What Are You Doing!?
February 22, 2012
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Raspberry Pi is grabbing the attention with a $25 computer ($35 for a networked model). In the middle of the storm is Eben Upton. Why is he convinced that a computer which has no casing, no keyboard, no HD and no screen, will be successful? It is time to put the question to him: ‘what are you doing?’
‘We wanted to have a computer especially for Python, and there is a great tradition of naming computers after fruit: like Apricot, Acorn and even today there are computers named after fruit. So Raspberry is following the line of a rich tradition with the Pi, and yes, we wanted this connection with Python. That is where the Pi comes in’, explains Eben when asked for the name Raspberry Pi. And why is it a charity that brings this computer to the market? ‘That all has to do with value creation’, Eben continues. ‘I’ve been involved in several start-ups and then you always end up with the question; how will this create value?’. ‘In this case I do not have to worry about creating value. I can concentrate on designing and producing the board. The Raspberry Pi can be seen as a ‘white label’ product. If there are people out there with a commercial idea for this product, they are more then welcome’.
The Raspberry Pi is a bare PCB board; no keyboard, no HD, no screen.. how will this product become successful? ‘Basically, there is no reason why a computer has to cost more than $50. The peripherals like a screen and keyboard and storage will create a higher price, but with the Raspberry Pi we have taken another route - a normal TV can be used as a screen’, comments Eben. ‘Combine that with a ‘charity shop’ keyboard for a few dollars and you have a full working system’. He further emphazises that ‘the Raspberry is specifically aiming at youngsters learning to program’.
And how about the Raspberry Pi being ‘the next big thing’ after Arduino? There are many hints in that direction on the Internet? ‘The Raspberry Pi is different from the Arduino. The Arduino is great for direct applications and there are dozens of programs available. The Raspberry Pi is a computer system - designed to work with a screen and keyboard, a completely different idea. You can even watch videos with this thing. What might be interesting is the possibility to use the Raspberry Pi as a host for the Arduino board - the combination of these two, resulting in low priced systems can be very interesting and useful’.
‘There is also a difference the flexibility and usability, adds Eben. We have chosen for Broadcom chips and they are not easy to get in the market, making it very difficult to call the Raspberry Pi an ‘open source’ project. We are hoping to take this development into the open source direction, but that will require a new design’.
Can designers use the Raspberry Pi for different applications? ‘Yes, no problem. There is plenty of I/O (I2C and UART) to start using it for whatever challenges you’.
The first batch of 10,000 Pi’s has now arrived from the factory - what will be the next step? ‘Another 10,000 we hope and that is all just the start of it...’
‘We wanted to have a computer especially for Python, and there is a great tradition of naming computers after fruit: like Apricot, Acorn and even today there are computers named after fruit. So Raspberry is following the line of a rich tradition with the Pi, and yes, we wanted this connection with Python. That is where the Pi comes in’, explains Eben when asked for the name Raspberry Pi. And why is it a charity that brings this computer to the market? ‘That all has to do with value creation’, Eben continues. ‘I’ve been involved in several start-ups and then you always end up with the question; how will this create value?’. ‘In this case I do not have to worry about creating value. I can concentrate on designing and producing the board. The Raspberry Pi can be seen as a ‘white label’ product. If there are people out there with a commercial idea for this product, they are more then welcome’.
The Raspberry Pi is a bare PCB board; no keyboard, no HD, no screen.. how will this product become successful? ‘Basically, there is no reason why a computer has to cost more than $50. The peripherals like a screen and keyboard and storage will create a higher price, but with the Raspberry Pi we have taken another route - a normal TV can be used as a screen’, comments Eben. ‘Combine that with a ‘charity shop’ keyboard for a few dollars and you have a full working system’. He further emphazises that ‘the Raspberry is specifically aiming at youngsters learning to program’.
And how about the Raspberry Pi being ‘the next big thing’ after Arduino? There are many hints in that direction on the Internet? ‘The Raspberry Pi is different from the Arduino. The Arduino is great for direct applications and there are dozens of programs available. The Raspberry Pi is a computer system - designed to work with a screen and keyboard, a completely different idea. You can even watch videos with this thing. What might be interesting is the possibility to use the Raspberry Pi as a host for the Arduino board - the combination of these two, resulting in low priced systems can be very interesting and useful’.
‘There is also a difference the flexibility and usability, adds Eben. We have chosen for Broadcom chips and they are not easy to get in the market, making it very difficult to call the Raspberry Pi an ‘open source’ project. We are hoping to take this development into the open source direction, but that will require a new design’.
Can designers use the Raspberry Pi for different applications? ‘Yes, no problem. There is plenty of I/O (I2C and UART) to start using it for whatever challenges you’.
The first batch of 10,000 Pi’s has now arrived from the factory - what will be the next step? ‘Another 10,000 we hope and that is all just the start of it...’
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