[quote="Kirk Fraser"]As Douglas6 wrote, the Pi is an embedable personal computer motherboard with input/output pins, which costs more than a low end laptop when you add SD card, monitor, keyboard, mouse, power supply, VGA converter, USB hub, and a Linux compatible wifi fob</quote>
Why would you need to buy a VGA converter unless you were using an existing VGA monitor?
HDMI monitors/TVs are getting more common and cheap, and an old monitor usually has at least a DVI-D input which only needs a cable costing a quid or two.
You can't factor in the costs of buying stuff you already own!
Also, WiFi? Totally optional. I don't use it. Wires are faster and easier to set up.
Although I'm glad you said "embedable" instead of "embedded". So many people get that wrong.
