[Hoot Gibson]

I just ordered a Raspberry Pi and peripherals to build a small media center. The RPi is a small (almost credit card sized) Linux computer that sells for $25 to $35. I bought the $35 model, which includes two USB ports, HDMI port, composite video, Ethernet port, and an audio jack. It runs several small distros of Linux and boots from an SD card.

Although the RPi circuit board is cheap, adding bells and whistles like Bluetooth, wi-fi, a powered USB hub, and a wireless keyboard with a trackpad added another $100 or so to the cost. But, for under $150, I will have a computer that is about the size of a deck of cards that can be mounted to a 1080p TV or monitor that can stream video from the web or from any device on my home network. I may add a USB TV tuner and a large USB hard drive, which would allow me to turn it into a DVR.

These computers were designed to allow poor schools to give students cheap computers on which they can learn programming skills in languages like Python and Java but they are becoming popular among hobbyists because of their small size and low cost.

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