A tiny British euro 27 (US $35) Raspberry Pi computer went on sale yesterday and just about immediately crashed its distributors' websites selling out the device within hours of its launch.
It's British-based designers at the Raspberry Pi Foundation hope the computer, which has been in the works for six years, will spark new interest in programming among children. "The primary goal was to build a low cost computer that every child could own, and one where programming was the natural thing to do with it," said co-founder Robert Mullins.
The computer's miniature uncased circuit board is crowded with an Ethernet connection for the internet, two USB ports and an SD card port for memory. The Raspberry Pi is powered by a standard USB mobile charger. Looking a little more than a credit card-sized chip of circuit board, the powerful, fully-programmable PC can plug into any TV and can power 3D graphics and Blu-ray video playback. The low-cost computer runs a free, open-source Linux operating system and does not include a monitor or keyboard.
The company gets its first batch of devices from China next week and the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charity, limited sales to one per customer to avoid scalpers and to “get to as many people as possible,” it said on Twitter. The British creators, made up of academics and industry experts , would like to see one of these in the hands of every kid, and there’s strong potential for that to happen. Thanks the price tag: euro 27 (US35) for the current version, and later this year an even cheaper model, for just euro 19 (about $25).
EU-Digest
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