Clemens Valens, Editor-in-Chief of Elektor Online and head of Elektor Labs, caught up with Peter Lomas, hardware designer for the Raspberry Pi single-board computer, earlier this year at the Embedded World 2013 trade show in Nuremberg, Germany. This is a longer version of an interview with Lomas published in Elektor’s May 2013 issue.
The Lomas interview provided a one-year update on the rapid growth of interest in the Raspberry Pi since Elektor’s April 2012 interview with Eben Upton, one of the founders and trustees of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The UK-based charitable foundation developed the inexpensive, credit card-sized computer to encourage the study of basic computer science in schools. In early 2012, the Raspberry Pi’s first production batches were arriving. Since then, more than 1 million boards have been sold.
CLEMENS: Raspberry Pi, the phenomena. It is quite amazing what happened.
PETER: It is, and lots of people keep asking me, why has Raspberry Pi done what it has done, what makes it different? I think it’s something we’ve really been trying to grasp. The first thing that happened with Raspberry Pi, which I think is important, is that we had one of our very first prototypes on a UK blog for one of the BBC correspondents, Rory Cellan-Jones, and they made a little video, a YouTube video, and that got 600,000 hits. So I guess that if you look at it from one aspect, that created a viral marketing, a very viral marketing campaign for Raspberry Pi. The other I think, the name, Raspberry Pi was key. And the logo that Paul Beach did for us is absolutely key because it has become iconic.
CLEMENS: Yes, it’s very recognizable.
PETER: Very recognizable. If I show you that, you know exactly what it is, in the electronics circle. So I think the brand has been very important. But you know, we shouldn’t forget the amount of work that Liz Upton’s been doing with the blogs and on our website, keeping people informed about what we’re doing. Then, I think we’ve got the fact we are a charity… that we are focused on the education of computing and electronics and that’s our motive—not actually to make boards and to make money except to fund the foundation.
For more detail: Q&A- Peter Lomas – Raspberry Pi- One Year
About The Author
Ibrar Ayyub
I am an experienced technical writer holding a Master's degree in computer science from BZU Multan, Pakistan University. With a background spanning various industries, particularly in home automation and engineering, I have honed my skills in crafting clear and concise content. Proficient in leveraging infographics and diagrams, I strive to simplify complex concepts for readers. My strength lies in thorough research and presenting information in a structured and logical format.
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