User Guide

5
1 – Getting Started
1.1 Introduction
The Raspberry Pi is a small computer, a very small computer.
It consists of mostly the same parts as a standard desktop
computer or laptop. A central processing unit (CPU) acts as a
brain, random access memory (RAM) and long-term storage
devices are used to hold data, a video display shows you what is
happening, and you interact with all of this using mice,
keyboards, joysticks, and other universal serial bus (USB)
devices. The Pi may be less powerful than your Windows PC or
Macintosh, but it is still impressive that it fits all of this on a board
only slightly larger than a credit card.
The original goal of the UK-based Raspberry Pi Foundation was
to create a device that would address their perception of falling
standards in the teaching of computer science. As computers
have evolved, they have become more difficult to write software
for at a “low-level” – with close interaction between hardware
and software. And as they have become more integrated in our
daily lives, the consequences of breaking your computer by
experimenting have become more severe…and expensive.
So, unlike conventional systems, the Pi is a machine that is
designed to be played with and used for experiments. Its
diminutive form factor and relatively low cost mean that you can
do what you want with it, and this attracts far more diverse
groups of users than just students and teachers.
It is suitable for a wide range of applications, including:
Using the Pi for General Computing
You can install a variety of operating systems on the Pi, and many
of these have full desktop environments. With support for
external hardware devices, Internet connections, and
downloading and installing software, you can use the Raspberry