AFFORDABLE DESKTOP COMPUTING USING LOW END HARDWARE LIKE RASPBERRY PI AND CUBIEBAORD

Abstract The field of computer science over the past two decades has witnessed a huge leap in the areas of improved systems design, hardware processing power and the development of software that maximizes these advances in systems. This leap can attributed to continuous innovation that drives the field to new heights at an ever speedy pace. The pace at which the field is growing requires educators to be abreast with new and changing technology. It is the desire of educators to have access to physical laboratories and computing centers in which they can physically train students. The challenge faced by educators in executing this task is the high expense that comes with the construction of physical laboratories. This write up stems from a project that aims to tackle this challenge by providing low powered, low cost, portable computing systems for students, laboratories and computing centers using devices such as the Raspberry pi and Cubieboard. Although not a perfect system, it promises to be a desirable solution that can be adopted across a wide range of institutions.