Raspberry Pi, as David Braben has dubbed it, is a new computer the size ofa USB stick with some impressive hardware specs. How impressive?
Well, “it uses a 700MHz ARM11 processor coupled with 128MB of RAM and runs OpenGL ES 2.0 allowing for decent graphics performance with 1080p output confirmed. Storage is catered for by an SD card slot. It also looks as though modules can be attached such as the 12MP camera.”
It has an HDMI port to connect a monitor to and a USB port to connect a keyboard and mouse to. Oh, and it runs on the Linux distro Ubuntu.
All of that is to say that Raspberry Pi is essentially a tiny, fully functioning computer. And it will only set you back $25. No, that’s not amistake. You read it correctly. Twenty-five bucks.
Braben is a well-known videogame developer who runs the UK studio Frontier. They’ve released such popular games as Rollercoaster Tycoon series, Thrillville, Lost Winds , and most recently Kinectimals .
In his spare time, Braben has been trying to solve another problem: how to get young students excited about computers and more specifically, computer sciences like programming and hardware repair. Brabenreasons that computer learning has devolved into learning “useful skills such as writing documents in a wordprocessor, how to create presentations, and basic computer use skills.”
Mostly because schools can’t afford to buy computers for kids to tinker with. So, enter Raspberry Pi as a solution. The tiny computers, which Braben hopes to have available in the next 12 months, will be distributed (through the charitable foundation Raspberry Pi ) to students for free with the idea that courses on software programming and computer hardware architecture will develop around them.
