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Posts published by “Isaac Carter”

In addition to hosting a Raspberry Pi meetup in Washington D.C., Isaac Carter is a co-host on mintCast. He's also a software engineer who enjoys working with Java, JavaScript, and GNU/Linux. When he's not coding, you can find him reading on any number of subjects or on the golf course.

Four Alternatives to Raspbian and Ubuntu MATE

By Isaac Carter on July 20, 2016 |

Distros, Operating Systems and Reviews

Four Alternatives to Raspbian and Ubuntu MATEROCKOS Raspberry Pi screenshot

While Raspbian and Ubuntu MATE remain the go-to distros for many Raspberry Pi users, our Pi guy reminds us that there are others, and offers us a look at four alternatives.

The Raspberry Pi Report

It seems like every article one reads about the Raspberry Pi always makes a reference to Raspbian. If not, then the writer will probably write about how wonderful Ubuntu MATE is on the Raspberry Pi. Which begs the question: Are there any other OS options for the Raspberry Pi? While there’s nothing wrong with either distro, we should remember that the main appeal of using Linux is the freedom and amount of choice that is offered to the user. With that being said, here are four other distros that offer a great user experience on the Raspberry Pi.

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June Another Great Month for the Raspberry PiTim Peake ISS Astro Pi Raspberry Pi

June Another Great Month for the Raspberry Pi

By Isaac Carter on July 6, 2016 |

Community, Hardware and News

Among other things, our Pi guy looks at the newest addition to the MagPi Essentials collection, Dave Akerman and a Raspberry Pi breaking a lofty record, and Tim Peake returning from space while leaving his Astro Pis in orbit.

The Raspberry Pi Report

Quite a few things have happened in the Raspberry Pi world since I last wrote. While the entire list of amazing stories would be too long to include everything here, I’ll try my best to include the stories from June that show how far things have come for the Raspberry Pi since my last column at the end of May.

Isaac CarterIsaac Carter

In addition to hosting a Raspberry Pi meetup in Washington D.C., Isaac Carter is a co-host on mintCast. He’s also a software engineer who enjoys working with Java, JavaScript, and GNU/Linux. When he’s not coding, you can find him reading on any number of subjects or on the golf course.

Continue readingJune Another Great Month for the Raspberry Pi

Raspbian Ups Its Game

By Isaac Carter on June 8, 2016 |

Distros and Operating Systems

Our Pi guy takes a look at the latest and greatest release of the Debian based distro Raspbian and finds much to like.

The Raspberry Pi Report

Not to be outdone by other Raspberry Pi operating systems, an update was pushed for Raspbian in the middle of May. I don’t use Raspbian that much anymore since Ubuntu MATE appeared, in large part because I’m not too wild about its “incompleteness.” That has changed with the latest update. After using it for a couple of weeks, I’ve been extremely happy and have informed other Raspberry Pi users, who like me aren’t too wild about using Raspbian, that they should give the OS another chance.

Here’s a roundup of what the latest update has to offer.

Isaac CarterIsaac Carter

In addition to hosting a Raspberry Pi meetup in Washington D.C., Isaac Carter is a co-host on mintCast. He’s also a software engineer who enjoys working with Java, JavaScript, and GNU/Linux. When he’s not coding, you can find him reading on any number of subjects or on the golf course.

Continue readingRaspbian Ups Its Game
Community Is a Big Part of the Raspberry Pi’s StrengthRaspberry Pi logo

Community Is a Big Part of the Raspberry Pi’s Strength

By Isaac Carter on May 25, 2016 |

Community and Hardware

The Raspberry Pi Report

As with many Linux distros, perhaps the biggest strength of the Pi is the community that surrounds it.

One of the biggest questions I get asked is “why would I want to use a Raspberry Pi over Device X?” Almost always, the other device has a better processor, more USB ports or something else that should make the answer to choose Device X over the Pi.

Raspberry Pi logoRaspberry Pi logoI’m not going to argue that the Raspberry Pi should always be the device of choice for every situation. Sometimes it just doesn’t cut it and using it in a given situation will cause more work than necessary. Whenever I am asked the above question, I usually get the details of what the person is intending to do, and then talk about the pros and cons of the Raspberry Pi for that use. One of the things I always remind the person is that no matter how good Device X might be, you need to consider the community behind the device. In my opinion, a constantly growing supportive community is what the Pi offers over all other devices.

Isaac CarterIsaac Carter

In addition to hosting a Raspberry Pi meetup in Washington D.C., Isaac Carter is a co-host on mintCast. He’s also a software engineer who enjoys working with Java, JavaScript, and GNU/Linux. When he’s not coding, you can find him reading on any number of subjects or on the golf course.

Continue readingCommunity Is a Big Part of the Raspberry Pi’s Strength
Slices of Raspberry PiTimothy Peake

Slices of Raspberry Pi

By Isaac Carter on May 11, 2016 |

Hardware and News

The Raspberry Pi Report

Covered in this report: The Pi gets new cameras, another U.S. Picademy, monitoring health conditions with MedPi and the AstroPi in low Earth orbit.

Quite a lot has happened in the Raspberry Pi world since my last article. From new hardware to Picademy, the past couple of weeks have been great, filled with news story after great news story. The month of April ended on a high note, with the release of Ubuntu MATE 16.04 for the Pi, and the month of May looks to keep carrying that trend. I realize how hard it is to keep up with the all the Raspberry Pi news, so here are what I consider to be some of the high points.

Isaac CarterIsaac Carter

In addition to hosting a Raspberry Pi meetup in Washington D.C., Isaac Carter is a co-host on mintCast. He’s also a software engineer who enjoys working with Java, JavaScript, and GNU/Linux. When he’s not coding, you can find him reading on any number of subjects or on the golf course.

Continue readingSlices of Raspberry Pi
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