2018 began this week. It’s hard to believe. When I started my career and family I remember clearly that 2017 was an eternity away – that was the year I would turn 65 years old and retire. It all seemed so far away. Nevertheless, 2017 became a marker for the end of time.
Now 2017 is yesterday. I blew through it into 2018 and there is no sign of stopping. I took a couple of days off this week on top of the holiday and weekend, so I was at home for 5 days in a row. By Thursday I was ready to go back to work. I don’t seem to be wired for retirement. So I guess 66 is too young to retire. I’ll turn 66 next month. Maybe 75 is a better age to retire at? 2027. Yeah, I like that.
In any event, I bought myself a little toy to celebrate the New Year. It’s called a Raspberry Pi. And no, it’s not something you eat. As some of you know, the Raspberry Pi is a computer. But not just any computer. It’s a $35 computer the size of a deck of cards. The Pi 3 b comes with wifi and bluetooth built in.
All you have to do to bring it to life is to connect it to a monitor or TV using an HDMI cable, and connect a keyboard to it. I used a $19 Logitech wireless keyboard that had a touchpad and navigation keys built into it. It uses a USB dongle to connect to the Pi. I used WiFi to connect to the internet so there were no other cables needed, except to plug in the AC adapter that came with it.
So, what can it do? Just about anything any other computer can do. But, this one was created specifically for school children to learn computer programming. So it has it’s own operating system that uses Raspian, a special version of Debian Linux.
It comes with a 32 GB memory chip that has the operating system on it along with a number of software programming packages. All of which are open source software (i.e., free). The system also comes with Libre Office which has everything Microsoft Office has, only it too is free.
The Pi is well suited for using a computer to sense the outside world and control hardware in the outside world. It has programming software that can be used with an outboard breadboard that plugs into the Pi to which a myriad of sensors, relays, lights, and buttons can be connected. It is a good device for learning about gadgets that are in the realm of the Internet of Things (IoT). I look forward to playing with some of that in the future.
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The Pi also has software to learn about programming Python, Java, and other popular computer software along with some more elementary software to show the user how computer programming works.
The Raspberry Pi 3 kit I bought is from Vilros. It came with the pre-loaded memory chip, a nice HDMI cable, the AC adapter, and a manual. Amazon lists dozens of variations of the Raspberry Pi and its accessories. The Pi was created in England. So far they’ve sold more than 15 million units. They are popular in the classroom.
A fun program that came with the Pi that I played with today is called Sonic Pi. It is an audio synthesizer. Actually it is more than that. It was written by a University Professor in the Computer Laboratory at Cambridge, Sam Aaron. It is utterly incredible. You can type in a few lines and create music. You can call up a guitar, a piano, drums, a choir of sorts, bells, whistles, and all sorts of electronic sounds. It is completely entertaining to search for You Tube videos online of music videos and performances that have been done with the Raspberry Pi and Sonic Pi.
I’m not musically talented, although I enjoy a variety of music from calm classical hymns to 60’s Rock. I also love to play with software. So I was captivated by trying different settings to see what I could make it do.
Oh, the Raspberry Pi is also easily transformed into a front room entertainment system, connecting to a smart TV to take advantage of a complete entertainment software package that can be downloaded, for free.
If you have children who are, or might be, curious about computers and software programming, the Pi has special software written just for kids that they can use to create animations, and use to turn outboard lights, alarms, and read outboard sensors with a ton of online projects and courses (free).
I guess the only thing I’m not crazy about with the Raspberry Pi is that it is Raspberry. I don’t like Raspberries so much. I prefer Cherries. Maybe someone will create a Cherry Pi? But until then I’ll be learning Java, Python, Linux, and more when I’m not entertaining myself typing in musical chords and trying to create some fascinating music or sounds. Too much fun….