Gimme Pi: Why I want a tiny computer that doesn’t do anything
... When my dad bought us anApple IIe back in 1983, I enjoyed making stuff on that too. I had no idea what I was doing, but when I was 13, a blank screen and a blinking green cursor didn't represent frustration: It meant possibility. That's why I'm excited to get my hands on a Raspberry Pi -- a diminutive, $35 computer with no apps, no programs, no monitor/keyboard, no Facebook and endless possibilities. ...
Today's gadgets, however, aren't very condusive to tinkering. Laptops are pretty well sealed up; cracking open your iPad or smartphone means voiding the warranty and trying to monkey with the tiniest ribbon cables you've ever seen. Raspberry Pi is a neat project looking to bring a little bit of that creativitity and "let's see what's under the hood" chutzpah back to computing. ...
The initial Model B version -- a credit card-sized board with two USB ports, an Ethernet port, audio port, HDMI port, 700 Mhz CPU and 256 MB RAM -- went on sale March 1 and sold out within hours. ...