-)

If you already have a 3D printer (I'm taking a serious look at the Solidoodle,... dumb name,... amazing printer), the cost of any of the free plastic printable designs is negligible,... probably like $0.04 to $0.05 in materials.

I don't have a 3D printer. I prefer a more solid case anyway.

Today my turn came up to order a Raspberry Pi. It is supposed to ship in about three weeks. We sure are seeing a lot of offerings in the < $50 soc-computer category lately. It will be hard for MS to put their OS on this new round of ultra low cost machines. Maybe hardware price reductions will be the impetus to drive Linux into the hands of the people.

> Maybe hardware price reductions will be the impetus to drive Linux into the hands of the people.

More likely they'll just casually allow pirating of Windows XP, just as they resurrected it for netbooks.

It would have to be Windows CE (or something else that will run on ARM). Windows XP won't run on these ultra-cheap ARM based computers.

> It would have to be Windows CE (or something else that will run on ARM).

True. I'd forgotten that.

Quoting:It would have to be Windows CE (or something else that will run on ARM)

Windows CE can't compete with Linux, it isn't good enough. But I bet they would be willing to offer Windows 8 for a Dollar.

Windows CE is successfully competing with Android on very low end netbooks. Right now that market is about 50/50 Android/CE. Never underestimate the public's willingness to choose garbage so long as it has the Windows name on it.

Quoting: I don't have a 3D printer. I prefer a more solid case anyway.

The 3D printers that I mentioned print in ABS plastic, similar to what you find in a typical Lego brick... That's about as sturdy as plastic typically gets.

Quoting:Windows CE is successfully competing with Android on very low end netbooks.

Hmm, I said Linux not Android. Android is Linux with one hand still tied behind the back. Besides, Linux is more open and adaptable to various devices.

But, you are right, one shouldn't underestimate the power of a rich monopoly that coerces others into using its products.

It's no coercion in most cases. It's fear of the unknown, of anything different. Windows is familiar, or at least people think it is until they realize that CE isn't the Windows they know. Also, never underestimate inertia and laziness.

p.s.: I've always enjoyed the Anne Droid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkZiobuDJyg

Quoting:Windows CE can't compete with Linux, it isn't good enough.

I agree; it isn't good enough. Yet that's what I see on the pseudo-netbooks for sale at the drug store.

@caitlyn:

Thank goodness it's only a trans-materialisation beam :D

Makes the "walk of shame" seem pretty lame...