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The Raspberry Pi is a computer that can be used by anyone interested enough in picking it up. The single-board, Linux-based machine has sold more than five million units since launching in 2012, becoming a teaching tool for young programmers and a creative outlet for electronic hobbyists in the process.
One look at the kind of things it's been used to create — from a makeshift smartphone to an instrument made of beets — should signal just how much the credit-card-sized device is capable of. The problem with it, though, is that it's still a computer, and terms like "single-board, Linux-based machine" may sound like a foreign language to you.
If you'd like to change that, though, you can pick up a Raspberry Pi 2 Starter Kit from CanaKit, then check out the Raspberry Pi Hacker Bundle currently listed on StackSocial.
The former goes for $70 on Amazon, and includes the latest edition of the mini computer, along with a case, USB power supply, and a 8 GB MicroSD card with NOOBS — or, the "New Out Of the Box Software" suite that'll get you situated with an OS for your new machine — pre-installed, among other necessary tools.
Once you have the hardware, the $40 course bundle will help you understand what you can actually do with your pocket PC. The five classes include a general introduction to interacting and computing with the Pi, a beginner's course for Python — the relatively simple programming language at the heart of the device — and a handful of other engineering exercises. It all culminates in a guide to building a Pi-powered mini robot, which'll inevitably be used to mess with your pets.
Free lessons for what to do with your Pi are scattered across the web, but the bundle offers a more organized and well-paced way to get up to speed. (You may want to brush up on some intros to Linux, however, just to be fully comfortable.) Either way, if you'd like to have a little fun while learning to code, working with the Raspberry Pi is a proven way to do so.
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 2 Complete Starter Kit, $69.99, available at Amazon.
Raspberry Pi Hacker Bundle, $39, available at StackSocial.
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