Linux Support

[SawYouAtMake]

I saw your booth at the Make Faire yesterday and the guy staffing the booth said that you supported Linux.  The controllers seem exactly like what I'm looking for and I was reaching for my credit card but he was, unfortunately, unable to tell me which controllers were supported under Linux and so no sale was made.

After searching your website I didn't see any mention of Linux support and only on thread in the support forums (which said "buy a mac and run a virtual PC on it"! Are you nuts?!  That is the worst advice I've ever heard: People who are running Linux are trying to get away from Microsoft and Apple and probably not wanting to rush out and go give their money to both of them.

So, what do you offer with Linux support?

[livinlowe]

Take a look at this page:

http://www.parallax.com/tabid/441/Default.aspx

There appears to be a linux version of the programmer used to program the prop-1 and 2. There doesn't appear to be a version of the programmer for the sx for linux.

Hope this helps.

[JonnyMac]

Keep in mind that we don't make the processors chips or tools to program them -- those come from Parallax.  For the moment, the Prop-2 has the best cross-platform support.  We would love to see cross-platform support for all their processors but, for the moment anyway, that is not happening.  We will continue to push for it.

[SawYouAtMake]

I guess I'm confused then.  At the Make Faire I was lead to believe that your products were not just repackaged Parallax products.  I was also told that you offered GUI programming to map inputs and outputs (not that I'm actually interested in that) and that there were other features of the software that differentiated you from Parallax.  But now I read here that these are just Basic Stamp chips being sold for double the price and that you don't actually have ANY software.

What is the straight scoop?

[JonnyMac]

The only statements we made a Maker Faire vis-a-vis Parallax is that we are now an wholly-independent company, and I'm thinking that the straight scoop is that we're not the right company for you.  We happen to use Parallax processors in our controller PCBs because we used to work for Parallax, have an enormous amount of experience with them (prior to and after our employment there), and can live with the fact that Parallax is a bit Windows-centric.  Do we wish that they offered more cross-platform tools?  Sure, but until they do we're going to do what we can with what they presently offer.

For the record, the BASIC Stamp 2 -- the controller we use in our Prop-2 PCB -- is Parallax's biggest seller so they ported the tokenizer portion of their IDE such that 3rd-party developers could use it.  There is a Mac-based tool that works with the Prop-2, and I've seen that a Linux tool is available as well.  I don't have the time to play with Mac or Linux systems, so I can't personally vouch for either.

There are a lot of processors out there that you could use.  The Arduino, for example; it has a cross-platform IDE.  Sure, the IDE is a slow-as-molasses pig, being Java-based, but it does in fact work.  There is nothing stopping you from building a controller board similar to one of ours (with beefy power supply, output buffers, terminals, etc. -- which is what separates it from being a stock BASIC Stamp) that uses and Arduino.  Support, though, is another issue.  The markets we serve tend to like the idea that when they have a problem they can turn to someone -- by phone or e-mail -- with answers.   You probably don't need the kind of support that our customers find valuable.

In the end, we can't make everyone happy; our goal, however, is to do the best for those that think our products might work for them.

Once again, I encourage you to direct your comments/complaints about the lack of Linux tools for the BASIC Stamps and SX processor to Parallax.