Raspberry Pi grows up: a $35 mini-computer takes on the world – The Verge

Google’s Coder project turns the Raspbery Pi into a mini app server

2013-09-14T05:36:04-04:00

raspberry pi

Hackers and educators love the Raspberry Pi, and at least a few people at Google do too. For a year, Google has provided funding to a UK program that trains teachers on how to use the small, inexpensive computers in classrooms. This week, Google introduced Coder, a free software download built by a team of Googlers in New York that turns the Raspberry Pi into a tiny server that can host basic web apps for those learning to code in HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Google says setting Coder up on the Raspberry Pi takes just ten minutes.

All you need to get started is a Raspberry Pi, of course, an SD card to store Coder, and a Wi-Fi connection. This …

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Cut-down ‘Minecraft’ released on Raspberry Pi for free

2013-02-11T19:02:49-05:00

minecraft pi edition

Mojang has released a version of their smash hit world-building game Minecraft for the tiny, inexpensive Raspberry Pi computer. Minecraft: Pi Edition is based on Pocket Edition, the mobile version currently available on iOS and Android, and you can download it now for free.

"Break open the code."

In common with the $35 Raspberry Pi's stated goals of providing a low-cost way to get people into programming, Mojang hopes that players will use Pi Edition to "break open the code." There's support for multiple languages, and the idea is that "you'll be learning skills through Minecraft." The team has set up a dedicated Pi Edition website at pi.min …

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XBMC 12 ‘Frodo’ now available: adds Raspberry Pi and ‘initial’ Android support

2013-01-29T10:00:02-05:00

XBMC 12 announcement

Today there's some good news for XBMC fans as version 12 of the popular open-source home media center software, codenamed 'Frodo,' has been officially released. The new version has a number of new features and improvements including Live TV and PVR support, which allows you to watch Live TV, listen to radio, and access a TV guide. The update also includes a new audio engine that provides access to a variety of HD audio standards including DTS-MA and Dolby True-HD. Theres good news for AirPlay users as well, as the new version of XBMC comes with improved support for Apple's wireless standard, including the addition of AirPlay audio streaming …

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The BeetBox makes music with actual beets

2012-12-19T14:44:05-05:00

beetbox FLICK

We've seen a banana piano and a beer can keyboard, but what about beatboxing with an actual box of beets? For his final project in a technology crafting course, student Scott Garner has created a way to do just that. The cheekily dubbed BeetBox is powered by a Raspberry Pi, and uses an audio amplifier to play drum sounds based on input from a capacitive touch sensor. Put simply, touch beets, get beats. The whole system is encased in a simplistic, handmade wooden enclosure, which gives the BeetBox a clean, sophisticated look uncommon in many homebrew Raspberry Pi hacks. You can check out the cleverly designed instrument in action below.

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Raspberry Pi launches its very own app store

2012-12-17T08:10:39-05:00

Pi Store

Anybody who's anybody has their own app store these days, so why shouldn't the team behind the Raspberry Pi have one too? The tiny and inexpensive Linux-based PC has today gained the Pi Store, accessible from the web or via a standalone app for Raspbian. So far it looks to be slim pickings with only 23 free titles, but the team is hoping that it will grow into a resource that offers developer tools as well as more consumer-oriented titles. There's a little bit of incentive for developers too - while there's an option to charge for apps in the store, there's a tip jar feature that lets users kick a little money towards the developers even if t …

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Universally compatible beercan keyboard created using Raspberry Pi and Arduino

2012-10-21T08:42:04-04:00

beer keyboard

Robofun Create has built a fully functional keyboard using Staropramen beer cans, demonstrating once more that the potential of systems like the Arduino and Raspberry Pi is only limited by the creativity of those who use them. The keyboard - which would be an instant hit at pretty much any party - is made of 40 beer cans connected to an Arduino-powered touch controller attached to a Raspberry Pi that controlled the television display. Robofun Create designed the keyboard as part of the 2012 Webstock contest, and attendees could use it to input their email address to win a trip to Prague. It can be plugged into any computer, and while the key …

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Learn to build a Raspberry Pi operating system, courtesy of Cambridge University

2012-09-03T15:11:02-04:00

raspberry pi

The $25 or $35 Raspberry Pi computer is a favorite of coders, who've turned it into a synth and embedded it in a camera grip among other things. Now, the Pi is getting attention from the University of Cambridge Computer Lab. Alex Chadwick, one of a group of students working with Pis at Cambridge over the summer, has published a guide to coding basic operating systems for the computer. "Baking Pi" is meant to help incoming freshmen get familiar with basic computer science before starting school, but it's freely available to everyone.

Since the university is also purchasing a Pi for every freshman in the department, it's published a series of …

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Watch this: the $25 Raspberry Pi turns into a synth

2012-09-01T17:56:04-04:00

Raspberry Pi Synth

There seems to be no shortage of uses for the credit card-sized Raspberry Pi, whether it's running Android, being hooked up to your DSLR, or stuffed inside its spiritual forebear, the Commodore 64. Now one hardware project is looking to add "synth" to the customizable $25 microcomputer's rapidly-expanding repertoire.

The Raspberry Pi synth, called "Piana," seems to signal that wonderful things are in store for musically-inclined owners of the hard-to-get machine, similar to what we've already seen from the Pi's pricier microcontroller cousin, the Arduino. The project's blog demonstrates some rich polyphonic sounds and an impressive assortmen …

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Photographer embeds Raspberry Pi computer in DSLR battery grip

2012-08-20T06:56:21-04:00

Raspberry Pi in camera grip

Irish photographer David Hunt has managed to fit a Raspberry Pi - the card-sized device designed to promote computer science in schools - inside a standard Canon 5D Mark II battery grip, using the tiny Linux-based computer to transfer photos to his iPad. According to an explanatory blog post, the Pi runs a Perl script which constantly queries the camera for images - when it finds new shots, it grabs them and transfers them to the iPad's Shuttersnitch app over the internet.

In the video demonstration below, Hunt's creation relies on an Ethernet connection for internet access, but attaching a Wi-Fi dongle shouldn't present any problems. Other …

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Raspberry Pi runs ported version of Mozilla’s web-based Firefox OS

2012-08-16T12:17:03-04:00

Firefox OS on Raspberry Pi

While smartphones running Mozilla's web-based Firefox OS aren't expected to ship until 2013, that hasn't stopped enthusiasts from porting the open source operating system to other platforms. The latest device to get a version of the system - formerly known as Boot to Gecko - is the Raspberry Pi, the $25 card-sized computer designed to promote computer science in schools.

In the video below, developer Oleg Romashin demonstrates the device performing some basic functions such as swiping through the OS's menu. It doesn't look like a particularly smooth experience, but, then again, the Pi only contains a relatively meager 700MHz CPU and 256MB o …

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