$25 Pocket PC Could Run Windows XP
Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 11:07 pmA British organization has produced what appears to be the cheapest fully-functional computer ever made. The device, made by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, is the size of a USB stick and costs just $25.
The computer, which runs the open source Linux system, has a particularly creative design. In effect it's a silicon chip attached to three sockets: an HDMI socket to connect to a monitor or TV screen, a USB slot to plug in a keyboard, and a memory card slot for storage.
While it's small enough to carry anywhere, it carries out the same functions as a full-fledged desktop PC.
$25 Pocket PC Equivalent to an XP-Era PC
The device has a 700 MHz processor and 128MB of RAM.
By modern PC standards, that's not very impressive: it's equivalent to a very basic smartphone. But for basic computing, it can do the job. By way of comparison, it's roughly equivalent to a desktop computer from the early 2000s, and would theoretically be capable of running Windows XP. (Source: ibtimes.com)
The device has the capability to process a WiFi signal and includes a web browser. It could therefore easily cope with cloud computing such as Google's online document editing systems.
Multiple Peripherals a Practical Possibility
Although there is only one USB slot, it does run the faster USB 2.0 standard.
More importantly, this can cope with a connection to an externally-powered USB hub that connects to multiple devices. That would allow connection to both a keyboard and a mouse at the same time, and theoretically a hard drive, too.
It has been noted the HDMI video connection may be a drawback in developing markets, but it appears the designers found an analog video connection was simply too bulky for such a device.
Pocket PC Ideal For Younger Generation
The main aim of the project isn't simply to make a cheap PC for the sake of it, but rather to make a device that could be given to youths so that they can learn how to program computers rather than merely how to use them.
The theory is that the $25 price tag is cheap enough that it would be feasible to use a sponsorship deal to give the pocket computer away almost free of charge. (Source: techtree.com)
The computer, which runs the open source Linux system, has a particularly creative design. In effect it's a silicon chip attached to three sockets: an HDMI socket to connect to a monitor or TV screen, a USB slot to plug in a keyboard, and a memory card slot for storage.
While it's small enough to carry anywhere, it carries out the same functions as a full-fledged desktop PC.
$25 Pocket PC Equivalent to an XP-Era PC
The device has a 700 MHz processor and 128MB of RAM.
By modern PC standards, that's not very impressive: it's equivalent to a very basic smartphone. But for basic computing, it can do the job. By way of comparison, it's roughly equivalent to a desktop computer from the early 2000s, and would theoretically be capable of running Windows XP. (Source: ibtimes.com)
The device has the capability to process a WiFi signal and includes a web browser. It could therefore easily cope with cloud computing such as Google's online document editing systems.
Multiple Peripherals a Practical Possibility
Although there is only one USB slot, it does run the faster USB 2.0 standard.
More importantly, this can cope with a connection to an externally-powered USB hub that connects to multiple devices. That would allow connection to both a keyboard and a mouse at the same time, and theoretically a hard drive, too.
It has been noted the HDMI video connection may be a drawback in developing markets, but it appears the designers found an analog video connection was simply too bulky for such a device.
Pocket PC Ideal For Younger Generation
The main aim of the project isn't simply to make a cheap PC for the sake of it, but rather to make a device that could be given to youths so that they can learn how to program computers rather than merely how to use them.
The theory is that the $25 price tag is cheap enough that it would be feasible to use a sponsorship deal to give the pocket computer away almost free of charge. (Source: techtree.com)
