Whooooa, I had no idea Arduino sold out. I thought this was about RaspberryPi for some reason at first, but this is even worse.
The enshitifcaiton was guaranteed the second the ink touched that paper.
I’m glad I still have shitloads of ESP8266s kicking around.
Which ESP32 boards do folks recommend lately? Too many options.
ESP32C3 are pretty cool. Choose a random one from Aliexpress where the board pictures are unique and high quality and the description doesn’t have spelling errors or the AI flair.
Thank you kind sir. AliExpress has been lacking my funding too long.
I had no idea RaspberryPi sold out. The writing of enshitifcaiton was on the wall the second they happened.
“Hello, this brand of tools that was specifically made for people to learn about? Yes, you’re no longer allowed to attempt to understand how they work.”
Are RISCV microcontrollers out yet? Might be a good idea to rally around making a fully open IDE ecosystem and breakout board standard for it (maybe even make it pin compatible with the old school Arduino, surely they can’t sue for that right?)
Thankfully, this doesn’t seem to apply to code written outside of the Arduino ecosystem, so i ASSUME that if you’re writing code for a cloned board using PlatformIO that these new terms don’t apply to you
If that’s not the case, I’ll switch to micropython (probably easier anyway)
Here’s the solution. Stop using Arduino. That’s how people power work. Then a new open alternative will pop up, and people can start using that. Ones desire to create and build, should never belong to only one brand - but a universal brand - whenever possible.
Here’s a problem. Schools are full of them. They are really, really good for that specific field. People only think about their private use, but education will suffer the most. Or taxpayers, because they have to pay the bill. Again.
It’s a problem, but a minor one. And it still talks into the fact, that it is possible to make an Open Source projekt like that, maybe even owned by the government in some way, so it can’t be turned to shit by corporate interests…
i think it was already dead and replaced by the esp32s - the original arduinos are too expensive for what actually offered: get the performance of a 8-bit cpu with 2k RAM but at raspberry pi prices
Exactly. Why would anyone still use Arduino when alternatives are both better and cheaper?
I still use em cause they work and thats what I learned. my projects are simple enough: ultrasonic sensor detects when someones near, activates a relay etc
The good news is that there are a billion no-name brands in China etc. manufacturing drop-in replacement Arduino-compatible boards.
I got into microcontrollers through Arduino but very quickly moved to much cheaper (and tbh, better) third-party options.
yeah none of my props actually use name brand arduinos. theyre “for arduino nano” chinese boards. cheap as hell and, touch wood, havent failed even after one went haywire from being wet too long… next season it was back to functioning completely normally
Hopefully places like Adafruit will stop stocking them. They should also post explanations for people searching directly for them.
Qualcomm has quietly made some massive changes to Arduino’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, marking a clear departure from the platform’s founding principles.
According to Adafruit, the new policies introduce sweeping user-license provisions, broaden data collection (particularly around AI usage), and embed long-term account data retention, all while integrating user information into Qualcomm’s broader data ecosystem.
Section 7.1 grants Arduino a perpetual, irrevocable license over anything you upload. Your code, projects, forum posts, and comments all fall under this. This remains in effect even after you delete your account. Arduino retains rights to your content indefinitely.
The license is also royalty-free and sublicensable. Arduino can use your content however they want, distribute it, modify it, and even sublicense it to others.
The terms further state that users are not allowed to reverse engineer or attempt to understand how the platform works unless Arduino gives permission. Adafruit argues that this contradicts the values that made Arduino attractive to educators, researchers, and hobbyists.
The Privacy Policy states Arduino is wholly owned by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. User data, including from minors, flows to other Qualcomm Group companies.
“Pay us money so we can rip off all your work!”
What the fuck?! TO ALL USERS, ABANDON SHIP! I REPEAT…
So Adafruit will stop carrying them?
It’s time for micropython.
Micropython is a software project, not hardware
The MicroPython pyboard is a compact electronic circuit board that runs MicroPython on the bare metal, giving you a low-level Python operating system that can be used to control all kinds of electronic projects.
Literally the second paragraph
Yep, I see that now. When I bought my first pyboard theirs was the only one. It’s great to see how it spread!
Unfortunately all the controller boards appear to be out of stock everywhere.
You can run it on pretty much every esp.
I’ve had issues with getting it working on lilygo devices, but had no problem with basic cheap “devkits” from AliExpress.
Boycott time. Fuck these pricks and their money.
Please tell me ESP32 with python is still a good option or did they get bought out too?
Espressif is still just Espressif. The RP and Nordic semiconductor chips are good too, though RP is also a corporation now.
Stupid question.
Does this apply to what you write and upload on the Arduino IDE to your boards? Or just whatever you publish on their website/ cloud?
The latter.
For now.
I wonder how these terms compare to those of the Raspberry Pi Pico series.
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First it was Raspberry Pi now Arduino. Is ESP32 all that’s left?
What happened with raspberry pi?
It’s more expensive than what it is really worth years ago, among many other problems. It was a cheap and reliable programming platform when it was Raspberry Pi 1.
That’s not enshittification, that’s just a price increase. I’d hardly say it’s the same as this change to arduino
Raspberry pi was founded as a cheap accessible computer that schools with few resources could afford. $25 boards, or if you had big bucks $35. With the intention the price would stay like that with improving technology. They broke this model with the rpi4 and have only gone up in price.
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First sentence: agreed. The part after that, you could have done without. Be nice to people. Especially people who have less money.
Really appreciate seeing folks voice this sentiment, thanks for contributing to a positive culture here :)
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Isn’t Arduino more of a software framework and less about the chips themselves? Arduino can run on ESP32 and also on a huge array of ATmega mcus.
I don’t actually know that! I have fiddled with esp32 a bit and was disappointed when Pi’s priced out most of the hobbyist market
Is ESP32 open hardware?
nope.
Beagle boards are looking better - What other alternatives are recommended?
Edit: sorry, I was thinking of SBC’s. Blue pills & ESP are good hardware, the libraries & toolchain Im not so sure about.
