<commit_before>---
layout: post
title: Raspberry Pi - a short love letter
comments: True
excerpt: Another batch of projects, this time with a bit of an IoT theme...
---
For nearly seven years I've been working as an editor at [Imagine Publishing](http://www.imaginepublishing.co.uk) and in that time I've published thousands of articles, just shy of 100 magazines and dozens of 'bookazines' (not quite a book, but more substantial than a magazine). 

The process for putting a 100+ page magazine like [Linux User](http://www.imaginepublishing.co.uk/portfolio/magazines/LinuxUserAndDeveloper) together every four weeks is always challenging, but never boring. The Linux and open source world moves at a staggering pace and the ingenuity of its inhabitants is a constant source of inspiration for me.

![Raspberry Pi](/assets/RaspberryPi.jpg "My latest computer - the Raspberry Pi. (Jwrodgers. Cc Share Alike 3.0)")

At the the moment my favourite topic is the [Raspberry Pi](http://raspberrypi.org). Over the last couple of years this tiny credit card-sized Linux PC has made me feel 25 years younger and inspired me to follow my childhood ambition of programming games and gadgets.

I think part of the reason it's captured my imagination is that it's such a fond reminder of my younger years spending hours writing out code listings from magazines onto my trusty [Amstrad CPC 464](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_CPC).

![Amstrad CPC464](/assets/Amstrad_CPC464.jpg "My first computer - the Amstrad CPC464. (Bill Bertram. Cc-by-2.5)")

My parents bought it not long after it came out in 1984 and I remember the trip to buy it well. Having grown up with hand-me-downs and wooden toys made by my dad, the trip to John Menzies to collect the latest in computer technology was easily the most incredible thing my six-year-old self could have ever imagined.

The Raspberry Pi is designed to spark the same kind of passion from today's younger generation and at only £25, it's much more accessible, not to mention easier to use.

![Master Raspberry Pi](/assets/practical_raspberry_pi.jpg "Linux User issue 138")

In the [latest issue of Linux User](https://www.imagineshop.co.uk/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/2838/s/linux-user-and-developer-issue-138/) we put together half-a-dozen projects that take a beginner from writing a pong-clone in Scratch to an Internet Of Things creation designed to auto-magically take pictures of wildlife and post it to Twitter.

All the code for the projects is listed in the magazine and I hope that there are at least a few keen young readers copying and modifying it like I used to do all those years ago.

--------------<commit_msg>sanity checking<commit_after>---
layout: post
title: Raspberry Pi - a short love letter
comments: True
excerpt: Why this tiny credit card-sized PC has rekindled my love of code...
---
For nearly seven years I've been working as an editor at [Imagine Publishing](http://www.imaginepublishing.co.uk) and in that time I've published thousands of articles, just shy of 100 magazines and dozens of 'bookazines' (not quite a book, but more substantial than a magazine). 

The process for putting a 100+ page magazine like [Linux User](http://www.imaginepublishing.co.uk/portfolio/magazines/LinuxUserAndDeveloper) together every four weeks is always challenging, but never boring. The Linux and open source world moves at a staggering pace and the ingenuity of its inhabitants is a constant source of inspiration for me.

![Raspberry Pi](/assets/RaspberryPi.jpg "My latest computer - the Raspberry Pi. (Jwrodgers. Cc Share Alike 3.0)")

My current muse is the [Raspberry Pi](http://raspberrypi.org). Over the last couple of years this tiny credit card-sized Linux PC has made me feel 25 years younger and inspired me to follow my childhood ambition of programming games and gadgets.

I think part of the reason it's captured my imagination is that it's such a fond reminder of spending hours writing out code listings from magazines onto my trusty [Amstrad CPC 464](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_CPC).

![Amstrad CPC464](/assets/Amstrad_CPC464.jpg "My first computer - the Amstrad CPC464. (<NAME>. Cc-by-2.5)")

My parents bought it not long after it came out in 1984 and I remember the trip to buy it well. Having grown up with hand-me-downs and wooden toys made by my dad, the trip to <NAME> to collect the latest in computer technology was easily the most incredible thing my six-year-old self could have ever imagined.

The Raspberry Pi is designed to spark the same kind of passion for bare-metal computing in today's younger generation and at only £25, it's much more accessible and ea.

![Master Raspberry Pi](/assets/practical_raspberry_pi.jpg "Linux User issue 138")

In the [latest issue of Linux User](https://www.imagineshop.co.uk/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/2838/s/linux-user-and-developer-issue-138/) we put together half-a-dozen projects that take a beginner from writing a pong-clone in Scratch to an Internet Of Things creation designed to auto-magically take pictures of wildlife and post it to Twitter.

All the code for the projects is listed in the magazine and I hope that there are at least a few keen young readers copying and modifying it like I used to do all those years ago.

--------------
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