The idea of creating a tiny computer for kids appeared in 2006. Eben Upton, Rob Mullins, Jack Lang and Alan Mycroft at Cambridge Computer Laboratory saw a major decline in the number and skills of students applying to the school for computer science courses. They knew how to edit documents in Word and Excel, did some web development but not much else. Most had very basic experience with programming, far less than the kids from the 1990s. This situation is not only bad for schools but in the long run also tragic for the industry. Children that had computers back then knew at least a few lines of code needed to use their Commodore 64s or ZX Spectrums. Today, computers bought by parents are expensive and multi-purpose, so messing around with them is too risky. They are programmable but the tools are hidden from the user. They can be downloaded and installed often in a few minutes but even that is usually too much of a barrier to start. The programmer has to search for them and for any tutorials himself. Game consoles are not the way to go either. They are hermetic in their design, they cannot be modified and fiddled with.
Eben Upton during one of his presentations. Source: http://vimeo.com/45447698
The solution to crawling problems
A device made purely for experimentation was needed. It could not be expensive. It was supposed to be an additive cost to customers, something that everyone could afford. The device didn’t have to be powerful but functional enough to be compelling as a programming platform. Potential programmers should think about it as a disposable device, a playground for their experiments. The product was supposed to be complete - a base device that could be bought cheaply, a software platform on top of it with a curriculum teaching how to use it. It turned over time, however that it’s much better and simpler to trust the community of users/enthusiasts with most of the work. The solution is this:
Raspberry Pi. Source: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/pcs/2012/04/16/raspberry-pi-review/2
There are two models being sold now, A and B. One is about $25 and the other 35$. The company that created it is a charity from Cambridge, called the Raspberry Pi Foundation. They don't profit from selling these devices.
Hardware
The hardware of models A and B. This is all you get when buying directly from the creators! Source: http://www.hackthings.com/tag/raspberrypi/page/5/
Raspberry won’t run on its own. It still needs a power adapter and storage in the form of an SD card (that includes an operating system). A mobile phone/tablet charger can supply primary power. When running, the device consumes very little power, as much as a mobile phone. It has very few connectors but enough to get everything working. The B model has an HDMI port allowing a screen to be connected and two USB ports for a mouse and a keyboard. It also has an Ethernet port as well as a 700MHz processor (the same kind used in mobile phones) and 512MB of RAM. It can be easily extended. There are numerous accessories which enhance its functionality, like cameras, motors or motion sensors.
Current situation
The first Pis were manufactured in China and later models in the UK. Over 2 million devices have been built and distributed to people around the world, which is a tremendous success, unforeseen by the creators. They aren't bought only by kids wanting to learn how computers work but by enthusiasts. Many useful and funny projects have been made using it.
How to start
It's really easy. There are numerous shops that distribute Pis inside starter kits. These contain the device itself and additional items, like SD cards, cables and power adapters. The Pi Hut and Adafruit both sell them but put different parts inside. Some kits are very basic and others made specifically for augmenting the Pis functions. They usually already have an operating system installed on the SD card and can be used immediately after assembling.
An example starter kit. Source: http://shop.pimoroni.com/products/deluxe-raspberry-pi-starter-kit
Eben Upton's strory behind the RPi.
Do you think such small computers have a future?
For more information and valuable links, visit: http://pibeginners.com/.
Comments
The second aim of those small computers is to give opportunities for a group of people who are creating , so called, new media art or other prototypes which uses simple technology. Thanks to Raspberry Pi and Arduino creators can write their own simple programs for their projects. More about difference between Raspberry Pi and Arduino at:http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/arduino-vs-raspberry-pi-which-is-the-mini-computer-for-you/
It's a fantastic little thing. Kids can play and learn at the same time, but the best thing is, that all the adults can do it so as well!
The excellent solution probably for this kind of small computers may be the schools, because children’s may have opportunity to find out how works the simple components and try alone to build full functional computer. This kind of devices can be also some of curiosity and fun for older persons. We must also look at how the technology has moved toward and today full functional computers are size of hand.
Very easy to do remotely controlled lighting or something like that.
An additional advantage of arduino is the price. It costs about 150 zl and has a lot of additional components.
Recently I made computer statistics displayed on a screen. A typical project for fun :).
You mention a very interesting use case for such machines - art. The ease of setting up such devices could be appealing to people who want to achieve a certain result, not necessarily know the details of how everything works.
For sure small factor devices is a future.
For sure small factor devices is a future.