Raspberry Pi, worth it or not?

[r63]

For anyone who doesn't know the Raspberry Pi is a pocket size computer, retailing for around £30. I was considering getting one but I am slightly doubtful, what do you guys think, is it worth it or is it pointless?

 

[Robert]

It depends on what you'd use it for tbh. It's very basic, but can be awesome if you know some program languages. I have mine hooked up to the down stairs TV and use it for web browsing and watching stuff from network drive. Granted I could probably do something similar with one of the Android smart TV dongles, but I'd like to do more with it at some point in the future.

If you are just wanting something to make your TV into a smart TV, then it'd probably be cheaper to get one of the dongles from China. Plus you'd get all your Google Apps through it too, which could be useful in of itself.

 

[r63]

To be honest I'm not sure what I would use it for, my main reason is to push it to its limits, maybe try it out as a web server, compile and run apps, anything really. I have messed around with a teachers one at school and I love how it works

 

[Robert]

Hmm, a web server is an interesting idea considering how low power it is, I'd just be slightly concerned about how much bandwidth it would use I guess.

If you think you would use it, get one! It's a cool bit of tech, and it sounds like you are still in school so it will give you a fantastic basis in computing.

 

[Rishwin]

Is it worth it? Absolutely. In fact the Raspberry Pi is worth double it's asking price, if not more.

The question isn't if it's worth the asking price, the question is whether or not you have a viable usage for it. It's a tiny barebones PC. You can turn it into a file server, web server, a firewall, or just stick it in a cereal box & turn it into an uber cheap PC.