Gadgetory

have you ever wanted to automate your home how about build a robot or maybe just create a media center for all of your content all of these projects start with this $35 micro computer known as a Raspberry Pi originally designed to teach students about computer science this single board computer has become one of the hottest items for tech hobbyists and is now powering a number of DIY projects the first thing you'll notice is the size the Raspberry Pi is slightly larger than a credit card it ships as is and doesn't include a case a power supply or even a hard drive the device is equipped with a single core 700 megahertz processor and has 512 megabytes of RAM it also includes an HDMI port an analog composite output for older TVs at 3.5 millimeter headphone jack 2 USB ports an SD card slot and an Ethernet port now a cheaper model is available for $25 that removes one of the USB ports the Ethernet port and cuts the RAM in half for $10 extra I highly recommend going with the $35 model B that's what we have here to minimize the risk of damaging the device with electrostatic discharge its best to touch a grounded piece of metal before handling the Raspberry Pi you should also avoid handling it while it's powered on different projects require different components but the basic requirements include a 4-day byte class 4 SD card or better for storage and a power supply capable of producing seven hundred milliamps at 5 volts in most cases a smartphone or tablet charger should get the job done but make sure to check the output on the charger first other items you'll need include a USB keyboard and a mouse and Ethernet cable or a USB wireless adapter a monitor an HDMI cable and if your computer doesn't have one you also need an SD card reader I also recommend using a USB hub in case you want to connect more components like a flash drive or an external hard drive but a word of caution the more items you have connected the device will need more power for more information about the Raspberry Pi and to learn how to install operating system on the device be sure to watch my next video and check out my article on how to cnet.com like always feel free to reach out to me on Twitter with questions or comments I'm Dan Rajan Pristina thanks for watching