Re: Raspberry Pi5 versus other cheap Intel based boxes for general computing

On 4/3/2024 7:21 AM, Don wrote:

FWIW, my *nix Desktops consist of cheap, refurbished, small form PCs,
stuffed with SSDs.

I use USFFs (Optiplex FX160's) and diskless workstations (e.g., HP t610)
for small appliances.  For example, one by each TV to act as a network
media server for that TV.  An FX160 handles all of my core network
services (name, time, print, font, TFTP, etc.).
They're nice because they use so little power (~12W), are fanless and
yet capable enough that I can build new kernels or userlands on them
without having to power on a bigger machine.
The trick is NOT to run Windows on anything "underpowered".

The STM GPIO interface typically provides a digital interface to my
electronic circuits. BSD RPis are used as intrinsic IDE hosts while
Blue and Black Pills are accessed via a STLink.