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from the what-will-they-think-of-next? dept.
Ras Pi foundation announces a new product: the compute module.
The compute module contains the guts of a Raspberry Pi (the BCM2835 processor and 512Mbyte of RAM) as well as a 4Gbyte eMMC Flash device (which is the equivalent of the SD card in the Pi). This is all integrated on to a small 67.6x30mm board which fits into a standard DDR2 SODIMM connector (the same type of connector as used for laptop memory). The Flash memory is connected directly to the processor on the board, but the remaining processor interfaces are available to the user via the connector pins.
While not yet what I imagined by only the name i.e a unit to build a shoebox-sized Beowolf cluster of 1K-RasPi-cores the new form factor and pin-out should make this endeavour easier (ahem... for someone skilled in PCB design, EE practician, and a soldering-fu master that has achieved enlightenment... not quite my profile).
(Score: 1) by tftp on Friday April 11 2014, @01:30AM
Now all we need is a SO-DIMM socket that fans the connections into a wider pinout.
I am not sure how would that be more useful than the standard R-Pi. But if enough people want it, there is nothing stopping them to make such a breakout board. I certainly could lend a hand, considering that I work with this stuff day and night for fun and profit. The only catch is that I have no easily accessible manufacturing contacts in China. So either the boards are made in the USA, with appropriate premium, or a SN member in China volunteers to shake a tree on that side of the planet.