Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Raspberry Pi week kicks off - First impressions

While you can read an entire manual on the subject, I would like to share my experience with you.

The first time I held a Raspberry Pi (more or less August 2012), I was amazed by how something so small could do so much. In South Africa, there's a long waiting period from most suppliers when you order. A friend of mine, who owns a computer shop ordered a few for clients - and he ended up waiting months to get them.

I've never agreed with the press that the Raspberry Pi received regarding the price: it's not a $35.00 computer. When you factor in a class 10 SD card, a USB mouse & keyboard, a micro USB size charger (all of which that you may be able to pilfer from your computer supplies). Getting a HDMI monitor or a TV adds a lot of money to your startup costs. If you have a TV or HDMI monitor then it's not a problem. At the moment, I own neither.

The first day I saw a Raspberry Pi in real life, I ordered one; then cancelled my order later that day. It seemed like a great thing to buy, but I had no idea what to do with it (at that time I was running Peppermint 3 on a EEEPC 704G, and it has a screen, keyboard, etc. and was easier to use than setting up a new machine). I've seen a KindleBerry Pi and many other strange things that people have used their Raspberry Pi's for - but what would I use it for?

This article seems a bit negative, sorry for that.
My first impressions may not have been overwhelmingly positive, but I really did enjoy having the opportunity to try out a new gadget last week. Next time, I share day 1 with the Raspberry Pi.

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