The Raspberry Pi is expected to start streaming into the hands of consumers any day now. With much anticipation, these mini-computers with tiny price tags of USD $25 and USD $35 are designed to make computing and learning programing and computer science more accessible than ever before to a much
wider portion of the populace.
These tiny devices are designed to be simple, smart, and engaging, but many may wonder how they measure up. Despite plenty of folks all over the globe placing preorders, a very small group of people has had the pleasure of trying Raspberry Pi, but many are anxious to know how good the computer is
with such an easy price point.
Booting
Despite lacking bells and whistles, the small machine boots up in about a minute. Designed to be a tool for experimentation, much like the home computers of the 1980s, the user is prompted for a password, and this is followed with a command line prompt. Users must actually interact with the machine to go any further, something very true to the intention of the device.
The boot up process is made much more expedient with an internet connection. The system expects and internet connection and will make several attempts to connect to the web before giving up and finally completing the process of booting up.
Use
The Raspberry Pi will work with any Linux command line. With the right command, a user can start the small computer in a very familiar way and begin doing regular PC activities such as browsing the web, just as one would do on any other computer.
Using the Linux line commands, which really are like DOS commands, the user starts to get an introduction to Computer Science. Designed as an educational tool, this command based operation gives hope that this truly will be an excellent educational tool that will encourage students to learn
more about computers, beyond the easy, stripped down experience they get by using modern operating systems.
Raspberry Pi’s chosen programming language is Python. It should be easy for students learning on the Raspberry Pi to go onto use other languages, as Python is like BASIC, but more structured. As students work with Python, they are able to have multiple command line windows open; this allows them to edit the program in one window and see how it changes whatever it is they are working on in the other. Even novices can start to learn how this works by using an editor.
And More
The Raspberry Pi seems to be a competent and useful system, particularly given the price point. Able to do great things for educating people in Computer Science and programming, the small system is powerful and impressive for what it is. Makers all over the globe are starting to pay attention to the Raspberry Pi, creating special software and even peripherals for it, enabling users to think of this tiny PC as more than an educational tool. All in all, this is an excellent system for the price, and it is an amazing tool with the potential to make life better for very many people all over the globe.
Ferdinand is a tech geek who also likes MotoCMS Flash Templates