Making Gadgeteer and NETMF truly affordable

[Architect]

@ Simon from Vilnius

I though you can buy anything you want

@Simon from Vilnius

That’s not about me or him — I can buy anything I want

[Mr_John_Smith]

@ Simon, yes we can because with 100 bucks you can afford a Cerbuino Bee; just wait 2 or more months, and save those pennies. Arduino apparently came about because BASIC Stamp by Parallax was too expensive http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/the-making-of-arduino

But the BASIC Stamp had two problems, Banzi discovered: It didnt have enough computing power for some of the projects his students had in mind, and it was also a bit too expensive—a board plus basic parts could cost about US $100. He also needed something that could run on Macintosh computers, which were ubiquitous among the IDII designers.

[Simon_from_Vilnius]

@Architect

@ Simon from Vilnius

I though you can buy anything you want

@Simon from Vilnius

That’s not about me or him — I can buy anything I want

[Mike]

PEACE AND LOVE… PEACE AND LOVE…

Let’s all agree to disagree and find other less disruptive subjects to discuss.

[Simon_from_Vilnius]

@Mr. John Smith

@ Simon, yes we can because with 100 bucks you can afford a Cerbuino Bee; just wait 2 or more months, and save those pennies. Arduino apparently came about because BASIC Stamp by Parallax was too expensive http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/the-making-of-arduino

godefroi was right: you must really be joking… Just wait two months. Right. Have you been a $100/month student? I was. And I think I was a very rich student, compared to all students in the world.

Once again, this topic is not about US residents or those in a few welthiest EU countries. The world does not end there (although people in those countries tend to think so, I’ve experienced that myself while living abroad).

P.S. According to your quotation, Gadgeteer takes BASIC Stamp’s position now?

[Simon_from_Vilnius]

@Mike

PEACE AND LOVE… PEACE AND LOVE…

Let’s all agree to disagree and find other less disruptive subjects to discuss.

Yeah, I guess we can pretty much close the topic. I found what I wanted to find, and I cannot say I’m happy about it.

[Architect]

@Mike

@Architect

@godefroi

…
but seriously, last year around this time we had customers (us) bragging about the cards and gifts we sent to our vendor (GHI). How backwards is that?
…
Head explodes
…

Cheer up! It is a holiday season. It is customary in this country (and many others) to exchange gifts at this time of year. A customer appreciates its vendor and send them a gift. Nothing is wrong with that, unless you are a Scrooge.

Did I miss something last year? Who was bragging about sending cards and gifts to GHI?

You are right. Nobody was. GHI publicly said “thank you” after receiving the gift. I see a tendency of blowing out of proportion everything lately.

[Mr_John_Smith]

Yes, this got way out of proportion. Considering that I’ve been $15 dollar a month student in a developing nation, I understand the costs incurred with obtaining cutting edge technology.

[Mr_John_Smith]

Back then we were using PIC16s cus it was $6 and because I couldn’t afford to purchase the programmer from Microchip, we build our own (open source one) for $15 (seen in the foreground of the pic). In the background of the pic you can see how far we’ve come now.

[Reinhard_Ostermeier]

@Mr. John Smith

Back then we were using PIC16s cus it was $6 and because I couldn’t afford to purchase the programmer from Microchip, we build our own (open source one) for $15 (seen in the foreground of the pic). In the background of the pic you can see how far we’ve come now.

Is this the brand new fully recyclable electronics housing I see there

[Mr_John_Smith]

@ Rienhard, Actually it was the box the Xbee came in so yea Up-cycling FTW.

[godefroi]

@Simon from Vilnius

@godefroi

@ ianlee74 - You’d think that people would go for the cheaper options, but I’ve only sold (I think, it’s been more than a year) one of my ENC28J60 adapter boards.

And where’s your shop? I kind of missed that…

I’m in the U.S. I ship USPS first class.

[godefroi]

@Gus

@ godefroi - explain this (related to your enc28 theory!!)

Digikey chip price in full reel of over 2000pcs is $2.36
Then add crystal, PCB, connector, assembly, cable …etc and the cost is nearing $$$ then add a huge discount for distributors and you will find that GHI is actually selling the module too cheap!

But then you look at eBay and it is complete selling for under $4! My only explanation is that the chip they use in china is not an original microchip part.

Now, let’s compare to another non china product https://www.sparkfun.com/products/765 and it is $35. Looks like we need to raise our prices not lower them.

Try to think more positive and you will see that GHI does a LOT of work for a little return, and that is we are the only company doing this! Business wise, we would make more money and it would be easier for us to just make arduino Shields :wall: maybe one day you will see what other see and you will send us gifts as well.

I don’t think they’re buying the parts from Digi-key. I have several here. They work great.

If Gadgeteer needs a charity to keep it alive, then maybe it’s time to move on to something else?

In my world, vendors send me gifts to thank me for the thousands or millions of dollars I send them. Maybe your world is different…

[Gus_Issa]

@ godefroi - OK OK we will shut the website down and stop making anything gadgeteer. just kidding of course.

Happy Holidays!

[Mike]

If Gadgeteer needs a charity to keep it alive, then maybe it’s time to move on to something else?

I don’t agree with your premise, but I support your decision to leave.

[Architect]

Please, do not feed the trolls!

[godefroi]

@Gus

@ godefroi - OK OK we will shut the website down and stop making anything gadgeteer. just kidding of course.

Happy Holidays!

Gus, it was you that said it:

@Gus

Business wise, we would make more money and it would be easier for us to just make arduino Shields :wall:

I’m not arguing that you should do that (I certainly wouldn’t be buying any), but when someone drives a truck full of money up to my door…

@ Mike - I’m sorry dissenting opinions offend you.

@ Gus - If you want me to leave, all you have to do is terminate my account. You owe me nothing. I’ve never redeemed points for a discount, and I’ve only ever tried to be helpful.

If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.
― Benjamin Franklin

[Gus_Issa]

@ godefroi - we do not terminate accounts but Mike said enough.

[godefroi]

@ Gus - Until you decide to terminate my account, I’ll continue to do my best to help the community.

By the way, major contributors to the community have chosen to leave because of the reluctance to think critically around here. Two have contacted me privately and expressed thanks and support for the information and opinions I have posted.

[Architect]

Believe me, there are members who think that you do more damage than help. I have yet to see a really helpful post from you.