Raspberry Pi - The affordable credit card sized miniature Linux Computer
The following article informs you about the computing device which is named as Raspberry Pi. This device is specifically designed so that every kid can learn the programming languages. Till date, it was necessary to purchase a Desktop PC or Laptop systems which are too costly.
Raspberry Pi:
Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized computing device which is designed to function like a CPU. The device can also be referred as a single board computer that is designed specifically for educational purposes. The main aim of this invention was to offer a low cost computer that everyone could afford to buy. In this way the product was so designed that it could turn any monitor or analogue TV to function as an output device. The credit card sized circuit just needs the peripherals like monitor or TV, keyboard and mouse and it is ready to function like a conventional Desktop PC system.
Few years back, there was no any provision to connect the CPU of a computer system to any CRT or digital Television set. But today, there are several options in the market where the customers can purchase a device that can function as TV or Monitor of a PC, at the same time. On the other hand, conventional Desktop PC systems were so designed that it was necessary to purchase all the peripheral devices that would match the computing configuration. In this way the cost of such computing systems is much higher and practically, most of the students are still unable to learn computer science subject. Hence, for such students the Raspberry Pi is a boon for learning the computing languages due to its affordability.
The Raspberry Pi device has been released in two versions and their price is US $25 and US $35. The one that is priced at $25 is named as Model A and the other is named as Model B. The difference between the two is that one model has a 256 MB of RAM and the other has 512 MB of RAM. The only thing of concern is that this credit card sized circuit does not have a cabinet case or protective covering material. So, the users will have to take precautions while handling this circuit and it is necessary to place this device on a wooden or plastic surface. If this device is placed on a metal surface then it might get short circuited and it could also damage the externally connected peripheral devices.
Specifications and Cost:
The single board computing device, Raspberry Pi, has a powerful CPU unit which belongs to ARM11 family and it is of the type ARM 1176JZF-S core. The CPU remains same for both the models of this credit card sized circuit board. The graphical processing unit (GPU) incorporated within the chip can support PAL and NTSC type of video signals and the display unit of 1080 pixel video resolution can be paired easily. The circuit board has ready to connect ports like USB, RCA video jack, headphone jack of the size 3.5mm, HDMI port, LAN, SD card with its port, Ethernet port, and a power supply port of the type micro USB. The LED indicators are also provided on board which helps to know proper functioning of the device.
In this way, the user just has to connect the peripherals like keyboard, mouse, monitor or analogue TV to the Raspberry pi and their computing system is ready to teach the programming languages or any small computer science practical. The best thing about this credit card sized single chip computing device is that it can be connected to any analogue or digital TV set that has a HDMI port or RCA jack. So the user will save a lot of money on the output device which is always costly. Here, the user will have to purchase only USB keyboard, mouse and a Raspberry pi circuit to be able to start using the computer system.
As the computer systems are too costly, many students might have purchased secondhand computer systems and they had to use those old CPU's which are slow, corrupted and outdated. But the student's cannot afford to purchase a new CPU as it is costly and at times the keyboard, mouse and monitor of that old PC might be lying unused. In such situations, the Raspberry Pi will be most effective to bring life to the old Desktop PC systems. Such users will just have to spend US $25 or $35 to order Raspberry Pi and they need to attach their old peripherals to it. In this way, they can get their computing system to work for educational purposes and that too at an affordable cost.
If the students don't have an old desktop PC then they will just have to purchase a Keyboard and mouse which has USB connections. Where as, for output purpose, the students can use any analogue or digital TV set. In this way, anyone could purchase a computing system at an affordable cost.
The Raspberry Pi computing system requires less power which is near about 3.5 Watts and this will help us to reduce the power consumption as well. This computing device switches ON as soon as the power supply is switched on. So the booting process is fast paced and it also supports to play HD video at 1080 pixel resolution. The students can also implement parallel computing on this credit card sized gadget to get the optimum results. Also, the robotics related projects can be designed using Raspberry Pi because its power consumption is at the minimum level. 
Raspberry Pi for sale in India:
As the product is designed by UK based company, its manufacturing process is being carried out in different parts of the world. The only reason behind this is that the Raspberry Pi must be affordably priced at US $25 and $35 flat. Hence, as India is a part of Asian countries, the credit card sized Raspberry Pi's will be manufactured in China. But the Indian customers can order the product from different regions and doing so will increase its cost due to import duties and local taxes. Therefore, some electronic component sellers of India have come forward to resell the Raspberry Pi.
One of those renowned electronic components seller in India is Kits'n'Spares Company and it will deliver the product at your doorstep within a week. The product can be ordered through their official website which is www.kitsnspares.com and the customers who order this circuit will get a free case or cabinet which is designed by Kits'n'Spares Company. The cost of Raspberry Pi is tagged at Rs 3,500 and delivery charges will be under Rs 500. In this way the Raspberry Pi's cost is much more because of the import duty and local taxes in India. Hence, it will be better to stay in touch with the relatives who are traveling or staying abroad so as to get this credit card circuit at an affordable cost. By this method the users can save the amount that goes into the import duty.
The government should take necessary steps so that the students can afford to buy this educational product. Since, the cost of Raspberry Pi is near about $72 USD in India, it is not that affordable for the Indian customers and students.
All in all, Raspberry Pi is on its way to educate every child on this planet and if possible, each country on this planet should wave the import duties and local taxes on this revolutionary device. The users and students can visit www.raspberrypi.org website to get more details on how to use this product.
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