A new, tiny computer that only costs $35 is grabbing the attention of the tech world – and not just among the hobbyists and tinkerers who have long been fans of its predecessors.
The Raspberry Pi 4 is the size of a credit card, but it has most of the features people expect from a desktop computer. Tech expert Omar Gallaga says the Raspberry Pi 4 is the latest model in the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s series of single-board computers.
“You can connect two monitors to it, it’s got faster processing, you can choose up to four gigabytes of RAM,” Gallaga says. “ It’s just got a lot more features that make it comparable to what we’d expect from a desktop computer these days.”
Gallaga says the Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK-based non-profit is focused on education, and its main goal is to increase technological accessibility for individuals and companies that can’t afford full-sized computers.
“They have been doing this since 2012, when the first Raspberry Pi came out,” Gallaga says. “People in the tech world really love these. They are very versatile and they are very powerful for the size that they are.”
Gallaga says the Raspberry Pi’s sticking point for some is its lack of other essential computer components, such as a keyboard, mouse or even a power supply.
“They’re making them available if you don’t have them,” Gallaga says. “But the $35 is a little misleading because… you’re getting a tiny circuit board and they’re expecting you to bring everything else to the party.”
Gallaga says the device is still groundbreaking because of the range of functions it can perform.
“There’s a lot of people that want to get into this space of automation or building robots, and you need a computer core for that,” Gallaga says. “If you’re a dreamer and you want to make something, this is a really good place to start.”
Written by Hayden Baggett.
