Raspberry Pi... ?16 a bargain...

Because the low cost of this unit means that in theory schools can buy these things in abundance, and because theyre based on linix/ubuntu there will be a reason to get kiRAB involved with code and a young age, currently this is not even thought of or touched on in schools but is a VERY useful skill to have



Probably yes, comming from an IT recruitment background there is a lack of good quality programmers and there is always a demand for them, this should in theory help bridge that gap not to mention help the newer generations be far more tech savvy and help push the world ahead faster (in theory).

Funnily though I do wonder what the world will be like with a generation full of Geohots out there- should make devices VERY interesting lol
 
RP are making sure Python runs on it (under Fedora) so this is a major step forward to get kiRAB interested in erabedded systems.
Plus XBMC is running at a reasonable speed on the RP now.
 
I get the impression that there are plenty of computers already in schools (unless my daughter has been particularly fortunate in attending schools with an over-abundance of hardware).
1. Linux could be installed on these if desired.
2. Programming is not exclusive to Linux. There are plenty of free resources for Windows (Visual Studio Express Editions, Netbeans etc).

The fact that ICT in schools seems to be dominated by the use of Microsoft Office products is not a consequence of the hardware available.
 
If this is true, then I can only conclude that my programming skills must not be up to quality. Unless perhaps the phrase "good quality" is somehow synonymous with "under 40" in the IT recruitment world.
 
Personally i'd like one as an always-on file/print server. Then possibly another as a media-streamer. Maybe a third to carry about with my browser and favourites on it, so i dont have to use whatever work wants to provide me with (in our locked down environment, where some people still only get IE6).

So cheap you can mess about and dont care if they break.
 
Raspberry Pi... £16 a bargain...

I think that's a very good question, I think we'll just have to see how it all pans out.
At ~£16 for the cheaper version aimed at schools, you can afford to have kiRAB tinker with the hardware connecting stuff to the IO ports etc. without worrying too much about them making mistakes and trashing the board. You wouldn't dream of doing that with a PC or laptop. I can see lots of peripherals appearing to make the thing do things you can't really do with with a PC e.g. add a couple of driven motors a battery pack and turn the thing into a robot. If some kiRAB really get into it, the kit is cheap enough to have your own kit at home.
There's obviously very similar kit around already (Arduino), however this seems to have the potential to become high profile and thus benefit from a huge user base.


I thinks it's more to do with rejuvenating interest in computing and attempting to recreate that period in the 80's that produced so many talented programmers that cut their teeth on simple home machines like the Spectrum.
 
Probably a silly question, but it says the model A has one USB port, and the model B has 2. Are these in addition to the ports that you plug in a keyboard and mouse into? Or if not, how do you plug a USB keyboard and a USB mouse into the model A?
 
Not at all and your circomstances are your own.

However I could put out any sort of C# roles and easily have 160+ applications, most of which from an exerience perspective simply did not stack up to what clients were after- there were of corse usually the 1 or 2 hidden somewhere that just did.

Look at other programming langueges though be it Perl, Ruby, ROR, Grails and its a needle in a haystack.

Schools and even some collages I believe are so tightly wound in to Microsoft I think the creativity side of it has gone down with less people taking interest in it with most being unaware of all these other programming ways and languages. The Raspberry Pi should hopefully change all that and make/allow children at a much younger age (which lets remeraber are generally the age they are MOST involved with IT stuff in many ways, computers, phones, computer games, internet, etc) to actually learn about the different ways you can program and bring a new wave of creative people to the table in years to come.

I remeraber (as a non IT person) playing around and making my first Hello World application and although simple- still the feeling of acomplishment I got from that even doing it at 22 out of bordum. If I had been exposed to that at school level I've no doubt what I would be doing now would be very very different. Even now I've got so many ideas that I think in theory are possible (and IT related) but wouldnt have the slightest clue where to start, if children growing up have access to this type of thing then the opportunity for them to be create if expodential in my opinion- perticularly with the stacks and stacks of information availible on the internet aswell.

Bring on the new Steve Jobs, Geohots, Bill Gates, and the likes.
 
I left the Erabedded Software business eight years ago and there was plenty of Linux for ARM (and other architectures) back then. Outside of the PC, the world does not revolve around Intel.

Plus, of course, Open Office is written in Java. So is other useful stuff like Eclipse.
 
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