LPCR (Linux PC Robot) Obsolete?
I think LPCR's useful life has come to an end. The Raspberry PI and Arduino are really coming into their own. I believe that using an Intel based platform with ATX power is probably not something you would design today. The LPCR has had a good run, and its been a fun project, but with all things its time to step back and re-evaluate th future.
If I start again, the design criteria should be:
(1) It must be under some reasonable cost limitation to build.
(2) It must be able to haul some weight. You should be able to try interesting things.
(3) It must be "big enough." Little micro-mouse robots are fun on their own, but the LPCR is for "real world" robotics and little robots don't operate well in rooms with rugs and irregular flooring.
(4) It must be programmable with a modest tool set.
I'm still thinking about it. I don't believe that the Raspberry PI is strong enough on its own. There will be a need for an Arduino for low level control. I think, perhaps, an MPI cluster of Raspberry PI computers may be an interesting project.