homehome Home chatchat Notifications


You can now get an 8GB 64-bit single-board microcomputer -- and it's only $75

The miniaturization of computers has sure come a long way.

Mihai Andrei
June 19, 2020 @ 6:42 pm

share Share

Raspberry Pi is a series of small single-board computers. It’s essentially a computer, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand — now equipped with 8GB RAM.

This small board is essentially a computer. Image credits: Raspberry Pi.

The Raspberry Pi is technically a computer, and it can definitely be used as such — all you have to do is plug in the peripherals and you’re good to go — but it’s more often used for other projects. It can be used as a simple and cheap server, a wifi extender, a home cinema, or for a myriad of other science and robotics projects. Raspberry Pi has become the go-to solution for people wanting to dabble in electronic projects of all sorts. Because it’s cheap and accessible, it has become an iconic symbol of the democratization of the field.

But the micro-computers themselves have advanced a lot in the past few years. The Pi 4 was released a year ago with options for 1GB, 2GB or 4GB RAM and the new version is nearly identical in structure — but it features 8 GB RAM.

“While we launched with 1GB, 2GB and 4GB variants, even at that point we had our eye on the possibility of an 8GB Raspberry Pi 4,” the Raspberry Pi blog reported last week. “We were so enthusiastic about the idea that the non-existent product made its way into both the Beginner’s Guide and the compliance leaflet.”

The Pi 4 sports a quad-core Cortex-A72 1.5GHz ARM chip, two HDMI outputs, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, and gigabit Ethernet. It also hosts a beta 64-bit operating system that users can use.

It’s an impressive and very powerful little board, and the fact that we can get it for the price of a night out is pretty impressive.

For most users, a simpler Pi can get the job done, but for those who need more, this is an impressively powerful little gizmo.

“If you’re a power user, intending to compile and link large pieces of software or run heavy server workloads, or you simply want to be able to have even more browser tabs open at once,” the Raspberry blog said, “this is definitely the Raspberry Pi for you.”

share Share

Climate Change Unleashed a Hidden Wave That Triggered a Planetary Tremor

The Earth was trembling every 90 seconds. Now, we know why.

Archaeologists May Have Found Odysseus’ Sanctuary on Ithaca

A new discovery ties myth to place, revealing centuries of cult worship and civic ritual.

The World’s Largest Sand Battery Just Went Online in Finland. It could change renewable energy

This sand battery system can store 1,000 megawatt-hours of heat for weeks at a time.

A Hidden Staircase in a French Church Just Led Archaeologists Into the Middle Ages

They pulled up a church floor and found a staircase that led to 1500 years of history.

The World’s Largest Camera Is About to Change Astronomy Forever

A new telescope camera promises a 10-year, 3.2-billion-pixel journey through the southern sky.

AI 'Reanimated' a Murder Victim Back to Life to Speak in Court (And Raises Ethical Quandaries)

AI avatars of dead people are teaching courses and testifying in court. Even with the best of intentions, the emerging practice of AI ‘reanimations’ is an ethical quagmire.

This Rare Viking Burial of a Woman and Her Dog Shows That Grief and Love Haven’t Changed in a Thousand Years

The power of loyalty, in this life and the next.

This EV Battery Charges in 18 Seconds and It’s Already Street Legal

RML’s VarEVolt battery is blazing a trail for ultra-fast EV charging and hypercar performance.

DARPA Just Beamed Power Over 5 Miles Using Lasers and Used It To Make Popcorn

A record-breaking laser beam could redefine how we send power to the world's hardest places.

Why Do Some Birds Sing More at Dawn? It's More About Social Behavior Than The Environment

Study suggests birdsong patterns are driven more by social needs than acoustics.