New for 2012 - Raspberry Pi

There is a little known project going on in the UK that is about to start shipping a PC for $25. Yes that’s right a fully functional pc that you can plug straight into any HDMI or composite display, add a keyboard and mouse, and off you go.

The project is all about encouraging people back into development. It is hoped that this device will stimulate minds and get the creative juices flowing just like the early days of home computing. I was one of those that cut my teeth on the Sinclare ZX80, a computer so basic that it couldn’t display anything while it was thinking and had a mere 1k of memory. Video games were impossible as every time it needed to compute a move, the screen would go blank. And programs had to be super efficient to squeez into that tiny 1k. This is where I learned to program, and there were many more just like me learning on the BBC Micro, Commodore 64, etc. etc.

The Raspberry Pi is a wonderful idea, and I can’t wait to get my hands on mine. Here in Qatar where innovation is heavily encouraged, I see massive potential. Wouldn’t it be cool for some of the early adaptations to originate from here. And anyone can do it. This technology is so cheap there are no financial boundaries. Get your hands on one of these and find uses for it no one has imagined yet. There are already project boards in development for IO. And who knows what will come along in the coming months, as this whole project is enthusiast driven.

You can sticky tape one of these to the back of your TV and use it as a media player to start with if you like.

This is the start of something beautiful, and my prediction for 2012 is that you are going to see and hear a lot more about Raspberry Pi. You can even bid on eBay tonight to be one of the first 10 owners of the pre release beta boards.

Don’t take my word for it, go and check it out:-

http://www.raspberrypi.org/