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Posts tagged as “raspberry pi”

Raspbian Ups Its Game

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.

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

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 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 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.

Building an Artificial Pancreas Using a Raspberry Pi

The Video Screening Room

DIY health care is here. Open source is providing the ways and means for amazing and affordable advances, like an artificial pancreas built using a Raspberry Pi, and letting people take charge of their health care in the process.

If you love open source, you’re going to love browsing thru the many OSCON 2016 videos being uploaded to YouTube. The one I found most fascinating is this short clip in which Dana Smith explains about an artificial pancreas built using a Raspberry Pi.

Phil Shapiro

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

Italian Military Goes LibreOffice, HBO Abuses DMCA & More…

FOSS Week in Review

Also, eight new distro releases, CoreOS raises another $28 million, Mint drops codecs and the women of open source.

The most reported FOSS story this week was the beginning of the court fight instigated by Oracle against Google over Android’s Java implementation. Most interesting as the proceedings get going are the once familiar names that are now back in the news.

So far, we’ve heard from Jonathan Schwartz, pretty much a good guy who you might remember replaced Scott McNealy as CEO at Sun Microsystems in April 2006 and was on hand to pass the keys of the kingdom on to Oracle in 2010 after the company was brought down by the so-called Great Recession.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

Slices of Raspberry Pi

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 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.

RMS Gets Award, OwnCloud Founder Resigns & More…

FOSS Week in Review

Also: Ubuntu gets ready for Yakkety Yak (don’t talk back), Tails has a new release with an updated TOR browser and Android apps are coming to a Chromebook near you.

Here in the Tar Heel State, MerleFest, featuring performances by John Prine and John Oates sans Daryl Hall, dominates the news. That’s mainly because there are no college hoops being played now that this year’s NCAA March Madness thing has been entered into the record books.

There’s not much talk about this year’s NCAA tourney around here anymore, as “we’re number two” just doesn’t have the proper ring to it. So we talk about other things instead, with how fast the grass is growing topping most people’s list and MerleFest a close second.

Me? I talk about FOSS, and there’s plenty to talk about this week…

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

Cayenne: IoT Made Easy for the Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi Report

If you want to add ‘Internet of Things’ functions to your home, you can now do so with relative ease using Raspberry Pi and Cayenne, an easy-to-use online service.

As the Internet of Things gets bigger and bigger, some of you may be wondering how you can get started with IoT without having to purchase an expensive setup. Companies such as Nest and Wink are great for automating your home, but who wants to spend a lot of money only to realize that home automation isn’t for you? This is where the Raspberry Pi can be a great tool for figuring out if the IoT world is right for you. But even if you own a Raspberry Pi and are tech-savvy, getting started in the IoT realm can be quite daunting, which is where Cayenne comes into the picture.

Cayenne dashboard
The Cayenne dashboard viewed on a PC and as a mobile app.
Click to enlarge
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.

Looking at the $15 PINE 64 Single Board

The Video Screening Room

These days you don’t have to spend much money to get impressive specs on a new computer, as long as you’re willing to do a little DIY work.

A German fellow with the YouTube username Rhymoore shows his PINE 64, the 64 bit single board computer that’s been taking preorders for $15 on Kickstarter, booting the Android based Remix OS on his 4K monitor. Glitches still exist, but those will likely get ironed out.

Phil Shapiro

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

Beware the Pis of March

The Raspberry Pi Report

It’s beyond amazing how many different projects people have created for the Raspberry Pi. Here’s a look at four which are particularly noteworthy.

Well ladies and gentlemen, it’s the end of March. Normally this last-of-the-month article would be a summary of the biggest stories that happened during the month of March concerning the Raspberry Pi. This month, though, I thought I would change it up and discuss some of the biggest projects that were talked about this past month. In no particular order, here is what the month of March had to offer in the way of amazing DIY Raspberry Pi projects.

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.

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