Raspberry Pi
I spent countless hours of my youth typing in programs and games from magazines in to my computer, which back then was the only way to get “free” software. Consequently, I find Code The Classics from Raspberry Pi appealing, so much so that I actually considering buying the printed version.
LinuxLinks.com currently has a series of blog posts about using the Raspberry Pi 4 as a desktop. Added to my RSS subscriptions.
I have completed the first week of using the Raspberry Pi 4 as a remote personal desktop computer during my work day. Call it an experiment of whether the Pi 4 can really serve as a desktop. The Pi4 is no where near as fast as my Pixelbook, but I find it good enough for the web browsing and reading that I have been doing.
Looks like I might be able to set up the Raspberry Pi Zero W to connect to a PC in a similar manner. as described in the iPad Pro/Raspberry Pi 4 articles below. I might have found myself a holiday project.
My computing muse, Jerry Pournelle, is credited for Pournelle’s law: “One user, one CPU” or “One user, at least one CPU.” The law is a statement about personal computers and the computers of the 60’s and 70’s that were time shared amongst multiple users.
Pournelle’s first law somewhat describes my interest in the Raspberry Pi. The Pi, along with most “Internet of Things” is a variation of Pournelle’s law to wit: “One application one CPU.”
While listening to the latest MobileViews Podcast I heard Jon Westfall describe using the Raspberry Pi 4 as an accessory to an iPad Pro. The key component of the solution is the USB-C ports on the iPad Pro and the Raspberry Pi 4 because they are used to power the Raspberry Pi and provide network communication between the iPad and the Raspberry Pi. I am surprised that the iPad’s USB-C power output meets the Pi 4’s higher power input requirements, however I learned that the latest firmware upgrade for the Pi 4 includes a low power option along with Ethernet over USB, which are key for this working.
I found a YouTube video that shows the configuration and a link to a web page that provides more details about the configuration.
I’ve been using a Raspberry Pi Zero W in a similar manner except that I power it using USB battery and access it via WiFi when the Pi Zero is configured as a wireless access point. The result provides me access to Linux terminal apps but does not provide simultaneous access to the Internet.
I like the idea of using the Raspberry Pi 4 as described, but in my case I would need to buy a new iPad Pro with the USB-C port. Capabilities such of this do make the idea of upgrading to the latest iPad Pros more compelling.
Previously I wrote that I have my Raspberry Pi4 in a Flirc case to provide passive cooling. Jeff Geerling has a great blog post that shows how the cooling provided by the case compares to other cooling methods.
A New Slice Of Raspberry Pi
I bought the Raspberry Pi4 this past week and I’ve installed it in a Flirc Raspberry Pi4 case. Beside the fact that the Flirc case looks really nice, the case provides passive cooling of the CPU. Reviews of the Pi4 when it first released indicated it ran hot enough under load to hit the 82’C threshold that causes the CPU speed to throttle down. The Raspberry Pi Foundation as released a firmware update that improves cooling and so far with the firmware and the Flirc case the top temp I’ve seen is 44’C.
The reason why the Raspberry Pi4 runs hotter is that it has a faster ARM Cortex-A72 CPU processor, as much as 4 GB of RAM, and a USB-C power supply. I am using daenerys (my name for this computer) to type this post and I am finding it surprisingly useful for web applications. Gmail, with its heavy use of Javascript is unbearable in older models, but is actually usable on the Pi4.
For a little under $100, the Pi4 is defintely worth being a child’s first computer. I think it can also be a very servicable Linux server, running Raspbian Buster Lite, a variant of Debian Buster, for home projects.
Right now I don’t any plans for daenerys but I’ll be keeping my eyes open for any opportunities. Daenerys is my fifth Raspberry Pi. The first model I bought was the Pi2, which I have connected to a seven inch screen and serves a desk clock that shows my schedule, CNN newsfeed, current weather, and four day weather forcase. I have a Pi3 running Tiddlyserver that I am using to for a family wiki, and another running Taiga, which is a project management app. I also have a Pi Zero W that use to host a portable copy of the family wiki.
Scripts that allow streaming audio between two Linux machines, for example, a laptop and a Raspberry Pi.
If you are at all in to computers and/or you like making things, then I strongly recommend that you get a Raspberry Pi. I have a couple of them running on my home network, one powers a custom desk clock and the other is the hub for backing up several of my web sites.