> for running Linux applications, they feel way underpowered
I think that's because the Raspberry Pi's might be best used as tiny consumer servers, not desktop (or embedded) computers. They seem perfect for running things that require an OS and a moderate amount of processing power - say, DNS, Syncthing, audio streaming, ssh tunnel point, a VPN, a small personal (static) website, or a NAS that doesn't have particularly high performance requirements.
So, Linux "applications" but not in the sense of Firefox, or other interactive GUI programs.
(this ignores the lower barrier to entry that they have than actual microcontrollers, which is a different kind of use-case)
Yep. I use them in headless robotics applications and they always seem fast. And then I have an 8GB unit as a media server at home and it feels sloooowwwww. Loading a video in chrome takes forever but they’re really good at running my Python robotics stack in docker!
A pi2b lives under my desk and runs a discord bot, pihole and database. Now that I've learnt docker im tempted to go back and containerize everything on it
I think that's because the Raspberry Pi's might be best used as tiny consumer servers, not desktop (or embedded) computers. They seem perfect for running things that require an OS and a moderate amount of processing power - say, DNS, Syncthing, audio streaming, ssh tunnel point, a VPN, a small personal (static) website, or a NAS that doesn't have particularly high performance requirements.
So, Linux "applications" but not in the sense of Firefox, or other interactive GUI programs.
(this ignores the lower barrier to entry that they have than actual microcontrollers, which is a different kind of use-case)