> The use case of the Pi is a computer that can be given to small
> children to be theirs,
I completely agree with this part...
> to be a counterpart to the BBC Micro of thirty years ago.
But I don't really agree with this part. The BBC Micro was much more expensive in real terms when it launched, and never got down to an equivalent price during its lifespan. Only when it became a hand-me-down, replaced by something more powerful, did it have become the property of a kid. (I saw this happen with several friends.)
The Pi is something new --- its the first computer truly designed to be owned by almost all kids, from new. It's so cheap, and uses equipment most people have already (especially the TV), that only the very poorest can't afford one, and it's cheap enough that destroying one whilst tinkering isn't a disaster.
Speaking of "hand-me-down", the pi kind of kills the used/junker PC marketplace for little experimental projects, when you can work on your project instead of debugging old/worn out hardware for only $40 or so. Also it uses about 1/10th the power of a repurposed desktop, so why not.
For an experiment, I could pick up a free, dusty, worn out desktop that draws 100 watts and stick a new small/tiny hard drive in it for about $50 and have a giant paperweight that needs hardware troubleshooting, or spend the same cash on something tiny that draws about as much power as a clock radio and is new so presumably more reliable.
Its hard to justify picking up junker "free" PCs in the era of the pi.
Well yes, we've had 30 years of cost reduction, but "play the same social role as the BBC Micro in computer education in the UK" was the goal of the Foundation.
The Pi is something new --- its the first computer truly designed to be owned by almost all kids, from new. It's so cheap, and uses equipment most people have already (especially the TV), that only the very poorest can't afford one, and it's cheap enough that destroying one whilst tinkering isn't a disaster.