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The Raspberry Pi is a computer marginally bigger than a credit card and has amassed a large following, with over 300,000 people scattered across the globe waiting for delivery.
It is an exposed piece of circuitry, housing a 700MHz ARM 11 chip with 256MB of RAM and a SD memory card slot which acts as its hard drive. But instead of mainstream Windows and OS X, its makers recommend the open source Linux operating system.
Despite its chic proportions, the undressed computer manages to house an auxiliary (3.5mm) port, two USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI out port, RCA video, SD slot, an Ethernet port and a micro USB power port.
The small computer was developed by Eben Upton, the Technical Director of Broadcom whose previous employment includes stints from IBM and Intel. He wanted to create a device that would inspire kids to program software and experiment with computing hardware. The Raspberry Pi then is a jigsaw puzzle for aspiring computer programmers.