pISO: The Most Versatile Flash Drive Yet?

[geekGee]

An intriguing project I noticed on Kickstarter... the pISO... a Pi Zero based flash drive using virtual drives stored on SD card.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/178023282/piso-the-most-versatile-flash-drive-yet?ref=discovery

[agehall]

I'm not sure about the whole "create multiple virtual flashdrives" thing but being able to quickly create bootable iso images on a stick is worth the price for me at least...

[geekGee]

I'm not sure about the whole "create multiple virtual flashdrives" thing but being able to quickly create bootable iso images on a stick is worth the price for me at least...

Agreed... I can think of some uses for the "multiple virtual flashdrives" but even they revolve around the bootable features.

I know there are products on the market that do this already but the implementation of this should make it hackable.   Only a few days left on it but I think I'll back it.

[tszaboo]

4*pogo pins: $2
OLED: $4
3*switches: $1

And you want $27?

Plus testing, plus shipping, plus handling, plus PCB, plus etc. And then do a 2.5 times markup to make a living, as Dave suggested #887. If you dont like it, I guess you can just copy it and sell it cheaper, as that is how it is done in China isn't it.

[Kean]

Make no delusion. At this price point, the OO isn't going to certify thus board. So the third party cost is not higher than a similar Chinese board of same feature.

But probably built with some QC, and some semblance of support from the designer - neither of which you'll get from Chinese supplier who has near zero margin.

I feel no guilty at all copying it. I'm not going to clone the PCB, and if the control program is in user space, I'm not going to pirate the program. If the control program is in kernel space, then it's gpl anyway.

They state that it will be released as Open Source - so you'll be able to copy it all you want.  Still many people don't want to do that, and $27 is not a high price for a westerner for the potential value.

The program doesn't looks like anything fancy. It's likely based on I2C tools and configfs.

Yeah, but someone still would have spent many hours doing the hardware and software engineering, plus invaluable testing.

Calculating the value by just adding together the bulk purchase price of the main visible components is totally bogus, and disrespectful to your fellow engineers and makers/hobbyists!

[TK]

4*pogo pins: $2
OLED: $4
3*switches: $1

And you want $27?

Software $20

[ebastler]

I feel no guilty at all copying it.

If it is your goal in life to find promising Kickstarter projects, copy, and undercut them, feel free to have a go at that. But I am pretty sure it is not what you are aspiring to, and you are arguing just for the argument's sake.

[Kean]

At least 600 backers appear to see it differently 

[geekGee]

I was making the point that this project doesn't pack too much value, not even worth to be cloned.

Value is in the "eye of the beholder".  From my perspective, assuming it works as advertised, it is an inexpensive solution to a challenge I encounter fairly often.