The amazing Raspberry Pi

I purchased the Raspberry Pi when it was initially launched but did not really use it. I did the basic configuration and checked out all the tools that are available and that's it. Did not touch it after that.

Sometime back my son's school announced a STEAM fair and I volunteered for it. While thinking about this it struck me that we could use the Pi to do some project. I tried to remember where I had kept the Pi Box. After some searching I found it in one of the boxes in the basement.

Dusted the dirt on the box and took out the credit card sized Pi and was amazed again at the human ingenuity of creating such tiny Integrated Circuits. What a way we have come from those large computers fitting in a big room to these ever shrinking chips and circuit boards that drive the smart devices of today.

Did a quick Google search on Raspberry Pi and found the link to the Raspberry Pi Foundation

This web site has all the information and resources required to get you started. This web site should be your starting point to know all about Pi. Here is a link to their introductory video about the Pi
What exactly is a Raspberry Pi

We can call Raspberry Pi the Swiss Army Knife for all STEM enthusiasts or a PC that can be built within 35 dollars using the Pi and existing accessories like keyboard , mouse , monitor etc which you may already be having. It is as mentioned credit card sized and can fit in your backpack.

Kids and even adults can learn a lot of things using the Pi.

Here is a list of some things that you can start off quickly start on the Pi

• The Pi runs on Linux. Linux is the operating system . You will be learning the Linux O.S commands to control and manage all the tools on your Pi
• Create Games, Animations, Stories and anything creative that comes to your mind using the very popular Scratch developed by M.I.T
• Transition from block programming to actual coding using Python programming language.
• Create Music using the Sonic Pi
• Use the GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi to learn electronics
• Learn other programming languages like Ruby, C, Java , Perl etc
• Learn the Basics of Web like HTML, CSS etc
• Learn about Content Management Systems like WordPress, Drupal etc
• A web Browser is available for all your web based research
• You can play hi-def videos including videos from youtube

This is just a short list. There are so many programs and tools being developed for this platform.

The Pi is a tool for tinkerers, experimenters, makers, creators, hackers ....

and more importantly as Linus Torvalds ( the man behind the Linux Open Source movement)

puts it , it "affords failure". The low cost of pi gives us the opportunity to play and tinker and it is OK even if we break it.  

Building a PC that opens up so many learning opportunities at such a low price point , creates a level playing field for everyone.

I wish every kid and even adults interested in STEM should get a Raspberry Pi and give it a whirl.

You can purchase the Raspberry Pi from Element14 or get a Raspberry Pi Bundle from Amazon.com

In future articles we will look at the Raspberry Pi and all the tools and software in great detail

As I write this article, found out that Windows 10 will also be available on the pi for free sometime in the end of 2015. This shows the support for this platform and more importantly to the Maker revolution and the Internet of Things

Before I forget the new Raspberry Pi 2 is now available . It has quad or 4 times the processing power and the amount of RAM has been doubled making it to 1 GB of RAM making it more powerful. They have increased the number of USB ports from 2 to more making connectivity easier.I just got this new version from Amazon.com

I hope you found this article interesting and I am sure you will join the Pi adventure.

Thanks

RK from Little League Programmers