I had heard a lot about the Raspberry Pi and found myself looking at a package deal for it at Barnes & Noble.  It was a little pricey compared to the street price for just the unit, but it did come with a few extras so perhaps the inflated price is still a deal.  I’m curious to learn about the community and eco-system that has sprung up for this simple and cheap ARM board.

Since I now have two embedded targets to play with, it is past time to get the necessary peripherals so now I have an HDMI monitor and USB keyboard and mouse.  Surprising me not at all, the Raspberry Pi comes up with the Raspbian distribution looking like a simplified Linux GUI.  The starter kit comes with a book to help the novice with step-by-step directions and I am following right along.  This is my test-drive period on the city streets before taking it 4×4 off-roading.