Did you order a Raspberry Pi?

[NickStone]

If you were one of the many people who ordered a Raspberry Pi computer upon its launch and are still waiting for its delivery, here's the reason why.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17547764

[sithlord48]

i was going to but since their site had already crashed that day (and im not paying that much to ship it to the us...). i figured it would be better to wait and save the shipping money and just get another pi instead.(shipping was like $30 iirc , per device). so im gonna wait until they at least have a shipping location from within the us.

[Ole Juul]

It looks like they're getting ahead of themselves and forgetting details. This probably could have been avoided. Nevertheless, I'm rooting for them and bureaucracy is indeed an age old problem.

[SteveRiley]

Speaking of radiation, James Fallows, one of my favorite writers, has had an ongoing beef with the FAA about their reluctance to rescind what he calls the "Kindle rule." Well, apparently the FAA is now instituting a plan to test every single device, on every single aircraft, by every single airline, and will the possibly issue new rules.

I am firmly in the doubter camp here. I've seen whole planes of "accidentally" powered-on devices fully survive takeoff, flight, and landing. Nothing so durable as a modern-day jetliner can be flummoxed by a thing you buy at Radio Shack.

James's article includes this interesting quote from an FAA veteran. I hadn't considered this before, but it sure seems logical:

Any aircraft instrument and flight system that can withstand the RFI from airport surveillance radar should not be affected by a Kindle.

[Ole Juul]

I doubt that anybody with relevant knowledge would seriously think that there's a risk. In fact, in a way this could even be eroding their credibility. So why are they doing it? At the moment I can only think of two things. That there is some political gain, or that they think they can monetise this situation in the future.