Well, Intel's been making some interesting goodies for the embedded-systems world lately, and the latest one... well... Spark Fun has the gadget, and an initial crop of add-ons.
The Intel Edison is a really teeny computer module, with x86 (Atom) processor, enough RAM and flash-disk to run Linux and get some work done, WiFi and Bluetooth, and a little I/O header. For $50, in onesies.
There's no video output... which isn't exactly a bad thing. Most of the applications I have for little embeddable Linux machines don't call for video, and the lack of video on this module implies that the Linux distro for it will be intended to run headless.
It's not the zippiest CPU out there, but you probably won't be running KDE and a database server on it. From my perspective, it's competing with maybe a 200 MHz ARM9 (being something available in a non-BGA package and capable of running real Linux), so a 500 MHz dual-core Atom ought to be plenty.
Lack of Ethernet knocks it off my list for some potential projects, but by no means all.
Overall: Cool! I won't be playing with one right away - got enough on my plate already - but it sure looks like it has potential. Also, there's one pending project for which it might be just the ticket, assuming the project actually happens.
Disclaimer: If you think my scribbling here will have any meaningful effect on the price of my Intel shares, your notion of how the stock market works is at least two decades out of date.
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