A Raspberry Pi in the Face

February 10, 2014

Customizing hardware is a rewarding experience. There are few other things that can evoke the sense of wonder one experiences when they see something they made, or built, working. We certainly didn’t make the Raspberry Pi, but we are going to stand of the shoulders of the “giants” that did make it. THe best way to do this is make software that exploits the uncanny versatility of the Pi–its size, cost, and relative power give it a variety of efficacious applications.

Many people choose to use their Pi as an inexpensive HTPC (home-theater personal computer), and it works great for that. It can handle 1080p video decoding and its wide array of ports allows mass storage and fast internet/LAN connectivity.

In fact, when I’m not developing stuff for it, I’ll probably use it for that purpose. I wouldn’t have to connect my laptop or desktop to my TV, and it would consume negligible space and power.

The kit we got from RIT contains not only the Pi, essential accessories, and an SD card preloaded with four popular Linux distributions, tailored for the Pi’s hardware. It’s convenient to plug-in many places. It supports Wifi (with a dongle accessory), as well as connecting “home-made” peripherals through the use of an included breadboard. Because of this, DIY security cameras, motion detectors, door openers, light-switches, and other cool things are entirely feasible.

I can’t wait to make the Pi more whole by creating some good stuff for it.