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David Crookes cuts into the latest Raspberry Pi and licks his lips in anticipation. ~
In February 2015, the Raspberry Pi Foundation believed it had a record breaker on its hands. An impressive five million Raspberry Pis had been sold in total, which just edged it above the ZX Spectrum and led to early claims that it had become the biggest-selling British computer of all time. Then someone mentioned the Amstrad PCW range had sold eight million and was also very much British, and it caused a bit of backtracking.
Fast forward a year to 29th February 2016, though, and not only was the Raspberry Pi celebrating its fourth birthday, but it was also announcing that it, too, had sold eight million units. It was a staggering figure, which pointed to three million sales in just 12 months. "We're calling it," said foundation co-founder Eben Upton. "We're the best-selling UK computer ever."
Some companies would perhaps celebrate this amazing feat with a bottle of bubbly and a slice of cake, and perhaps that's what the Raspberry Pi Foundation team did (deservedly so). But they also went one further and gave everyone a present of sorts. They announced the Raspberry Pi 3 - a brand new version of the bare-bones computer that has shaken and rattled the industry, the hobby market and the approach to teaching ICT. We wouldn't be surprised if it has increased the total sales to 10 million before the year is out.
As if to underline just how important the Raspberry Pi has become, the announcement of the £30 computer was immediately seized on not just by the specialist press but mainstream newspapers and magazines too (the Mirror called it "world-changing", which, in some sense, has a grain of truth in it). This is the machine that has been sent to the International Space Station along with astronaut Tim Peake, and it's the mini-marvel that has opened up coding to a whole new generation. Small it may be, but its impact has been undeniably huge.
For those who are unaware, the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B is the latest release of the most pioneering range of bare-bone computers around today. It comes without any protective casing nor any leads, but it...