A single board computer is the simplest forms of computer in the world. It is very different from the personal computers that we use today that comes with a motherboard and a lot of expansion slots for the attachment of extensions. These extensions or daughter boards are designed to upgrade the standard features of a motherboard. If a typical single board PC has the simple makings of a microprocessor, a memory component, an on-board RAM, AV ports, flash storage, an ethernet port and an input / output feature, an ordinary personal computer would come with those features plus expansion slots for a high-end graphic video card, an audio card, a CPU fan, a heat sink, a hard disk and a LAN card to name a few.
Although a single board PC cannot deliver the needs of an average computer user today, it plays a very important role in a lot of applications and equipment that industrial and commercial entities rely heavily on. Without it, it would be virtually impossible for us to experience the ease of automation and mechanisation in our everyday functions.
Most single board computers today are sold as a circuit board without a casing. The simplicity in its design and construction allows it to be used with ease when integrating with other industrial components. Unlike wires and cables that are prone to damage and mechanical failure, the use of single board PCs in connecting one device to another allows it to be used without interruptions. When it comes to the automation and mechanisation of factory and building equipment, self-service kiosks, panel PCs, transportation and a variety of medical equipment, a single board PC forms a very integral aspect of its whole operation.
Aside from its wide and practical application in the above mentioned environments, a single board computer is present even in the technologies that we use day in and day out. This puts consumers at a great advantage since these technologies definitely make our everyday tasks at home or at work a lot easy to facilitate. The mobile phone that we use to send texts and make calls, the consoles that we use for high-end gaming down to the tablet computers, palm-size music players and digital cameras that we use, we are in fact holding a single board PC in mostly everything that we do.
Today, the most popular, cost-effective and smallest single board PC is the Raspberry Pi followed by The Beagles. The Raspberry Pi is an open source technology that is so small it takes the shape of an ordinary credit card. It was developed in the United Kingdom to teach programming and basic computer science to students. Since it comes with several input / output pins, it is popular among developers across the globe in coming up with physical computing projects and a variety of hardware interfacing for electronics. The Beagles, on the other hand, are a group of single board PCs that consists of 4 open source technologies namely the Beagle Board, the Beagle Board xM, the Beagle Bone and the new Beagle Bone Black. Compared with the Raspberry Pi, The Beagles rate higher in comparison in terms of the processor and RAM, the flash storage and the available OS support, that all in all makes it better possible technology for hardware hacking.
Since a single board PC comes in 2 configurations with slot support and without slot support the use of these kinds of computers becomes endless. Single board PCs with slot support are used primarily in gaming machines such as slot machines in casinos. Single board PCs with slot support are used for applications that require an additional input / output connection to add more functions to the single board computer.
Although a single board PC cannot deliver the needs of an average computer user today, it plays a very important role in a lot of applications and equipment that industrial and commercial entities rely heavily on. Without it, it would be virtually impossible for us to experience the ease of automation and mechanisation in our everyday functions.
Most single board computers today are sold as a circuit board without a casing. The simplicity in its design and construction allows it to be used with ease when integrating with other industrial components. Unlike wires and cables that are prone to damage and mechanical failure, the use of single board PCs in connecting one device to another allows it to be used without interruptions. When it comes to the automation and mechanisation of factory and building equipment, self-service kiosks, panel PCs, transportation and a variety of medical equipment, a single board PC forms a very integral aspect of its whole operation.
Aside from its wide and practical application in the above mentioned environments, a single board computer is present even in the technologies that we use day in and day out. This puts consumers at a great advantage since these technologies definitely make our everyday tasks at home or at work a lot easy to facilitate. The mobile phone that we use to send texts and make calls, the consoles that we use for high-end gaming down to the tablet computers, palm-size music players and digital cameras that we use, we are in fact holding a single board PC in mostly everything that we do.
Today, the most popular, cost-effective and smallest single board PC is the Raspberry Pi followed by The Beagles. The Raspberry Pi is an open source technology that is so small it takes the shape of an ordinary credit card. It was developed in the United Kingdom to teach programming and basic computer science to students. Since it comes with several input / output pins, it is popular among developers across the globe in coming up with physical computing projects and a variety of hardware interfacing for electronics. The Beagles, on the other hand, are a group of single board PCs that consists of 4 open source technologies namely the Beagle Board, the Beagle Board xM, the Beagle Bone and the new Beagle Bone Black. Compared with the Raspberry Pi, The Beagles rate higher in comparison in terms of the processor and RAM, the flash storage and the available OS support, that all in all makes it better possible technology for hardware hacking.
Since a single board PC comes in 2 configurations with slot support and without slot support the use of these kinds of computers becomes endless. Single board PCs with slot support are used primarily in gaming machines such as slot machines in casinos. Single board PCs with slot support are used for applications that require an additional input / output connection to add more functions to the single board computer.
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