OLPC

The OLPC "Give One Get One" (http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/give-one-get-one.php) program started this week. I wonder if those things are powerful enough to run a RepRap. Looks like it doesn't run Java by default, so it'd be a bit of effort to install everything needed.

I would imagine that they are more than powerful enough. Another thing to consider is that not only would the host software have to be ported, you would have to have some other type of connection to the hardware as they don't come with serial ports--as far as I know--and a usb-serial converter cable runs about $25 to $30, not a cheap item if this thing ends up costing around $400.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more this whole project's software would have to be tailored to the little green machine. On the other hand, you couldn't pick a more appropriate platform for it to work on as they are tailored for developing contrys and such. Very awesome.

Demented

Hey, Zach. Doesn't that new chip, you're playing around with, have an integrated USB controller?

yes, the Arduino board has an onboard USB->serial converter so you can use a plain USB cable.

some variant designs of the Arduino do not have the chip (to save $$$) and instead you can simply use a usb->serial converter cable just like we currently recommend.