Threshold

Today

I’m sitting here looking at my brand new Raspberry Pi Model B, all connected up and booted to the install menu. And I have been smacked in the face with a sudden realization: the way we use technology is about to change.

I showed the IT manager at work the Pi in action, and jokingly said, “So, you think we can replace all the desktops with these?” His response was more serious than I expected. He said, “No, but maybe the kiosks…”

We maintain a handful of kiosk computers at our manufacturing plant for our employees to use to check e-mail, confirm their timecards, check paystubs, and do a little light browsing. Currently, we have relegated older PCs that are too old for front-line service, but still too useful to send to the recycler. Replacing them completely with RPs is completely doable. It would reduce the amount of space taken by the kiosks, and could simplify a lot of the administration required.

And it shouldn’t really be surprising that the RP is flexible and powerful enough to do that. It’s hardware is about on par with a smartphone from just a few years ago. It has about as much CPU power – and far more memory and GPU capability – as a desktop system from 10 to 15 years ago.

And when running OSes that have been optimized for it, you can easily stream HD video, or use it as a nifty little web browser. And you can do it for less than $60.

The bottom line is that the RP is a very cheap little computer that can be used pretty much out-of-box as a media center device, Internet browser, or even a small server. People have used these devices for home automation, car computers, web servers, security, and embedded computing. You are limited only by your imagination.

Future

And if we stopped there, that would be enough. But this week at CES, Intel announced Edison, a dual-core SoC with wifi and Bluetooth built-in. And its the size of an SD card.

This is a device screaming for wearable and embedded applications. We’re entering a year that promises a number of smart watches, activity trackers, and other devices that change how we interact with technology. We will, within another 5 years have the personal area network that was first promised by Bluetooth a decade ago. We will each be the epicenter of our own compute clusters, with SoCs in our pockets managing data coming from sensors, sending notifications to our wrist or eyewear, exchanging data with other people we meet, and other devices we encounter. RP will train us to make them, and devices like Edison will be the start of our ability to build them, in a way that isn’t possible except through companies like Samsung, Apple, and Google.

Perhaps we can regain something we have lost, something we have ceded to Big Data and Big Mobile. Perhaps we can regain our foothold in engineering and science. Perhaps.