Raspberry Pi open for unlimited orders
The super-basic £25 Linux computer is now no longer restricted to one per person, although it'll be a few months before delivery.
Raspberry Pi, the super-basic £25 Linux computer that's proven a whopping hit with the nerds, is now no longer restricted to one per person. Great news -- now your Magic The Gathering coven and your Android dev coffee morning can order as many as their dorky hearts desire!
The bare-bones board is available to order from suppliers RS Components and Premier Farnell. "This means that customers worldwide can now order multiple quantities of the Raspberry Pi Model B board," says Jo from RS, "along with the associated accessories, including SD cards pre-loaded with the latest Raspberry Pi operating system and Raspberry Pi cases for safer storage."
That's right -- the Pi is so bonkers barefaced bargainous that it doesn't even come with a case. Enterprising users have made their own, including out of (what else?) Lego. RS sells black, white and clear Pi cases (no, not pie cases) for just £4.79.
You can expect your Pi to arrive in four to six weeks, according to Jenny from Farnell. RS reckons it should be able to fulfill new orders by the end of September, so a little longer, but it is selling the Pi for less -- £25.92 compared to £29.46 from Farnell (both including VAT).
The Raspberry Pi is amazingly adept for such a tiny, cheap bit of kit. Load up a media-friendly bit of software via the SD card slot and it'll happily pump high-definition video to your TV over HDMI. You can even use your smart phone as the remote control.
It has Ethernet and two USB sockets too, so you can plug in a mouse and keyboard and surf the web. The first official accessory, due in October, will be a 5-megapixel camera, founder Eben Upton confirmed this weekend.
The Pi has been hailed as the saviour of computer science by the likes of education secretary Michael Gove and Google chairman Eric Schmidt, as its round-of-drinks pricing means anyone can get their hands on one and use it to learn programming. Schools are expected to put in big orders -- and it looks as though they could be in classrooms by Christmas.
Are you plumping for Pi? Would you like to see them in your school? Drop us a line of code in the comments, or over on our fruit-flavoured Facebook page.
