this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2025
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Linux Gaming

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[–] [email protected] 73 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Powered by Raspberry Pi 5

Also...

The Raspberry Pi 5 board is not included in this kit.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's powered by someone's Raspberry Pi 5.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

Great, another cloud computing scam...

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, wish they were a bit more upfront about that. In their defense it is in the FAQ and somewhere at the bottom of the "about this project" page. Battery is also an add on unless you want to source your own.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

The article is just a long advertisement. Nothing more.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

So for $200 USD they’re selling an 80’s retro version of a GameboyPi case ($50 on amazon, includes battery) with a slightly larger screen and fewer buttons. For $10 more, they’ll add in a keyboard that they haven’t developed yet.

Seems like an overpriced stepping stone between a flipper and a steam deck.

[–] BrianTheeBiscuiteer 1 points 2 weeks ago

And I get it's still the top dog SBC but there's plenty out there that don't contribute to the capitalist machine.

[–] callmepk 54 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

The emotional part of me yells “shut up and take my money”, but the rational part of me tells me that it will be another useless piece of junk on my shelf

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, I sort of wanted a computer I can carry around with me (and I kind of like the Inspector Gadget vibes), but then I remembered I have a smart phone so I already do.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

Fortunately, the rational part of me has been winning lately. So yeah, it's cool, but I have no use for it.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Anyone that thinks they're "coding on the go" with something of this form factor is kidding themselves.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah I've seen this thing before and think it's a neat design but not really worth funding tbh. In the end it's just a Pi with a screen too small to be useful and a keyboard that would be terrible to use. Do we really need to fund more plastic crap? They could just put the designs online so people can 3D print them themselves, and put it on a service like pcbway for people that want a high quality version. People already do that all the time.

If they would design an interface for it as well, that would be really cool. Then it could be a useful thing definitely worth funding. But with a vanilla Pi Linux the user experience would be terrible.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Do we really need to fund more plastic crap?

I feel this way every time something is made like this. Like, you're not reinventing the wheel in any meaningful way. Is it cool? Of course! Is is something that makes the task easier and/or better? No, not really.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

You'd be better off using SSH into a VPS and using a CLI editor from your phone. Better perf, can use any keyboard you care to bring, and no extra cost to you.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This is cool but it tries to be two things and doesn't look great at either.

There are Pi Laptop cases that are more practical and aren't as risky as a Kickstarter.

And there's plenty of (dramatically cheaper) Linux retro styled pocket games out there.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Linux retro style handhelds? Could you tell me where to find them?

Was really interested in the Pilet until I figured out the Pi doesn't come with it at that price...

[–] Scio 15 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

The R36S is a "dirt cheap" Linux retrohandheld you can get pretty much everywhere. No built-in WiFi though, which limits usability quite a lot.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I got my daughters that an I regret it... Should have brought it for myself...

Now jodes aside. Is incredible for the price.

[–] Scio 3 points 2 weeks ago

My biggest complaint is that their complimentary ROM collection doesn't have any of the Patapon games. I put mine in and now it's perfect :D

[–] poplargrove 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Do you happen to know how they are able to provide all those retro games? I can't imagine they licensed that many games.

[–] Scio 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

By outright piracy ofc. They include a shoddy SD card full of ROMs, but you can and should use your own card (for longevity) with your own ROMs (for legal reasons...)

[–] poplargrove 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Oh wow. Their website says theyve been operating since 2019 or something so I assumed they had something going that stopped them from being shutdown by Nintendo.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

that stopped them from being shutdown by Nintendo

Some of them cleverly don't include any Mario games, only Maroo games.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Anbernic has some. Not all of their devices run linux though, make sure to check the details.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Linux retro style handhelds? Could you tell me where to find them?

Sure!

Edit: Ooh, good recommendations by others. Abernic competes pretty well with PowKiddy in price for features, as well.

[–] TheGrandNagus 4 points 2 weeks ago

There's loads. Several Anbernic devices, Miyoo Mini (I have a couple and they're great), etc.

Most of them support custom firmwares, themes, etc.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

Just to add to what others are saying, check out The Phawx on YT, reviewing these things is kind of his schtick (not Linux focused, retro handheld focused).

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I fell for the Ready 100 Computer, years ago and now I don't trust anything computer related on Kickstarter.

[–] b34k 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Making prototypes is easy. Actually producing things is hard. Just cuz a KS has something working to show, doesn’t mean you should trust they can make enough of them for everyone.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

//Todo: fix this bug in prod

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

funded quick because of an absurdly low funding goal coupled with a high entry price point, and somewhat deceptive marketing.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Goal: 20k CAD

Lowest reward thingy: 289 CAD

They only needed 70 people interested. Still surpassed over 1k supporters, so not too shabby.

[–] BradleyUffner 3 points 2 weeks ago

Those numbers are really setting off my "take the money and run" scam radar.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago

OP is fighting for their lives in that video with people saying it isn't open source.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

We need more products to have interesting aesthetics again

[–] spongebue 10 points 2 weeks ago

Touchscreens have their place (and are overused in places like cars, to be sure) but their emergence combined with a minimalist trend sure has made things boring.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago

Cassette Future, indeed.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, is it "pil-ey" like in "filet" or "pill-et" like a "pilot" with an 'e' (like Palm Pilot)?

[–] TheGrandNagus 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

It's Raspberry Pi powered, so the 'Pi' part of the name must surely be pronounced like that

[–] theunknownmuncher 8 points 2 weeks ago
[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

looks very cool but wonder about build quality

[–] Dezzorian 5 points 2 weeks ago

This looks like a copy paste from clockwork with their DevTerm and uConsole. I have a uConsole and really like it. Despite that it had a small year needed to ship it. It is now running stock Debian Bookworm and the community is growing. Its running on a CM4 and CM5 is almost done as well thanks to a very active community user. Software support is shit, but the hardware and software are open source so there are already a couple. Of expansion boards (4G, GPIO, USB hub, Pico2040, and GPS/LoRa in the making)

[–] db2 4 points 2 weeks ago
[–] 4grams 4 points 2 weeks ago

I was looking for something just like this, A small, battery powered system with an integrated display. Started my search for a pi case but quickly realized an N100 x86 device with higher specs than a pi can be purchased for significantly cheaper. let’s just hope I can get Debian on it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

Poor souls ...

[–] newcockroach 1 points 2 weeks ago

I saw this on youtube a few hours back. https://youtu.be/89pAwl55HJw