GOING MICRO

Before we delve into the wonderful world of Raspberry Pi and Arduino you must grasp the idea of Micro-computers and micro-controllers. No, I'm definitely NOT talking about the “pie” we eat. This “Pi” has nothing to do with food and you cannot find a review of it on FoodBank.

The difference between micro-computers and micro-controllers are in their functionality. One's a computer with a display while the other is a controller only, a chip that can run a program written onto it. Micro-computers are really small, about the size of a credit card but nonetheless very effective. And they are dead cheap. Raspberry Pi happens to be one of the best if not THE best micro-computers out there available for $35 or around Tk. 4000 locally.

You've probably been wondering about the specs. Well, here they are (Latest model - Raspberry Pi B+):
* RAM - 512 MB
* Storage - Micro SD (no limit on capacity) - not included
* CPU - ARM1176JZF-S (700 MHz) - can be overclocked to 1 GHz
* GPIO Pins - 40 (for those who don't know, these pins are used to connect the computer and low-format devices like motors, function chips etc. You can program each pin
to work as you want it to)
* Graphics - Broadcom VideoCore IV
* 4 USB 2.0 ports
* Video Output - Composite RCA (PAL and NTSC) via 4-pole 3.5 mm jack, HDMI (rev 1.3 & 1.4), raw LCD Panels via DSI
* Video Input - 15-pin MIPI camera interface (CSI) connector, used with the Raspberry Pi Camera Add-on
* Audio Output - 3.5 mm jack, HDMI, and, as of revision 2 boards, I²S audio (also potentially for audio input)
* Power - 5V via MicroUSB or GPIO header

Why use such an underpowered computer?
1.     ROBOTICS! I'm not talking about sophisticated robots walking around your house or your very own R2D2. I'm talking about building your own quad-copter drones (not the drones Obama owns) and RC cars. I even saw a robot built with the Raspberry Pi that can convert digital sketches to a papered version by drawing it.

2.     When coding robots, the Pi definitely has the upper hand over micro-controllers like Arduino because you can program it to execute more advanced commands due to its hardware superiority. But since it's cheap and friendly, the creators of Pi targeted it towards the young generation. Coding is so easy with Python and Scratch that anyone can get right into it with a bit of help and enjoy doing it.

3.     Being ultra-portable, you can use it on any setup to build all sorts of stuff and dedicate the whole chip to one single goal adding loads and loads of functions.
* Cloud servers
* Retro Game Consoles
* Media Centers
* Seedboxes
* Android and Firefox OS on Pi (stable version under development)
* Facial Recognition Lockbox
* Voice Controlled systems that can do specific tasks

4.     It can run various version of Debian Linux and some other distributions as well. Rhe level of customization that Linux allows its users is unparalleled. You can practically build a different OS from Linux. My boss wanted to use the Pi as a word-processor only. Nothing else. Being a writer, he wants to have a system that'll boot up within seconds and open up directly to a word-processor ready for him turn his ideas into words. And with Raspberry Pi's portability, small size, efficient build-up tied with Linux's “do anything you want, to me and with me” structure that can be turned into a reality.

Will I face problems using Linux on the Pi since I've been using Windows always and know nothing about Linux?
No, you'll not. Linux distributions don't bite. There's this thing called the internet. You'll find everything you need out there.

One more thing you should know, learning to code is not hard. Not with Python around. Start with it and you'll be hooked up to coding. This language being easy and all of that its IDLE comes pre-installed with Raspbian OS (best choice of Linux kernel for the Pi) and you can quickly start working on projects.