A tiny computer attracts a million tinkerers

January 31, 2013

The Raspberry Pi Model B is a computer board that plugs into a TV. It’s a miniature ARM-based PC that can perform many of the functions of a large desktop PC such as spreadsheets, word processers and games. It also plays HD videos. (Credit: Raspberry Pi)

Almost one million $35 Raspberry Pi computers have shipped since last February, capturing the imaginations of educators, hobbyists and tinkerers around the world, The New York Times reports.

The Raspberry Pi — about 3 inches by 2 inches and less than an inch high — was intended to replace the expensive computers in school science labs. For less than the price of a new keyboard, a teacher could plug in the Pi and connect it to older peripherals that might be lying around.

One Pi owner, Dave Akerman, of Brightwalton, England, even sent a Raspberry Pi to the upper atmosphere, floating it 40,000 meters up using a weather balloon. There he was able to take live video, photos and measurements.

Truly adventurous Raspberry Pi fans can even turn the product into a small home media center. Because the Pi has a powerful graphics chip on board, users have been able to stream video and photos to their big-screen TVs using little more than a Pi and a Linux program like RaspbMC at www.raspbmc.com.