Author Topic: Raspberry Pi (Read 11245 times)

JohnAnthonyMarie · « **on:** February 27, 2014, 11:31:49 PM »

This is !!!

from http://www.raspberrypi.org/

My starter kit from Amazon is in the mail!

MaterDominici · « **Reply #1 on:** February 27, 2014, 11:38:02 PM »

http://www.cathinfo.com/catholic.php/Posting-this-from-my-Raspberry-Pi

:cheers:

JohnAnthonyMarie · « **Reply #2 on:** February 28, 2014, 10:14:55 AM »

To be honest, the motivation was born out of laziness and frugality, in that for work I simply need a low cost way to automate sending an email every morning to check-in at the start of my shift. I plan to configure sSMTP and from cron execute a script at 0750 on workdays that sleeps for some random amount of time between 1 and 9 minutes before sending the check-in email.

As necessity is the mother of invention, this motivation appears to be the father.

PerEvangelicaDicta · « **Reply #3 on:** March 01, 2014, 01:51:29 AM »

Thanks for the link J- A-M. I did a little research and found this:

Raspberry Pi: How I spent almost $150 on a $35 computer
http://www.zdnet.com/raspberry-pi-how-i-spent-almost-150-on-a-35-computer-7000020574/

Could be helpful for some.

Matthew · « **Reply #4 on:** March 01, 2014, 03:41:34 AM »

My sister apparently read an article similar to that, and it stuck in her head for some reason.

I'd call it anti-Pi propaganda! lol

Here's a good response:

This article is a little unfair. The Raspberry IS a computer. The Pi is exactly what is advertised. The monitor is the only extra that can possibly be described as expensive. Power supply $5. Keyboard $5. Mouse $5. HDMI cable $2. Bluetooth dongle $2. WiFi dongle $15. Ethernet cable $2. Hardly breaking the bank. Many people will have these already. No idea how the author spent $200.

Many desktop PCs are happily sold as computers with the monitor, keyboard, mouse, wifi, network cable, monitor cable, bluetooth being sold separately. This is not only common practice but it makes sense. Most printers don't come with a USB cable these days.

Many other products require additional accessories. Bicycles for example. Helmets, lights, locks, spare tyres, clothes, shoes. All at an additional cost.

The Pi has NEVER been sold as a replacement for a desktop PC (or "real" computer according to the author).

As for the size, if it's a problem in relation to the other objects surrounding it then you can always strap it to a brick to give it a bit more bulk and weight. It's not the Pi's fault HDMI cables are the size they are. Is an HDMI cable not the same size when you connect it to a PC or Mac?

Tablets are great and can do plenty of things that the Pi can't. I've got both. Connecting a tablet to custom hardware and programming it is either not possible or a massive learning curve. Not very useful for kids. You won't teach anyone to program on an tablet. They'll need a desktop PC for a start to create any apps (that's your $200 gone). Ever tried running servos from a tablet? How about a media server? A motorised camera? What about a security system? Tablets are for consuming content and like falling asleep whenever your back is turned. Useless for hardware tinkering.