As the most successful microcomputer, the open-source Raspberry Pi has been highly praised by programming enthusiasts in the tech and academic circles. Various experts have created numerous innovative devices based on Raspberry Pi, forming a unique DIY culture around this microcomputer, with a rich ecosystem of related open-source software.
The Raspberry Pi was initially an experimental project at the University of Cambridge’s Computer Science Department. Founder Eben Upton gathered a group of teachers, scholars, and computer enthusiasts to design a small computer that could inspire children to engage in programming. This computer was inspired by the BBC Microcomputer from Acorn in 1981. The first Raspberry Pi ARM prototype was housed in a box the size of a USB memory stick, with a USB port on one end and an HDMI port on the other. The first batch of Raspberry Pis was officially released on February 29, 2012, priced at $35.
According to official statistics from the Raspberry Pi, over 38 million Raspberry Pi products have been sold in the past 9 years, with users ranging from industrial product manufacturers to open-source community developers and students, providing low-cost, highly available hardware development devices.
To commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Raspberry Pi, veteran developer Avram Piltch, who owns 30 Raspberry Pi devices, shared 9 interesting facts about Raspberry Pi:
The Raspberry Pi was initially developed to address a very limited problem: the number of applicants for the Computer Science program at Cambridge University was decreasing. At that time, the number of applicants for the Computer Science program had dropped from 600 to 250 per year. Eben Upton, responsible for admissions, was concerned that not enough children were interested in computers, so he began gathering a group of teachers and developer friends to design a low-cost, easy-to-use teaching computer. Upton hoped to cultivate children’s interest in computer programming by providing them with this affordable and easy-to-hack computer.
Since its launch in 2012, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has released 21 different models of Raspberry Pi. Including the four different RAM capacity versions of Raspberry Pi 4 B and all 32 different storage combination versions of Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, there are a total of 52 models (with or without Wi-Fi).
The original Raspberry Pi B model only had 256 MB of RAM and a single-core 700 MHz processor. The current mainstream model, Pi 4 B, has up to 8 GB of RAM, a quad-core 1.5 GHz CPU, and USB 3.0 ports.
The 21 different models of Raspberry Pi are as follows:
|
Model |
Release Year |
Processor |
Memory |
|
Raspberry Pi 1 B |
2012 |
700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core) |
256MB |
|
Raspberry Pi 1 A |
2013 |
700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core) |
256MB |
|
Raspberry Pi 1 A+ |
2014 |
700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core) |
512MB |
|
Raspberry Pi 1 B+ |
2014 |
700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core) |
512MB |
|
Compute Module 1 |
2014 |
700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core) |
512MB |
|
Raspberry Pi 2 B |
2015 |
900 MHz Broadcom BCM2836 (4 cores) |
1GB |
|
Raspberry Pi Zero 1.2 |
2015 |
1 GHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core) |
512MB |
|
Raspberry Pi 2 B v1.2 |
2016 |
1 GHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core) |
512MB |
|
Raspberry Pi 3 B |
2016 |
1.2 GHz Broadcom BCM2837 (4 cores) |
1GB |
|
Raspberry Pi Zero 1.3 |
2016 |
1 GHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core) |
512MB |
|
Raspberry Pi Zero W |
2017 |
1 GHz Broadcom BCM2835 (1 core) |
512MB |
|
Compute Module 3 |
2017 |
1.2 GHz Broadcom BCM2837 (4 cores) |
1GB |
|
Compute Module 3 Lite |
2017 |
1.2 GHz Broadcom BCM2837 (4 cores) |
1GB |
|
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ |
2018 |
1.2 GHz Broadcom BCM2837 (4 cores) |
1GB |
|
Compute Module 3+ |
2019 |
1.2 GHz Broadcom BCM2837B0 (4 cores) |
1GB |
|
Compute Module 3+ Lite |
2019 |
1.2 GHz Broadcom BCM2837B0 (4 cores) |
1GB |
|
Raspberry Pi 4 B |
2019 |
1.5 GHz Broadcom BCM2711 |
1/2/4/8GB (2020) |
|
Compute Module 4 |
2020 |
1.5 GHz Broadcom BCM2711 |
1/2/4/8GB |
|
Raspberry Pi 400 |
2020 |
1.8 GHz Broadcom BCM2711 |
4GB |
|
Raspberry Pi Pico |
2021 |
133 MHz RP2040 |
264K |
Among them, the Raspberry Pi 400, launched at the end of 2020, is the first standalone computer in the Raspberry Pi series, which includes input and output devices. This Pi 400 differs from the previously released bare development boards, as its casing integrates a keyboard that can be used with a mouse, power supply, cables, and a monitor.
▲ Raspberry Pi 400 with built-in keyboard and I/O interfaces
Additionally, the recently released Raspberry Pi Pico is also a completely different type of Raspberry Pi product. This product is a microcontroller board.
▲ Raspberry Pi Pico
The Raspberry Pi Pico was released in January 2021 and is the first microcontroller in the Raspberry Pi series, marking the debut of the custom chip RP2040 CPU. Previously, every Raspberry Pi could typically run a Linux operating system and become a fully functional computer, but the Pico, priced at only $4, belongs to the same category as Arduino, suitable for developing embedded devices or IoT devices, such as controlling motors, lights, and sensors, and running programs immediately upon powering on, without the need to boot up, and without worrying about losing data when unplugging the power in an unsafe shutdown.
The Raspberry Pi 3 B is the best-selling Raspberry Pi model of all time, with a total of 13.2 million units sold.
Among the currently popular Raspberry Pi 4 B RAM versions, the 4 GB model has the highest sales, approximately twice that of the 8 GB and 2 GB models.
It is worth mentioning that although the Raspberry Pi Pico has only been on the market for a few weeks, it has already sold 250,000 units, with an additional 750,000 units pending sale. Due to factors such as the pandemic, 2020 was the year with the highest sales of Raspberry Pi products, with a total of 7.1 million different models sold.
Raspberry Pi can run more than 20 operating systems. Among them, the Raspberry Pi OS, customized based on Debian, is the official operating system for Raspberry Pi. However, it is not currently the most favored choice among Raspberry Pi users. For DIY enthusiasts, adapting Ubuntu and FreeBSD Linux versions, as well as unofficial Android and Chrome OS ports, are clearly more challenging. The open-source community has already implemented a large number of different operating systems for Raspberry Pi. Some of the most interesting ones include:
LibreELEC: A lightweight operating system running the Kodi open-source media software.
RISC OS: This unique operating system is designed specifically for ARM chips and claims to have faster performance than Linux.
Chromium OS: The implementation of Chromium OS on Raspberry Pi can turn it into a Chromebook.
Windows 10: Yes, some users have successfully installed Windows 10 on Raspberry Pi 4 after some effort, but due to hardware architecture compatibility issues, it runs very slowly, so caution is advised.
Lakka: This operating system is designed for retro gaming, pre-installed with a series of emulators that can turn Raspberry Pi into a vintage gaming console.
This is definitely an interesting fun fact. The International Space Station operates two “Astro Pis” devices, which are actually modified Raspberry Pi B+ models, specially adapted for the space environment and equipped with the official Raspberry Pi Sense HAT. The European Space Agency holds regular competitions where children can submit their code to run remotely on these two devices in space for some fun space experiments.
Although the Pis are relatively old Raspberry Pi models, the Astro Pi project team recently upgraded their memory, replacing the 32 GB SD cards with 256 GB microSD cards.
Despite the Raspberry Pi B+, Raspberry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi 3 B, and some other older models being released many years ago, the Raspberry Pi Foundation continues to actively manufacture and sell them. The Raspberry Pi official statement is that they will not EOL (end of life) products because of the low-cost nature of Raspberry Pi, which remains popular among many industrial customers who do not have high-performance requirements.
Raspberry Pi founder Upton stated in a 2019 media interview: “Discontinuation means the death of a product; we have only discontinued 5 products so far.” He said the only products that have been discontinued are Pi 1A and Pi 1B, as Pi 1A+ and B+ can better replace them.
Even after the price of Raspberry Pi 4 B (2GB) dropped to $35, there are still customers willing to buy the 1GB model at the same price, as some customers may still want it as a plug-and-play alternative.
The earliest Raspberry Pi products were priced at $35 in 2012, and the current mainstream model, Raspberry Pi 4 B (2GB), is still priced at $35. Considering inflation, $35 in 2012 is actually equivalent to $39.88 today. This means that 9 years later, users can get a better Raspberry Pi for the same price:
-
Processor is 40 times faster (1.5GHz quad-core vs 700 MHz single-core)
-
8 times the storage (256GB vs 2GB)
-
Supports WiFi
-
Dual monitor output vs single HDMI output
-
USB 2.0 upgraded to USB 3.0 ports
If $35 still seems a bit expensive, there are even cheaper Raspberry Pi models. For example, the Raspberry Pi Zero is priced at only $5, while the Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board is priced at only $4.
▲ Smart car made with Raspberry Pi
Yes, you can compete with other Raspberry Pi developers. “Pi Wars” is an annual robotics competition where participants must use Raspberry Pi devices to build all the equipment on their robots. The competition includes various challenges, such as navigating obstacle courses, popping balloons, and navigating mazes. There are both human-controlled and fully automated robot challenges. This year’s Pi Wars will be held in July 2021.
Reference link: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-9th-birthday
Can Rust really succeed? What IDE to use for developing Rust in 2021?
2021-03-14
Ubuntu shares its new desktop installer design, which is more streamlined and faster!
2021-03-14
Have you ever seen the “Mona Lisa” broadcasting news?
2021-03-13
If you like it, please give it a thumbs up!