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Comment by blhack | Hacker News Reader

The people behind raspi seem really, genuinely good. If this is all marketing, it doesn't feel like it.

They're going to do what manufacturing they can in the UK, even though it would net them a lot more money to do it overseas. Awesome.

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Do keep in mind that they're a registered charity, a not-for-profit.

The reason I mention this is that "even though it would net them a lot more money" means that by doing it in the UK it isn't hurting shareholders, but the charity's goals - as mentioned in the blog itself.

I don't know whether it would be better to have £x more profit for the charity or to make y more boards in the UK, but either way you have to assume they're doing what they think is best as a charity.

Personally I could care less about whether they were a charity, or for profit. At this price level, they are an order of magnitude cheaper than competing SoC solutions, and there is an ocean of opportunity for uses of systems like this where it wouldn't have even been close to economically feasible before.

I would actually prefer this company to be FOR-PROFIT, so they have an economic incentive to continue increasing the performance per dollar. I am afraid this will be a one-off product that eventually dies off because there's no incentive to innovate further.

Then if that's the case it'll show that there /is/ a profitable market for this and someone will surely pick up the ball.

What do you think an economic incentive would add to the organisation? They have been working on this product for a while now, they're bringing it into production, they seem well-motivated and adequately resourced. Is this something that's likely to go into decline when the "new charity smell" wears off?

(I'm aware that capitalism's a sensitive subject, so to be clear: this is an honest question)

Why is attempting to limit international commerce "really, genuinely good"? Are you aware of comparative advantage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage)?

Well, among other things you burn less energy to get the goods to your doorstep.

Are you sure? If it costs a lot less to manufacture, that extra money gets spent fueling consumption of something else; I don't know what that would be, but I doubt it'd be zero.

The money would certainly be spent elsewhere, but the point is "why burn precious energy to bring a rock here from China if I can find a rock in my front lawn". Do what you like with the money you save, it is still a win for the planet because you conserved a resource at no cost (if the two rocks are fungible)

Also it occurs to me that while a focus on local may cost gains found in economies of scale, it can net gains in terms of spreading out the burden of negative externalities. This one is murky and not always a clear win one way or the other though.

It is not at no cost, because it is more efficient( at least comparatively if not absolutely ) to produce the rock in China and overseas shipping is extremely efficient. That is what comparative advantage and trade is all about. It is only better for the planet in the sense that the products costs more and as a result fewer of them will be produced costing less resources.

I find this situation fascinating: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox

I love the speed they're working at and their no excuses, no BS approach. It's surprisingly refreshing.

Are they funded?

I have no clue as to their financial status, but Liz (one of the team members) said this in the comments:

Indeed – and I’m pretty sure that those psychic people would be a bit more cautious if it was their mortgage that this thing was secured on

It says in the blurb at the bottom of the page that Liz is a "full time volunteer." Why can't they pay someone to do their PR if they're funded?

There are varying degrees of 'funded'.

Not sure about UK, but in the Netherlands, volunteers often get a "costs reimbursement". If you're a full time volunteer, that reimbursment may roughly equal a crappy salary. Maybe that's what Liz is getting, too.

It'd be nothing like what she could earn in industry, but enough to keep a roof over her head and food on the table. And a Raspberry Pi in every room.

Yes they are. That's why they won't allow pre-ordering. I think it's said in the FAQ or in one of the earliest posts.

Yeah.. that's the only weird thing. I want to pre-order ("get in the queue") because I want the board when it ships.

From my point of view, the idea that I can't pre-order something because they are already funded is odd.

What seems odd to me is the idea of a Brit actively keeping people from queuing. That's basically Britain's national pastime.

Depends on how you handle the pre-orders, most would try something like paypal but they are so terrible at dealing with pre-order payments and account freezing that it is easier to avoid pre-orders at all.

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