The Raspberry Pi

Its name might make you think otherwise, but a Raspberry Pi is actually cheap credit-card sized computer. It was created with the goal of teaching people about computers/computer science, and many people use it to create things like robots, media centers, and gaming machines. The price varies from version to version, but you can typically expect to pay about $20 - $35 for one, and they have the computing power of a low end computer. As of earlier this year, over five million have been sold and that number is only growing.

A Raspberry Pi Model A

So what can you do with a Raspberry Pi? Robots, media centers and gaming machines are pretty basic projects, but there is a seemingly unlimited number of different things that can be done with a Raspberry Pi. Currently I own two of them: one I have at home where I have my own radio station set up, and it broadcasts music that can be picked up by any FM radio near my house, and another in my room on campus that I currently do not use for anything, but I have thought about setting it up as a server to host either a website or a Minecraft server. In the past I also had one of them set up as an alarm clock, which I talked about in a previous blog post.

On the social media site Reddit, there is an entire forum (or “subreddit”) dedicated to the Raspberry Pi, and many people have posted their creations on there. They range from arcade machines, drones, home automation projects, and even one person who created a wearable version, similar to the Google Glass.

The Raspberry Pi is an innovative piece of technology, and more and more people are using it to expand their skills in the field of computer science. It has helped me personally understand how computer hardware works, and it has helped many people learn how to write code and create new kinds of software. If you are looking to get into computer science in any way, I would recommend looking into getting one, as it is a very educational tool and fun to work with.

-Erik B.

Sources:

"Five Million Sold!" Raspberry Pi. N.p., 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.

Raspberry Pi Model A. Digital image. SparkFun. SparkFun Electronics, 5 Oct. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2015. <https://cdn.sparkfun.com//assets/parts/8/2/1/1/11837-03.jpg>.