Raspberry Pi Launch

[Esotera]

Spoiler: Primer for those who don't know what a Raspberry Pi is

A Raspberry Pi is an extremely barebones computer that costs $25, but can still do most things that a modern desktop can, such as edit documents, manipulate images, browse the internet, etc. Its eventual use is intended to be in an educational setting (teaching kids how to program), but its low price & relatively decent specs has drawn in a whole other audience. More information can be found here [http://www.raspberrypi.org/faqs].

It looks like it's finally coming out tomorrowhttp://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/716, at around 06:00 GMT! Is anyone else here getting one, and if so, do you have any particularly unusual plans for it?

Personally I'm staying up all night so I get one, and then hopefully attach it to an RC car & program an AI to make it drive autonomously. I also have a few programs that I'll be porting to the environment as well, for use of the community.

 

[TimeLord]

So... What's the point of it? A tiny cheap computer with poor specs?

 

[Esotera]

So... What's the point of it? A tiny cheap computer with poor specs?

Yep! The specs might be relatively poor but the computer runs Linux perfectly well, and the way it's designed means that if you entirely screw up the operating system you can reset it with relative ease. You can also add pretty much any hardware, along with old tv displays, which makes it a really good choice for the developing world.

Obviously it's not going to run the latest software or games, but that's a bonus, as there's less to distract the users from learning how to program/use a computer.

 

[Gerishnakov]

I'm gonna get one and use it for what computers are for... watching porn

I'm sure inevitably most people will end up using it for this.