To
be honest, I’ve not been keeping up much of late with the development of the Raspberry
Pi computer that's meant to give children in Third World Countries access to a
computer to learn Programming as per my blog article
entitled “The
Evolution of the Raspberry Pi Computer into a Mainstream Wearable Computer -
How to teach Computer Programming using Flying Sword of Dragon Gate”
But
this morning on Monday February 2nd 2015 when I awoke and check my
Twitter feed, it was as if Christmas had arrived. Virtually every Tech Twitter
feed that I subscribed was covering the launch of the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B
that surprisingly costs only US$35 as noted in the article “Raspberry
Pi 2 runs free Windows 10, costs $35”, published February 2, 2015 1:21 AM
PST by Luke Westaway, CNET News.
 |
This
bit of News was also announced on the Raspberry
Pi Foundation blog in the article “RASPBERRY PI 2 ON
SALE NOW AT $35”, published 2nd Feb 2015 by Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi, the company that makes the
Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, so called because there are two versions of this
computer on a circuit board.
This
helpful video from Element14 should also help to get you up to speed.
So
aside from the price for this minicomputer, Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, which is
cheaper than the US$149 Intel Compute Stick as detailed in my blog article
entitled “US$149
Intel Compute Stick at CES 2015 – Computing Power in the Palm of your Hand that
needs a Processor Upgrade”, what makes this dream come true for Raspberry Pi
CEO and Founder Eben Upton so special?
It’s
the fact that for the same price of the older model, the US$35 Raspberry Pi 2 Model
B is packing some serious computing power.
US$35 Raspberry Pi 2
Model B - Upgrade is 4.5 million served and counting as Barbarians at the Gates
That’s
right; you've read my heading holding your head at the right angle.
This
Raspberry Pi 2
Model B can run potentially run Windows 10, the latest version of Windows as
noted in the article “Raspberry
Pi 2 unveiled with faster processor and more memory”, published 2 February
2015 By Leo Kelion, BBC News.
Windows
10 launched on Wednesday January 21st 2015 as noted in the article which
comes to genuine Windows 7 and Windows 8 Users as an upgrade free for one year
only as noted in the article “Windows
10 Will Be A Free Upgrade For One Year”, published 1/21/2015 by Erik Kain, Forbes.
 |
This launch came at just the right time, as their list of rivals in the hobby mini computing world is growing:
1.
Arduino
2.
BeagleBone Black
3.
Gizmo 2
4.
Hummingboard
5.
Intel Galileo
Whether
or not they're in it for commercial purposes or just interested in getting
children in the Developing World to have computing power to do Programming and experience
the joys of using a computer to write programs remains to be seen. Still the
competition is welcome, as the new Raspberry Pi 2 Model
B is packing the heat.
The
Raspberry Pi Foundation’s original
Raspberry Pi is selling at a fast clip:
1.
200,000 sold every month
2.
4.5 million sold thus far since launch
In
fact, they may eventually beat the Sinclair computer as the best selling
British computer of all time to quote Raspberry Pi Founder and CEO Eben Upton,
quote: “The surprise to us is that people don't buy just one Raspberry Pi.
There are a lot of people with five or six. And we think those people are
naturally going to want this. We are very very close to it being the
bestselling British computer. I think another half a million and we will go
past the Sinclair Spectrum as the bestselling British computer”.
So
the competition has a lot to catch up to!
US$35 Raspberry Pi 2
Model B - A Faster SOC Processor with the same Snag Carpeting
According
to the Raspberry Pi Blog, the upgrade was done in such a manner so as to
preserve the connectors already being used on the original Raspberry Pi. Thus,
hobbyists will not have to change anything on their Television sets or their
projects to use the Raspberry Pi, which was really designed to teach kids who
don't have a computer how to program, needing only Television set equipped with
HDMI port.
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The main upgrades include a new SoC (System on a Chip) the, BCM2836, a 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 from Broadcom Corporation. This replaces the original BCM2835, a single 700MHz ARM11, but retains the same Processor packaging and pin configurations and functions, making it a simple snap onto the board.
Micron
chipped in with a 1GB SDRAM, a serious memory upgrade from the 256MB of SDRAM that
the original Raspberry Pi 1 Model B and the later upgrade Raspberry Pi 1 Model
B+ possessed.
Despite
this, it ran very well, being fully optimized to run the following Linux OS
Distributions, which the new Raspberry Pi 2 Model
B still supports:
1.
Ubuntu
2.
Iceweasel
3.
KOffice
Interestingly
too, the new Raspberry
Pi 2 Model B can also run Ubuntu Snappy Core, bringing this mini project
board into the remote control world of the IoT (Internet of Things) as noted in
my blog article
entitled “Ubuntu
Snappy Core for IoT – Why Ubuntu is excellent for Girls Who Code Developing
Drones and Robots for IoT”.
All
in all, it just a faster Raspberry Pi 2 Model
B but with better shag carpeting, really!
US$35 Raspberry Pi 2
Model B - Same Ports and Open Source OS with Python Programming Tools
Along
with the glorious OS choices, you also get the same connectivity features on
your Raspberry Pi
2 Model B System Board as noted in the article “Raspberry Pi 2 runs
a version of Windows 10 and is just $35”, published February 2, 2015 8:59
AM PST, by Luke Westaway, CNET News:
1.
4 USB ports
2.
1 HDMI
3.
1 micro USB power source
4.
1 Ethernet Port
5.
1 microSD Card slot with 64GB SD Card
support
If
your existing projects external devices connecting to your older Raspberry Pi Model
B+, fret not, the new Raspberry Pi 2 Model
B still has you covered, making your project still work without any changes
in the configurations of the external I/O pin connectors:
1.
40-pin extended GPIO
2.
4-pole stereo output and composite video
port,
3.
1 CSI camera port for connecting the
Raspberry Pi camera
4.
DSI display port for connecting a
Capacitive Touch Screen
So
for those of you who are fans of programming in Python, the same libraries and
software that came with the original are still available on the kit at
purchase:
1.
Libav
2.
LibreOffice
3.
Pixman
4.
PyPy
5.
Scratch
6.
WebKit
7.
XBMC/Kodi
Raspberry Pi 2 Model B
and Windows 10 - Running Windows Developer Program for IoT (Internet of Things)
For
now however, the Raspberry
Pi 2 Model B is launching with ARMv6 Raspbian
as its core OS with the option to download ARMv7 Debian!
During
the rest of 2015, the Raspberry Pi
Foundation will be testing to see if they can upgrade via just changing the
build libraries, making updating as simple as downloading a self-extracting
package that can just swap out old libraries and register and install new ones.
The
new Raspberry Pi 2
Model B also support Windows Developer Program for IoT (Internet of
Things), not Windows 10 as the hype suggests in Raspberry Pi Founder and CEO
Eben Upton on the Raspberry Pi Blog, quote: “For the last six months we've been
working closely with Microsoft to bring the forthcoming Windows 10 to Raspberry
Pi 2 Model B. Microsoft will have much more to share over the coming months”.
 |
This Windows Developer Program for IoT is basically a package similar to Ubuntu Snappy Core that Microsoft is rolling out in a bid to get Developers designing Applications that can connect Hardware to the Internet. Thus the plan is to make this Windows Developer Program for IoT available to make any electronics product remote controlled with your Smartphone or Tablet and receive software updates from the Cloud, in keeping with the mantra of the IoT.
So
says General Manager of Windows IoT Group, Kevin Dallas, on the Microsoft Blog
article “Windows
10 Coming to Raspberry Pi 2”, published February 2, 2015 by Kevin Dallas, Windows Blog commenting on the new Raspberry Pi 2 Model
B support for Windows Developer Program for IoT and yes, hyping it as
Windows 10.
He
gave his support for the Raspberry Pi 2 Model
B, quote: “We see the maker community as an amazing source of innovation
for smart, connected devices that represent the very foundation of the next
wave of computing, and we're excited to be a part of this community”.
His
blog doesn’t; mention that the Raspberry Pi 2 Model
B but rather that Laptop and Computers upgraded for free to Windows 10 as
noted in the article “Windows
10 Will Be A Free Upgrade For One Year”, published 1/21/2015 by Erik Kain, Forbes can be used for Software Development
and Hardware simulations using Windows Developer Program for IoT.
In
short, you can use a Laptop running Windows 10 as a simulator for the Windows
Developer Program for IoT software package, a premise also offered by their
competitor Ubuntu Snappy Core as noted
in my blog
article entitled “Ubuntu
Snappy Core for IoT – Why Ubuntu is excellent for Girls Who Code Developing
Drones and Robots for IoT”.
Raspberry Pi 2 Model B
and Windows 10 – US$35 Project running Windows 10 is possible
Still,
with the new BCM2836, which is as 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 from Broadcom
Corporation, it’s possible that Windows 10 may be able to run within the 1GB of
RAM on the Raspberry
Pi 2 Model B.
I
have to believe that Raspberry Pi Founder and CEO Eben Upton on the Raspberry
Pi Blog is indeed being truthful when he says that Windows 10 is coming, quote:
“For the last six months, we've been working closely with Microsoft to bring
the forthcoming Windows 10 to Raspberry Pi 2. Microsoft will have much more to
share over the coming months. The Raspberry Pi 2-compatible version of Windows
10 will be available free of charge to makers”.
Best of all, there are some twenty five (25) project you can try out if you’re not sure what to start experimenting with as noted in the article “25 fun things to do with a Raspberry Pi”, published 14 March 2014 11:20 am GMT by David Hayward, CNET News.
So
is this is something that the Girls Who Code Club here in Jamaica as described
in my blog
article entitled “Girls
Who Code Clubs Christmas eCard Project - Workshop for Software Coding Females
creating Evangelion Pilots passing on their knowledge” can order online for
their club Meeting at the various schools around Jamaica?
Yes
you can, as you even have the option to get the original models Raspberry Pi
Model A and Raspberry Pi Model B+ for US$35 as well as the updated Raspberry Pi
2 Model A that costs US$28.
At
US$35 for a Raspberry
Pi 2 Model B Project board, you're getting a taste of Programming for the
IoT in 2015, the Year of the Sheep!
Here's
the link:
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