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Raspberry Pi: the $25 computer
Raspberry Pi is a £15 or $25 computer the size of a typical USB stick. Created by games developer David Braben, the whole computer is on a tiny circuit board, with a USB port on one end (for plugging in a keyboard) and an HDMI port on the other (for plugging in a monitor or TV).
Braben and other enthusiasts are working to turn the current sketchy prototype into a product that could be handed to every child in the UK. They believe that what today's schoolchildren learn in class leaves them uninspired and ignorant about the way computers work and does not encourage creativity, according to the BBC.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a registered charity in the UK which exists to promote the study of Computer Science and related topics. The organization's goal is to develop, manufacture, and distribute an ultra-low-cost computer. From this prototype, we can safely say "so far, so good."
Rasberry Pi is supposed to be a working computer that runs Linux and, like the kit computers of the 1970s and 1980s, encourages users to tinker and learn. While the computer was created to teach computer programming to children, the foundation expects it to have many other applications both in the developed and the developing world.
So what's left? The volunteer team still has to produce a better prototype, show that it really can be manufactured for the low price, and then convince the educational establishment to support it. We sincerely wish them good luck!
Here are the device's provisional specifications:
- 700MHz ARM11
- 128MB of SDRAM
- OpenGL ES 2.0
- 1080p30 H.264 high-profile decode
- Composite and HDMI video output
- USB 2.0
- SD/MMC/SDIO memory card slot
- General-purpose I/O
- Open software (Ubuntu, Iceweasel, KOffice, Python)
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User Comments (27)
Post a comment|
Guest
on May 6, 2011 11:25 AM |
Do we need computers strapped to us all the time? Go out and enjoy the beauty of the world and leave the gadgets behind. |
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stewi0001
on May 6, 2011 11:26 AM |
Flippen awesome with two thumb-drives up! |
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prismatics
on May 6, 2011 11:47 AM |
You've totally missed the point, guest. |
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Guest
on May 6, 2011 11:57 AM |
Cool, faster than Pentium II on the size of a thumb. |
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ElShotte
on May 6, 2011 12:12 PM |
Needs some form of networking I think. Wifi maybe? |
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Guest
on May 6, 2011 12:12 PM |
Good luck posting a comment like this on a technology website. |
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CamaroMullet
on May 6, 2011 12:20 PM |
WOW, that's pretty cool. @ElShotte, I'm pretty sure as they grow on this product type that it will have some sorta wifi. Go technology! |
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Cota
on May 6, 2011 12:46 PM |
CamaroMullet said: WOW, that's pretty cool. @ElShotte, I'm pretty sure as they grow on this product type that it will have some sorta wifi. Go technology! The point is to give a cheap computer to children's so they "get inspired" while doing simple stuff on schools, they dont need the "Wifis" so they get distracted web browsing or other related stuff. |
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CamaroMullet
on May 6, 2011 1:07 PM |
Yeah Cota I hear ya. That's why they are developing it, but you can see it going further after it's initial purpose. |
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Xclusiveitalian
on May 6, 2011 1:27 PM |
This is a step in the right direction! Let's just hope a big company doesn't buy them out and startselling them for $299 *caugh* apple. |
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prismatics
on May 6, 2011 1:39 PM |
The point is to give a cheap computer to children's so they "get inspired" while doing simple stuff on schools, they dont need the "Wifis" so they get distracted web browsing or other related stuff. Actually he says right in the video that it would allow kids to get onto twitter or facebook... |
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Wagan8r
on May 6, 2011 1:41 PM |
Xclusiveitalian said: This is a step in the right direction! Let's just hope a big company doesn't buy them out and startselling them for $299 *caugh* apple. Only $299 for an Apple computer!? You lie! |
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Guest
on May 6, 2011 2:32 PM |
this is incredible! i really wish him all the best, this stuff needs more attention (and so does elite 3, mr. braben). |
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Guest
on May 6, 2011 3:19 PM |
This is the kind of technology with a simple idea that we should look forward to, instead of big corporations who just throw us some overpriced shiny stuff with features that we may never need and whose purpose is just to impress other people. I mean come on...I woke up one morning just to find out Google News has 5+ articles about Apple releasing a white version of iphone/ipad. WOW! |
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BrianUMR
on May 6, 2011 4:00 PM |
Guest said: Do we need computers strapped to us all the time? Go out and enjoy the beauty of the world and leave the gadgets behind. It is meant as a teaching tool for kids to learn about computers. It is not meant as an everyday computer. The idea is it is simple enough that you can learn what is going on in the computer. |
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Modeazy
on May 6, 2011 6:02 PM |
Sweet.The smaller the better.I really hope this sees the light of day. |
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colinf
on May 6, 2011 7:28 PM |
the concept and idea the guy has is fantastic, he should get all the help he needs also..1st guest..bet you didnt even watch the link, watch it then see how silly your comment was |
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MrAnderson
on May 6, 2011 7:35 PM |
I really hope I can get a wireless keyboard to work with that... |
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Guest
on May 6, 2011 9:01 PM |
Did U NOT read the article?! Do you understand the point of it? For every thing there is a season. They will play in the sunshine and they wiill learn. Thumb drive--awesome... Linux... Free!! 2x(awesome). a computer priced for the poor--that is designed to encourage them to program. What is WRONG with you? What could one do with this in developing countries?! Some people. :-( |
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herpaderp
on May 7, 2011 4:14 AM |
Guest said: Did U NOT read the article?!...... a computer priced for the poor--that is designed to encourage them to program. What is WRONG with you? What could one do with this in developing countries?! Some people. :-( Some people....did YOU not read the article? They're making this in hopes of spreading it to UK schoolchildren, jackass. |
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Trillionsin
on May 7, 2011 11:12 AM |
Guest said: Do we need computers strapped to us all the time? Go out and enjoy the beauty of the world and leave the gadgets behind. YES |
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Guest
on May 7, 2011 12:37 PM |
But will it run Crysis? |
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grvalderrama
on May 7, 2011 4:36 PM |
The first computer (correct me if im wrong) that you could actually lose! "oh lord, not again! Where the heck is that computer now?!" |
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bakape
on May 7, 2011 5:14 PM |
Guest said: But will it run Crysis? Crysis 2? Possibly. |
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BlindObject
on May 8, 2011 3:24 PM |
Guest said: But will it run Crysis? gah! beat me to it! |
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