Arm Education in Conversation with Eben Upton

In this episode, we interview Eben Upton, founder and CEO of Raspberry Pi (Trading) Ltd. Eben shares with us the origin story of the Raspberry Pi and why he chose Arm as the architecture of choice for the project, the continuing importance of general-purpose computing, and offers some advice to aspiring engineers looking to enter the exciting world of technology.
This interview was first recorded in January 2023.
To find out more about the world of microprocessors and computer architecture on Arm, take a look at our freely accessible courses on edX:
Introduction to Microprocessors - www.edx.org/learn/computer-ar...
Computer Architecture Essentials on Arm - www.edx.org/learn/computer-ar...
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00:00:07 Introduction
00:00:14 What's the origin story of the Raspberry Pi?
00:00:42 What social problem were you trying to solve?
00:01:52 How did these elements come together in the release of the first Raspberry Pi in 2012?
00:04:24 In what way was the Raspberry Pi different from what came before it?
00:06:30 When and how did you realise you might have had a hit on your hands?
00:10:21 Raspberry Pi is now the third most popular general purpose computing platform in the world after the PC and Mac. Can you explain the difference between general purpose and application computing, and how you see the Raspberry Pi fitting in?
00:14:24 What are some of the most exciting use cases of the Raspberry Pi you’ve seen over the years, or ones that have surprised you the most?
00:17:19 Now that Raspberry Pi is a global phenomenon, there are two organisations - Raspberry Pi Trading and the Foundation. Can you please explain the mission of each?
00:19:27 The Raspberry Pi has gone through quite a few iterations. What are the technological forces driving these changes?
00:23:17 And what commercial considerations are driving the evolution of the Raspberry Pi?
00:26:43 How do you choose what new features are included in future iterations of the Raspberry Pi?
00:29:02 Is there ever an obviously best design, or are you always faced with competing options
00:33:48 What led you to choosing Arm-based processors for Raspberry Pi?
00:36:19 You’ve gone from a company that takes other people’s silicon, to a company that builds its own. What was the rationale for that?
00:39:58 Computer architecture is sometimes called a science of trade-offs. Do you have any examples of specific trade-offs that you’ve had to make when designing the RP2040 and how did you resolve them?
00:42:32 You’ve mentioned in past interviews that you’ve seen the Raspberry Pi used in some super-computing applications. How will this use case impact future designs of the Raspberry Pi?
00:44:33 What exciting developments can we expect from future iterations of the Raspberry Pi?
00:48:31 More than a decade on from the launch of the Raspberry Pi, what is the nature of the STEM skills gap today?
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