The makers of a $9 computer have already surpassed their goal of raising $50,000–pulling in nearly $800,000 with 25 days of fundraising to go.
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The $9 computer is known as C.H.I.P. a Raspberry Pi-based motherboard that can be connected to peripheral devices such as a keyboard and monitor, as well as the Internet via Wi-Fi, according to USA Today.
The device is produced by Oakland, Calif.-based Next Thing Co., and is about the size of a deck of cards and can also connect to devices via Bluetooth. And along with its 4 gigabytes of storage, it has a 1 gigahertz processor and 512 RAM, making it a fairly powerful device in a very small package.
What’s more, in a video on its Kickstarter site, the chip can actually be inserted into a small, tablet-looking device and utilized in yet another way. “C.H.I.P. is designed to work with any screen. Old or new. Big or small,†the site reads, which also notes that C.H.I.P. has a built-in composite output and that it can output in either video graphics array or high-definition multimedia interface display.
In fact, the site also demonstrates the board–hooked up to an array of screens and keyboards–executing a number of activities, from coding, to filling in a spreadsheet, to surfing the Web, to playing video games. It makes it quite tempting to not give up the computer for a tablet.
The multitude of uses seems to play into the message that “C.H.I.P. is a computer for students, teachers, grandparents, children, artists, makers, hackers, and inventors. Everyone really. C.H.I.P. is a great way to add a computer to your life and the perfect way to power your computer based projects,†according to the Kickstarter.
With so many niches served, it’s no wonder the Kickstarter campaign has already surpassed its goal on its quest to be a low-cost computer. And much like the One Laptop Per Child initiative, C.H.I.P. seems like another way to get devices into the hands of those who may have trouble affording them.