NotAHost t1_j3lzttu wrote
Reply to comment by firebat45 in Raspberry Pi launches higher resolution camera module, now with autofocus | Alongside the company’s Camera Module 3, it’s also releasing a new module for use with M12-mount lenses. by chrisdh79
Do you think the resources for developing camera boards is impacting the production of Pi boards?
chevalerisation_2323 t1_j3muxic wrote
Yes. I think it comes from the overrall raspberry pi budget.
Budget spent on developing the camera is budget not spent on accelerating the manufacturing of boards.
NotAHost t1_j3mvgif wrote
How would they accelerate the manufacturing of boards? Aren’t they manufactured by third parties?
chevalerisation_2323 t1_j3mwgrg wrote
Invest in better R&D to ease the manufacturing of boards. That's one idea of many.
Are you implying that nothing can be done to accelerate the manufacturing of boards?
Are you implying that Raspberry pi fondation is already at the top maximal optimisation possible when it comes to board manufacturing?
NotAHost t1_j3n7ylu wrote
I'm trying to understand what you think the bottleneck is that tossing more money would simply solve. Most R&D takes years to have results, and typically budgets have money set aside. It isn't about spending $1M on camera development board or $3M on fab, it can often be an independent decision.
Are you implying that the problem isn't primarily being supply constrained on chips? Or do you think Sony UK Technology Centre is having issues making boards?
chevalerisation_2323 t1_j3n85lk wrote
I did answer your question, answer mines. Otherwise this is just you asking wide empty questions without ever being responsible for what you implies.
NotAHost t1_j3ne471 wrote
To my limited understand of the problems that the Raspberry Pi foundation is facing, I do not think there is anything reasonable that can be done to accelerate the manufacturing of boards in the short term.
I also do not think it is likely that the Pi foundation can reasonable increase the 'top maximal optimization possible' when it's Sony fabricating the boards, and a chip shortage that is probably related to Broadcom and more suppliers.
It may be possible for them to switch some chip suppliers and release variations of their boards, but they also have to 'optimize' with their ability to support the boards for 10+ years, one of the core foundations of the organization.
chevalerisation_2323 t1_j3nj2mj wrote
> To my limited understand of the problems that the Raspberry Pi foundation is facing, I do not think there is anything reasonable that can be done to accelerate the manufacturing of boards in the short term.
That's just goalpost moving. "short term" was never implied nor stated.
You added "short term" because you know there's some stuff to be done eventually.
And if there's some stuff to be done eventually, then I'm right to say that the budget spending on bringing this cam to market should have been invested into accelerating the manufacturing, is a VALID opinion to have.
NotAHost t1_j3nuio6 wrote
I added short term because this problem is temporary. To solve this problem, you had to solve this problem in the last two years, or otherwise have a magic ball to tell you COVID was going to impact chips the way it did and act before the pandemic.
There is nothing 'to be done eventually.' Chips will come back in stock eventually, board production will continue. You just want to say 'throw more money at it' like it will solve all the problems without understanding the problems. I literally work with PCB manufacturers on a daily basis.
You're also missing the point. The camera budget was likely independent of the production budget. Even if they canceled the camera entirely, it is unlikely to have had an impact on production over the last two years. Budgeting was not the problem, you can read Eben Upton's post about it. It's all been about chips, and any reasonable solution would have taken longer than the pandemic or impacted support of its products.
chevalerisation_2323 t1_j3nw3vt wrote
> You're also missing the point. The camera budget was likely independent of the production budget.
It's not. It comes out of the same budget overrall.
> it is unlikely to have had an impact on production over the last two years.
Once again you're implying that Raspberry Pi management is perfect and that no amount of additionnal work hours/budget could improve, even slightly, the situation. That's just wrong.
Look, take 15 minutes and introspect that your POV is that nothing could be done to improve (even just a little bit) the production of Pis, not now not later. You're arguing that the incredibly complex and numerous steps of bringing a product like a Raspberry pi to consumers (from R&D to manufacturing to suppliers etc) can't, in anyways or form, be improved, even slightly.
Every tech companies, from Apple to IBM to Razers to Intel to Sennheiser etc etc etc are all constantly improving their productions, but Raspberry pi actually have it perfect and nothing could be improved. That's your take.
NotAHost t1_j3o3tgx wrote
>Every tech companies, from Apple to IBM to Razers to Intel to Sennheiser etc etc etc are all constantly improving their productions, but Raspberry pi actually have it perfect and nothing could be improved. That's your take.
This isn't about improving products, this is about production of more raspberry pis. If you want to put words in my mouth, fine, let me return the favor.
You believe that the Pi foundation should shutdown all other divisions, all development of different products, future products, etc., if it means they can get one more single raspberry pi fabricated even if it costs millions and the company goes under. That's your take.
chevalerisation_2323 t1_j3o5lir wrote
>This isn't about improving products, this is about production of more raspberry pis.
Which why I said "are all constantly improving their productions". I'm talking about production, not products https://www.dictionary.com/browse/production
>On the other hand, you believe that the Pi foundation should shutdown all other divisions, all development of different products, future products, etc., if it means they can get one more single raspberry pi fabricated even if it costs millions and the company goes under. That's your take.
That's not my take. My take is very simple: The funds used to launch the camera (from RnD to productions to marketing etc) should have been used to accelerate the production of raspberry pi instead.
You're the one arguing that accelerating that production is impossible.
Just read the chain of comments. It's exactly your take. Your putting words into your own mouth.
I just have a different budgeting priority, which happens all the time, and for some reason you're butthurt about that.
I don't care if we don't have the same budgeting priorities, but saying my priorities don't work because improving production isn't possible ("but but but what can they do?!" ) , is an ignorant take.
NotAHost t1_j3rcdu2 wrote
The camera budget wouldn't have been moved to the production budget. The production budget is determined independently, based on the ROI of said budget. Tossing more money at the production budget would have done practically very little over the course of the last two years when the issue chip supplies, pretty much completely out of their control. You saying 'just do toss it into R&D for board production' screams that you don't know anything realistic about the industry. The board is simple. Sony makes the boards. The chips are simple. Broadcom and more make those. Do you understand that Raspberry Pi doesn't make the boards or the chips? The only 'R&D' they could do is change board design to account for additional chips and again, that goes against the core principles of the Raspberry Pi foundation. It would take time. And after all that work, as soon as chip supplies start picking up again, you have an ugly duckling product that was a colossal waste of time and money.
Your statements imply that the Raspberry Pi foundation doesn't know what they're doing in balancing the budget of new tech and production. That they don't know what is a reasonable amount of budgeting. That you know better than not only the CEO of the Pi Foundation, with his PhD from Cambridge, but the entire management team at the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
chevalerisation_2323 t1_j3rfs9s wrote
> The camera budget wouldn't have been moved to the production budget.
It could have. For sure.
> The production budget is determined independently, based on the ROI of said budget.
No, the production budget is determined by the production needs.
> Tossing more money at the production budget would have done practically very little over the course of the last two years when the issue chip supplies
That's not true. Intel, AMD, Razer, Seinnheiser, Xbox, Steelseries, Playstation, Sony, etc. are ALL constantly improving their production. And most of those have chip production shortage. Just because steps #298 of the production is slowed down, doesn't mean the hundreds of other steps can't be optimized.
My statements implies that there's still some possible improvement when it comes to the entire production. Which is true. No company right now has a perfect production.
Just because Raspberry pi doesn't manufacture the board, doesn't mean they can't possibly improves the production. Plenty of tech companies don't manufacture their own stuff, as it's made in some factory in China, yet they still work and improve their production, from signing better deals, from improving the R&D so that the manufacturing process is more streamlined, from switching to easier to work materials, finding better carriers with better routes, etc.
Once again, you're making a point that the raspberry pi production line is near perfect. That's just being ignorant.
> The only 'R&D' they could do is change board design to account for additional chips
See how ignorant you're being? How is that the only R&D possible? You're implying Raspberri pis are near-perfect.
Like, here's your take:
- Signing better manufacturing deals from different factories = Nope raspberry pi fondation has near-perfect manufacturers right now.
- R&D to ease the manufacturing of Raspberries, from the board specs to materials = Nope raspberry pis manufacturing and design are near-perfect right now.
- Finding a better carrier with more direct routes/less downtime = Nope raspberry pi fondation has near-perfect carriers right now.
- Cut deals with manufacturers to develop/add more customs raspberry pi automated assembly machines = Nope raspberry pi fondation has near-perfect amount of automated assembly machines right now.
EVERY TECH COMPANIES are investing to improve their production lines because there's optimization to be done, but you think raspberry pi fundation is immune to that, because there's little to do?
BILLIONS DOLLARS COMPANIES constantly invest to improve their production lines, to cut down manufacturing times, but Raspberry pi fundation is near-perfect and wouldn't benefits from investing more into their production lines? Such an ignorant take.
MidnightAdventurer t1_j3on8bi wrote
What exactly do you propose they invest in? There aren't enough chips to go around - this is affecting everything from Raspberry Pis to car manufacturing.
The cause is a combination of Covid, trade restrictions (for really high end stuff) and some weather affecting the current fabrication plants.
There's only 2 things that can change this - one is more production out of the current semiconductor fabrication plants, the other is more plants. More plants are being build and in different locations to spread the risk around and I doubt the current plants are giving up on production capacity if they have a choice.
chevalerisation_2323 t1_j3pjry9 wrote
I've already answered that question: Invest in better R&D to ease the manufacturing of boards.
MidnightAdventurer t1_j3s411g wrote
Which will do what? Manufacturing boards isn’t the problem. There’s no chips to put on them…
chevalerisation_2323 t1_j3s4lih wrote
Which means that when chips will be available, the production process will be shorter.
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