The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized mini-computer developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation with the intention of promoting basic computer science in schools. Partly because of its very low 35$ price-point the Raspberry Pi became immensely popular also outside of schools, where hobbyist have embraced the Raspberry Pi because of its many applications and cool projects.
Because the Raspberry Pi has a network interface, GPIO’s, USB interfaces and a HDMI interface it has many different applications such as:
- Media Streaming Box
- Network File Storage
- Retro Game Emulator
- Home Automation Controller
If you would like to try and setup any of the above, browse around Raspbery Pi HQ to find much more information and project guides.
Technical Specifications
From a technical point of view the Raspberry Pi is a ARM based mini-computer. The mini-computer comes in two different versions the Raspberry Pi Model A and Raspberry Pi Model B. These days only the B model is produced.
| Model A | Model B | |
|---|---|---|
| SoC | Broadcom BCM2835 | |
| CPU | 700 MHz ARM1176JZF-S core | |
| Memory | 256MB | 512MB |
| USB 2.0 Ports | 1 | 2 |
| Memory | 256MB | 512MB |
| Power Source | 5V via Micro USB or GPIO headers | |
| On-board network | None | 10/100 Ethernet |
| Possibilities | Many | Many many more! |
If you would like to get started creating your own projects on the Raspberry Pi you can check out our getting started guide here.