# What embedded computers are

Computers are constantly getting faster, cheaper, and more reliable. The reason behind this is because of Moore's Law.

[Moore's Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law) was from [Gordon Moore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Moore) noticing a predictable trend: the number of transistors that can fit into an integrated circuit doubles about every 2 years.

The implications of this have been huge. It means that for the same relative price, every part of a computer can be:

- Twice as fast as it was 2 years ago
- 4 times as fast as 4 years ago
- 8 times as fast as 6 years ago
- 32 times as fast as 10 years ago

This has meant, without exaggeration, that the average computer of 2000 is about 1,024 times faster than a computer made in 1980. The nature of it means computers get cheaper and faster.

This has slowed significantly. Once [processors](cs-cpu.md) started getting small enough, the electrons started interfering with each other. Due to heat management issues, processors can't run at an economical speed much faster than 4.8 MHz.

However, the "[latest and greatest](people-trends.md)" is still a *very* fleeting [social trend](people-trends.md) with the continued miniaturization and improvements in quality.

At this point, the only reason anyone really *needs* a new computer is for one of the following:

1. The user's [purpose](purpose.md) has expanded that they need a particularly powerful one to do something (most often for [playing games](cs-software-gamedev.md) or professional media creation).
2. They need to add a peripheral and the computer is so old that it can no longer support a modern [standard](cs-standards.md), even with a converter/adapter.
3. The user has money to burn on ego or [image](people-image-why.md) and want something faster or shinier than what they currently have.

## Cheap computers

Computers provide [*many* career options](jobs-2_goals-cs.md), and [some organizations](cs-embedded-manufacturers.md) decided to do something different with them. Instead of selling top-dollar computers, they shaved down as many features as possible to create the cheapest possible computer.

An embedded system is a controller with a dedicated function within a larger system. Even though they originally designed these low-spec computers for [teaching](education.md) and [experimentation](mind-creativity-hacking.md) purposes, they created a *very* affordable general-purpose computer for anyone to use.

Due to the price point and accessibility for tinkering, there are [many potential uses](cs-embedded-ideas.md) for these embedded computers.

However, in a tight market, be careful what you're paying for when buying them used.

- Pay close attention to the circuit board.
  - Not all generations of the system are the same, and many people will sell similar-looking products that are cheaper.
- Look at the actual market value before buying.
- If you can, run it before you buy it, since they can fail in many different ways.

## The embedded computer's design

Both the Pi and Arduino have GPIO ("general-purpose input-output") pins, which creates a modular way to connect peripherals.

## Linux likely required

No matter what you're poking around with, you *must* be willing to explore [Linux](cs-os-unix.md).

Firstly, the cost of a [Windows](cs-os-windows.md) license for that device is about as much as a low-tier Windows device.

Second, Windows requires so much processing power and memory [compared to most Linux distros](cs-os-winunix.md) that the computer would run very slowly, if it runs at all.