Recently the Raspberry Pi Foundation celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the release of the first Raspberry Pi Single Board Computer. They have come so far in the past decade and should be proud of everything that they have done.
From humble beginnings, The Raspberry Pi Foundation began in 2008 and was created with an aim to increase the slowly waning applications of Computer Science degrees at Cambridge. The foundation took aim at a younger audience by creating an accessible, affordable, and robust single-board computer with which they could learn programming fundamentals.
In May of 2011, Dr Eben Upton of the Raspberry Pi foundation demoed a prototype of the Single Board Computer on a BBC News show with Rory Cellan-Jones. This news coverage proved to be a massive success and a shockingly successful boost that the foundation had been waiting for.
After the viral coverage in thanks to Rory, the Foundation was a whirlwind of activity, from establishing a social media presence, to revamping the design of the final product, almost from scratch. After twelve demanding months, the Raspberry Pi foundation had fulfilled almost one MILLION units, and by the end of that, they had locked down their first full-time employees. The next few months, massive changes continued as the foundation churned out the first version of rpi_update, the first issue of The MagPi, and started the first ever Raspberry Pi convention known as the CamJam (short for Cambridge Raspberry Jam).
In the 10 years since this foundation was created, they have built an empire of a company, a charitable foundation, and a shift in the way the world sees computer science, but more importantly, accessible computing power.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has launched five more generations since their humble 512MB Model A and Model B devices. Their latest model of raspberry pi is the 4B, released in 2019, that contains a whopping 8 gigabytes of RAM packed into a credit card sized powerhouse of a single board computer. To date, they have sold over 45 MILLION raspberry pi computers, and their profits have helped them become one of the most vital global players in STEM education. The foundation contributes to young people learning how to program and learn computer science around the world.
I am very excited to see where the next 10 years takes the Raspberry Pi foundation. I have been following them since I was in high school, and have been using Raspberry Pis since the earliest models. I am currently running three at home, running vital homelab services. I love them. It is so exciting to see something so helpful and beneficial to youth, blossom and provide so much to STEM and affordable computing around the world.
Below is a video from a creator I really enjoy seeing content from, who tinkers with Raspberry Pis more than most. Even to the point of creating a 5,000$ Raspberry Pi-powered Network Attached Storage device. Take a look.
Jeff Geerling – Top 10 Raspberry Pi Projects for 2022
Stay curious, my friends.
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