When the original Raspberry Pi was announced in 2012 by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the low-cost computer became an instant hit among fanatics. This week, the foundation has announced the Raspberry Pi 2, a $35 mini computer which is meant for use in electronics projects, working on experiments, and teaching kids how to code. Microsoft has also announced that it will support the new Raspberry Pi 2 with Windows 10.
The new micro computer will have two major changes from the original, making it a lot more powerful and it includes twice as much RAM. According to Mike Powell, a technology development manager for Pi distributor Element14, he said
“It’s a major leap forward in terms of computing power for users, the Pi 2 will open up a lot of new opportunities because of its added computing power. “A whole wave of new applications are now possible”
The detailed specs on the Pi 2 include
- A quad-core, ARMv7 processor clocked at 900MHz
- 1GB of RAM
- Supports up to 4 USB connections,
- Primary storage is a Micro SD card
We don’t know which version of Windows 10 it will have, but Microsoft will give it out for free to the Maker community through its Windows Developer Program for IoT at some point during the year. This will make the Pi 2 the cheapest mini computer to run Windows 10 for just $35.
The price of this device has made it a perfect match for schools, for teachers to teach coding and computer skills. Some programmers in Africa are using the Pi to create basic electronics projects, too.
Source: The Windows Blog ,Raspberry Pi Foundation
