There’s a new extremely affordable computer that just launched as of February 29th, the Raspberry Pi. With a price no higher than $35, this computer is made to be affordable to virtually everyone. Not only does the ridiculously low price of this computer make it easily affordable to many people, but they made it so it’s as small as a credit card and able to plug into a TV set via an RCA plug-in as well as through an HDMI cable to most modern displays.
The Raspberry Pi was created by Eben Upton, a lecturer working at the University of Cambridge in the UK. While working at the University he noticed that there were fewer students coming in with computer skills, and not many students were applying for computer science. Not only did he see the deficiencies in computer education in youth, but he saw how terribly expensive computers were, which was limiting many peoples access to them. Eben wanted to come up with a way for computers to be affordable and accessible for children so that they may be proficient in the computer sciences. He started the Raspberry Pi foundation with some of his friends and colleagues and it grew from there. Although originally aimed to help students in the UK, the growing interest and support for this project has reached around the world. Many ideas and plans to use this wonder computer are in effect, ideas regarding educational benefits, software capabilities, and someone even is interested in putting this tiny computer into a robot. The interest growth and need for the Raspberry Pi has made it so it will be manufactured and distributed around the world.
The Raspberry Pi is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and runs under a Linux system. It so far comes in two models. The first, model A, is the cheaper of the two costing a total of $25. Model A comes with 128Mb of RAM, has 1 USB port, but no Ethernet port. The second, model B costs $35. It contains 256Mb of RAM, 2 USB ports and it comes with an Ethernet jack. Both models are not wifi capable, but will be in the future. These tiny computers are capable of displaying Blu-Ray quality video. The power capabilities of the Raspberry Pi is amazing. You can either plug it into a electric wall plug-in, or it can run off of 4 AA batteries. This capability makes it possible to use even when there is no electricity available, like in developing countries. Raspberry Pi comes with limited software, and is expecting community software to be released continually. Current abilities include word processing, web browsing and video playback. This computer is made for educational purposes, so eventually all types of educational software such as writing, language, math, and games will be available to it. The Raspberry Pi is just starting out so in the nature of Linux it will continually improve and evolve.
The Raspberry Pi foundation is strictly a charity, and the little profit it makes goes right back into the making of the computer. This foundation is going to make it possible for kids and adults around the world to have access to an affordable computer, spark an interest in computer sciences, and have access to the many other advantages a computer holds at a price similar to a 16gb flash drive. This foundation is encouraging other companies to copy their idea and build on it. They want this idea to evolve. Everyone around the world deserves a computer, it is the vehicle of ideas now and for the future. “We want owning a truly personal computer to be normal for children,” says the Raspberry Pi foundation. This is truly a stimulus for change, and the start for a future where absolutely everyone has access to a computer.
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