The making of Raspberry Pi
The making of Raspberry Pi
4:21

The making of Raspberry Pi

Computing
How do you build a computer that's the size of a pack of cards and costs just $25? And once you've built it, how do you use it to grow a new generation of programmers? In this special episode of Adventures in Tech, we explore the making of RaspberryPi. [MUSIC] Raspberry Pi is a tiny computing board that's so simplistic, you have to learn basic programming just to turn it on. Geeks love it for it's flexibility, but in fact when the Raspberry Pi foundation built this tiny machine. They were trying to use that user unfriendliness to solve a growing problem in the computer industry. Early computers required a certain level of knowledge to use, but those who did get to grips with them grew up and built better machines. Modern gadgets that were much more accessible. And today you don't need to know anything about how a computer works in order to use one. But if new generations are losing touch with what makes computers tick [MUSIC] How are we going to build better ones? We've come to Cambridge, the spiritual home of computing, to speak with Raspberry Pi inventor, Evan Upton. Very simply, the problem we wanted to solve was, we saw here in Cambridge, at the university, the number of applicants to study computer science, fall from maybe 500 for 80 places in 1995. To roughly 200, 10 years later. And really we were trying to find with Raspberry Pi a way to reverse that decline. So I think the thing is that young programmers learn about computers and what they learn is that a computer is like a metal box that contains a keyboard and a mouse and a display and a battery and lots of software and stuff. What we teach them is that actually you know this is a, this is a computer. Concepts of the basic machines for learning was there as early as 2006. Protoypes were built, but ultimately it was in 2010, with the arrival of the micro DB developed at Broadcom that Evan became convinced the Raspberry Pi was viable. Several years of hard work later, the first Pi was ready to come out of the oven. The Raspberry Pi model b went on sale in February 2012 and it packs a surprising amount of power into its tiny form. At the center of the first Pi was a 700 megahertz processor, backed up by 256 meg of RAM. It didn't even come with any kind of casing but could run an operating system [MUSIC] Pop an SD card. And sported several crucial outputs. Including a headphone jack, USB, ethernet, and HDMI. Raspberry Pi was an immediate hit. Plenty of media attention turned into sales. And within a year, a million boards had been sold. With the itsy bitsy microcomputer becoming a fixture of tech culture. Geeky types found a cheap way to make their own media centers. While even geekier types dreamed up weird and wonderful applications for the pi. Such worthy pursuits as making a keyboard out of. To beer cans, opening a garage, a vegetable grow machine, sending it space, controlling robots, building a pet feeder, an arcade cabinet, or a small arcade cabinet. The back to basics nature of the Raspberry Pi has made it a plaything for grownup geeks, but in a world of iPads and Xboxes, how do you enchant the younger crowd? According to the foundation's education mastermind, it's the crudity of the Pi that makes it such a powerful teaching tool [MUSIC] A cape doesn't come so that when you turn it on straight away it works first time. It's not in a fancy case. It doesn't work by magic. These are really important points and what actually makes [INAUDIBLE] a great tool for learning with. Putting on a desk in front of children and they see that. They ask questions and for any teacher that when you know your children are engaged. The foundation is making inroads with education. Google bought 15,000 Raspberry Pis for UK schools, while communities around the world have come together in Raspberry Jams to get to grips with the Pi. The foundation also runs Picademy classes which train teachers on how the hardware can be used in the classroom. We have started to see adoption among children. We think that we have about a million of them, of the 3 and a half million we've sold. Over a million of them now are in the hands of children one way or another. But we found now that schools, many schools are picking up and using it and so we're seeing it move from informal learning into formal learning and that's quite exciting for us here at the foundation. What do you think the future holds for young programmers and if you experimented with the Raspberry Pi. Let me know and check back next time, for another adventure in tech.

Up Next

Adventures in Tech: Just the Skits
adventuresskitsholdingstill.jpg

Up Next

Adventures in Tech: Just the Skits

TV tech through time Part 2
ait-tv-pt2-holding-still.jpg

TV tech through time Part 2

TV tech through time - part 1
ait-tv-history-part-1-holding-still.jpg

TV tech through time - part 1

Nintendo DS: When casual gaming got epic
ait-nintendo-ds-still-1.jpg

Nintendo DS: When casual gaming got epic

Apple: Tech's greatest comeback story
apple-comeback-ait-holding-still-1.jpg

Apple: Tech's greatest comeback story

Netbooks: What were we thinking?
netbooks-ait-holding-still-2.jpg

Netbooks: What were we thinking?

Could Android have saved Nokia?
nokia-android-ait.jpg

Could Android have saved Nokia?

RIP iPod
ait-ipod-holding-still.jpg

RIP iPod

The making of Raspberry Pi
ait-raspberry-pi-holding-still.jpg

The making of Raspberry Pi

How the Galaxy Note changed smartphones
adventuresnoteholdingstill.jpg

How the Galaxy Note changed smartphones

Tech Shows

The Apple Core
apple-core-w

The Apple Core

Alphabet City
alphabet-city-w

Alphabet City

CNET Top 5
cnet-top-5-w

CNET Top 5

The Daily Charge
dc-site-1color-logo.png

The Daily Charge

What the Future
what-the-future-w

What the Future

Tech Today
tech-today-w

Tech Today

Latest News All latest news

PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know
playstation5pro-leak-clean

PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know

Everything Just Revealed at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference
nvidiastill

Everything Just Revealed at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference

Nvidia Reveals Omniverse Cloud Streams to the Vision Pro
nvidia-vision-pro-image

Nvidia Reveals Omniverse Cloud Streams to the Vision Pro

Nvidia Shows Project GROOT and Disney Bots at GTC Conference
robot-2

Nvidia Shows Project GROOT and Disney Bots at GTC Conference

Expert vs. AI: Is Now the Time to Buy an EV?
gettyimages-1178244881

Expert vs. AI: Is Now the Time to Buy an EV?

The PlayStation Portal Built-In Volume Is too Loud: Here's How to Keep It Low
playstation-portal-audio-options-thumb2

The PlayStation Portal Built-In Volume Is too Loud: Here's How to Keep It Low

Most Popular All most popular

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
innovation

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
240123-site-samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-review-4

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
circlesearchpic

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
asus-preces-00-00-25-11-still003

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
samsung-galaxy-ring-clean

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
240111-site-best-of-ces-2024-1

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024

Latest Products All latest products

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
240304-site-nothing-phone-2-first-look-v3

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
240229-site-best-of-show-at-mwc

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display
240225-site-lenovo-translucent-laptop-concept-v3

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist
240225-site-motorola-rollable-concept

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist

See Adobe Lightroom on the Apple Vision Pro
adobe-lightroom-00-02-58-03-still006-1

See Adobe Lightroom on the Apple Vision Pro

This $400 Cane Has a Built-In Phone
p1022441-mp4-15-35-32-23-still001

This $400 Cane Has a Built-In Phone

Latest How To All how to videos

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
240311-site-windows-11-hidden-tips-and-tricks-v2

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
VisionOS 1.0.3

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
240216-site-galaxy-s24-ultra-tips-and-hidden-features-2

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro
tiktok-on-vision-pro-clean

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips
superbowl-tv-settings-thumb1

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro
240202-site-spatial-computing-on-meta-quest-3

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro