Raspberry Pi puts a programmable computer within student budgets

The Raspberry Pi Foundation began selling its first Model B computers today through distributors RS Components and element14. Demand immediately overwhelmed ordering sites, evidence that a bare circuit board can still draw the excitement usually reserved for finished gadgets.

For $35, buyers get a 700 MHz ARM processor, 256 MB of memory, HDMI output, Ethernet, USB ports and an SD-card slot. A keyboard, display, power supply and storage must be added separately, and Linux provides the intended software environment.

That unfinished quality is central to the project. Raspberry Pi wants children to encounter a machine they can inspect, program and connect to other electronics, much as earlier home computers invited experimentation. The modest specifications limit desktop ambitions, but the low price makes classroom sets and risky weekend projects far easier to justify.