As I wrote before, this thread is for techies only.
This is For those who are interested in creating their own embedded computer project...
Why?
Why?
Because lots of DIY projects can benefit from a computer, but a full-sized one is not necessary and too expensive or bulky for the job. A small, cheap, programmable computer enables people to make lots of projects that would be infeasible otherwise.
Answer: Why not?
The question was obviously posed by a non-engineer...:^)
Why not?
“Why?”
35 years ago I used a home computer that cost $100 in kit form. 1KB RAM. Audio cassette data storage. Home TV for a screen.
Now for $5 you can get a Raspberry Pi Zero, operating capabilities in the vicinity of the Cray 2 & iPad 2, using your home TV for a screen (and whatever stray keyboard & mouse & SD card you can find lying around unused).
100x faster.
2700x more pixels.
1,000,000x more memory.
1/20th the price.
That’s cool.
I have a need for it. Currently, I have two 3D printers. I have to connect my Mac in order to not only create what I want to print, but to control the 3D printer. I can connect a SD card to the 3D printer to print from a stored object already created, but I find that problematic if anything goes wrong. The Raspberry Pi would allow me to cheaply dedicate a computer to each printer for all print tasks. If you use 3D printers, you would know they take hours to complete a print job. This would free up my regular computers for other use.