Raspberry PI’s $35 Computer Enters Production Raspberry PI Foundation, the UK-based non-profit, has begun production on its $35 Linux computer. It’s about the size of a credit card and will ship as an open board like that pictured above. For display, users can plug it into existing monitors or televisions. USB connections are available for keyboard and mouse. The Foundation’s goal is to put inexpensive computers into the hands of young people to hack upon. The backstory comes via Raspberry Pi: The idea behind a tiny and cheap computer for kids came in 2006, when Eben Upton was lecturing and working in admissions at Cambridge University. Eben had noticed a distinct drop in the skills levels of the A Level students applying to read Computer Science in each academic year when he came to interview them. From a situation in the 1990s where most of the kids applying were coming to interview as hobbyist programmers, the landscape in the 2000s was very different; a typical applicant now had experience only with web design, and sometimes not even with that. Fewer people were applying to the course every year. Something had changed the way kids were interacting with computers… …There isn’t much any small group of people can do to address problems like an inadequate school curriculum or the end of a financial bubble. But we felt that we could try to do something about the situation where computers had become so expensive and arcane that programming experimentation on them had to be forbidden by parents; and to find a platform that, like those old home computers, could boot into a programming environment. Specs (via the Raspberry Pi FAQ): Debian, Fedora and ArchLinux will be supported from the start. 256 MB RAM, 700Mhz ARM11 CPU, and a Videocore 4 GPU. The GPU is capable of BluRay quality playback, using H.264 at 40MBits/s Size 85.60mm x 53.98mm x 17mm. It weighs 45g. Composite and HDMI out on the board. There is no VGA support, but adaptors are available. Perhaps a great little machine to get if you’re learning to code by following along with CodeAcademy’s Code Year. Image: Raspberry Pi beta board, via Raspberry Pi.

Raspberry PI’s $35 Computer Enters Production

Raspberry PI Foundation, the UK-based non-profit, has begun production on its $35 Linux computer. It’s about the size of a credit card and will ship as an open board like that pictured above.

For display, users can plug it into existing monitors or televisions. USB connections are available for keyboard and mouse.

The Foundation’s goal is to put inexpensive computers into the hands of young people to hack upon.

The backstory comes via Raspberry Pi:

The idea behind a tiny and cheap computer for kids came in 2006, when Eben Upton was lecturing and working in admissions at Cambridge University. Eben had noticed a distinct drop in the skills levels of the A Level students applying to read Computer Science in each academic year when he came to interview them. From a situation in the 1990s where most of the kids applying were coming to interview as hobbyist programmers, the landscape in the 2000s was very different; a typical applicant now had experience only with web design, and sometimes not even with that. Fewer people were applying to the course every year. Something had changed the way kids were interacting with computers…

…There isn’t much any small group of people can do to address problems like an inadequate school curriculum or the end of a financial bubble. But we felt that we could try to do something about the situation where computers had become so expensive and arcane that programming experimentation on them had to be forbidden by parents; and to find a platform that, like those old home computers, could boot into a programming environment.

Specs (via the Raspberry Pi FAQ):

  • Debian, Fedora and ArchLinux will be supported from the start.
  • 256 MB RAM, 700Mhz ARM11 CPU, and a Videocore 4 GPU. The GPU is capable of BluRay quality playback, using H.264 at 40MBits/s
  • Size 85.60mm x 53.98mm x 17mm. It weighs 45g.
  • Composite and HDMI out on the board. There is no VGA support, but adaptors are available.

Perhaps a great little machine to get if you’re learning to code by following along with CodeAcademy’s Code Year.

Image: Raspberry Pi beta board, via Raspberry Pi.

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  1. turulmadar reblogged this from futurejournalismproject and added:
    Instant get, csak készüljön már végre el az első adag és jusson belőle :3
  2. living-diy-style reblogged this from churchofcyberpunk
  3. apofis reblogged this from ideasandopinions
  4. frozenrevolutionary reblogged this from pieceinthepuzzlehumanity
  5. iaccidentallyawhole reblogged this from pieceinthepuzzlehumanity
  6. pieceinthepuzzlehumanity reblogged this from nutopiancitizen
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  9. nutopiancitizen reblogged this from sociopoliticaldribble
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  11. ideasandopinions reblogged this from sociopoliticaldribble
  12. sociopoliticaldribble reblogged this from azelie
  13. azelie reblogged this from involuntaryrebellion
  14. mrgrafix reblogged this from futurejournalismproject
  15. vassago reblogged this from silas216
  16. noxes reblogged this from silas216 and added:
    SWEEET! As soon as I have a bit of spare cash I’m buying one to experiment with.
  17. adamjohnwilliams reblogged this from jadeyandcoke
  18. jadeyandcoke reblogged this from futurejournalismproject
  19. e47co reblogged this from moscowbear and added:
    Raspberry PI’s $35 Computer Enters Production Raspberry PI Foundation, the UK-based non-profit, has begun production on...
  20. moscowbear reblogged this from agoristmike
  21. rescueyourmind reblogged this from futurejournalismproject
  22. itsgoodtoseayou reblogged this from pierrotlunaire
  23. thoughts-on-computing reblogged this from futurejournalismproject
  24. tofueggsandbakey reblogged this from agoristmike
  25. theinconceivablemiddlepage reblogged this from edistech
  26. wizardblue reblogged this from futurejournalismproject
  27. imminentsurvival reblogged this from tannarayelland and added:
    I’m a little embarrassed by how meaningfully computers impact my life while I barely understand how they function.
  28. byteblizzard reblogged this from churchofcyberpunk and added:
    Computing in the palm of your hand, 35 bucks a pop.
  29. gjmueller reblogged this from futurejournalismproject

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