Justin Kahn
Posts: 752 +6
Single-board computer maker Raspberry Pi has now officially manufactured 1 million boards through its UK based factory, according to a post on the official site.
The 1 millionth board was produced by Raspberry Pi's Sony Pencoed facility, which has just recently won a number of British awards for the 'Best Factory,' 'Best Electronics Factory' and 'Best Factory for Innovation,' among being commended for its energy efficiency and environmental consciousness. Initially, Raspberry Pis were manufactured in China, but as of 2012, both the company's manufacturing partners, RS Components and Premier Farnell, began moving production to the Sony plant in South Wales.
Added to the original boards manufactured in Asia, there have now been 1.75 million total Pis made to date. To commemorate the event, the Raspberry Pi Foundation said that Sony will be encasing the 1 millionth board in gold plating where it will be then put on display at Pi Towers in Cambridge.
With all sorts of interesting gadgets popping up online, the Raspberry Pi has caught on quite well with middle-aged programming types, but it is still a little daunting for most kids. When speaking with the BBC, Raspberry's Eben Upton said the company will be focused on education in a major way moving forward. He said that many times Pi boards given to young people end up "stuck in a drawer" somewhere for a number of different reasons, not the least of which is how intimidating the device can appear to some.
The group hopes to remedy this with a wide ranging education plan aimed at kids through information and communication technology teachers. One such program has been developed by Dr. Sam Aaron from the Cambridge University Computing Lab called Sonic Pi. The program uses the mini computer to make music to teach groups of young people coding in a fun and creative way.
