Base version memory doubled, launch announcement crashes servers
The +Raspberry Pi, the $25 computer that seems to be taking the computer enthusiast world by storm, was formally launched at 6AM GMT this morning. The Foundation has announced that they will be entrusting the manufacture of the computers to two British companies, Premier Farnell and RS Components.
The first run will consist of 10.000 model B´s to get them into the hands of hobbyists and teachers who can prepare projects and educational material. Next runs will include the cheaper model A as well to make sure young kids in the UK can afford one.
The two parts manufacturers shall be building and distributing identical versions of the Raspberry Pi at the originally quoted prices ($25 for Model A and $35 for the better specced Model B), while still allowing for a small profit to be given to The Foundation to be put back into the charity.
The Foundation also announced that they will be doubling the RAM available for Model A, taking it up to 256MB, while leaving the price intact.
Following an announcement for people to log in to their site at 6AM GMT, the Raspberry Pi servers could not cope with the demand. Thankfully the foundation had a static mini-site prepared and are serving that one until demand subsides. Sadly both distributors were not prepared for the demand, and at time of writing both sites were giving connection errors.
It seems like no one really estimated what the interest in the device would have been like – as #raspberrypi was one of the top trending phrases worldwide on Twitter around the time of launch. Both on Twitter and here on Google+ the interest was initially great, but people soon started posting angry comments at the way the launch was handled.
Will you be trying to order one?
Further reading : http://www.raspberrypi.org
