Science/Tech

Raspberry Pi’s latest computer is just for $5

By Lord Castillo | Update Date: Nov 27, 2015 03:53 PM EST

Raspberry Pi's micro-computer is a pocket-sized device is made to teach kids coding for just $5. The Raspberry Pi Zero which was revealed on November 26, 2015. The British company's mission is to make computing easy to every child who wants to learn. The new computer features a 1GHz ARM processor, 512MB of RAM, a microSD card slot, a Mini-HDMI socket and Micro-USB sockets. It measures a petite 65 by 30 by 5mm.

This year, BBC has created its own educational computer, the MicroBit, with the input of Raspberry Pi and other partners, which it is giving away free to 11-year-olds in UK. Coding has been on the national curriculum, which requires it to be taught in British schools, for a year now. They see coding as an investment for the future.

Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi's chief executive and creator explained that when he was a youngster he had to drain his bank account to buy a BBC Micro and Commodore Amiga. Upton wants children in 2015 to do not face the same barriers to learning about computers that he did when he was young.

Even though the original Raspberry Pi was cheaper than equivalent computers by a factor of five, the price tag still posed a barrier to some people out there, Upton said.

"We've gone from the cost of four lattes to one latte. We're not going to go below the cost of one latte," he said. "We really hope this is going to get those last few people in the door and involved in computer programming."

If you want your own Pi Zero, grab a copy of the December issue of their magazine, MagPi. The magazine wille be giving away free Pi Zeros. "There's only one thing cooler than a $5 computer and that's a free computer," said Upton.

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