The business arm of Raspberry Pi is preparing to make an initial public offering (IPO) in London. CEO Eben Upton tells Ars that should the IPO happen, it will let Raspberry Pi’s not-for-profit side expand by “at least a factor of 2X.” And while it’s “an understandable thing” that Raspberry Pi enthusiasts could be concerned, “while I’m involved in running the thing, I don’t expect people to see any change in how we do things.”
It’s not even about the paycheck though- because we are assuming that all units shipped are being sold at the same MSRP. It wouldn’t matter who they sold to, they were gonna get paid the same regardless of buyer if they were selling more than they could produce.
A simple way to handle the shortage would just be to ship first to order, first to ship. But no, Pi outright said they would not ship to consumers, only corporate customers, until the shortage ended. That is what burned up my goodwill, because it proves they don’t actually care about any open source community farther than their wallet can be thrown. The IPO only reinforces that greed motive, and I will not be buying their products.
Again, I’m against the IPO. Never brings good.
I don’t disagree with your points re:fairness and the community goodwill.
I think they still are the only game in town for my usecases. The support and “just works” factor is unmatched.
And with the Hock Tan era Broadcom, you’re not going to see another bcm based design upstart.
Hopefully RISC-V can ramp up and provide a viable alternative in the near term, with an AMD or something willing to provide some resources.