0
The Raspberry Pi is a tiny, bare-bones computer that is capable of playing back 1080p H.264 video. It runs Linux on its 700MHz ARM CPU, has 128MB RAM and it will cost just $25. A $35 version doubles the RAM and adds an ethernet port.
The little computer has been in the pipeline for some years, but should be available very soon. As in production-begins-next-month soon. It can be plugged into your TV (it has HDMI and RCA outputs) and hooked up to the outside world via SD card and USB ports. Power comes via a 5 volt microUSB plug.
Essentially, this gives you the video capabilities of a modern smartphone, for the price of a cheap dinner. And because it runs Linux (Debian or Fedora), you can program it to do whatever you like. I can see it forming the heart of many electronics projects. Stick this thing in a box with a fat hard drive and you have yourself a media server, for instance. Or piggyback it on top of a projector and stream movies from a thumb-drive.
I’ll be keeping an eye on this one. Currently, the production prototypes are being tweaked, and the factory should be spinning up soon. I can’t wait.
