[michrassena]

I have three Raspberry Pi computers. The third, a Pi Zero came in the mail today. So I'm sold on the strong points of the system.

My point wasn't about the laptop having Windows, just that there was a "Windows tax" on the inexpensive laptop and it still offered a better price / performance value. I bought a laptop a couple of years ago for $250. It has a display, two kinds of USB ports, HDMI, Ethernet, a keyboard, trackpad and a battery. I'm sure I could run Linux on it if I needed to. It's not fast, but it's faster than any tricked out Raspberry Pi.

If we envision the Raspberry Pi as a learning tool, it's almost too good. It's really too powerful and too complex. As a general purpose computer it still falls short of what I consider a good use of my free time. Don't get me wrong, it's fantastic that there is such a wide market for add-ons for the Pi, for an aftermarket of small players with neat ideas. I have to pry myself away from the sites where they sell this stuff. But this project is just a little too expensive to make it worthwhile for me. I'd like to see a Pi+M2 kit for $100, which likely there will be in time.