Raspberry Pi

[Kulvir Bahra]

Anyone eager to get there hands on a Raspberry Pi the latest computer
at £16?

[Brian Watson]

"Kulvir Bahra" <kulvir...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:8458fd55-9286-44c6...@v24g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...

> Anyone eager to get there hands on a Raspberry Pi the latest computer
at £16?

Hi Kulvir (we spoke earlier).

It's going to be a real experimenter's machine and will need a lot more
money spending on it to get it up and running ANYTHING like a CPC/PCW.

The £16 gets you JUST a motherboard and the bare essential chips.

Users will need to add a keyboard or some other input device, a monitor
(although a tv can be used as one), and an operating system.

You asked me "how about the Amstrad's Locomotive BASIC?" but I understand
the plan is that it will be very Linux-friendly.

CP/M would be outclassed by Linux, before you ask, but it will encourage the
users to learn that language to make things happen.

Even the In/Out pins may require soldering in place, either vertically or
horizontally. For some reason (teaching basic soldering?) this is seen as a
Good Thing that adds versatility.

Hmm...

--
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."
www.imagebus.co.uk/shop

[Matthew Phillips]

In message <Leydnco1eJy222PT...@bt.com>

on 30 Dec 2011 Brian Watson wrote:

>
> "Kulvir Bahra" <kulvir...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:8458fd55-9286-44c6...@v24g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
>
> > Anyone eager to get there hands on a Raspberry Pi the latest computer
> > at £16?
>

> It's going to be a real experimenter's machine and will need a lot more
> money spending on it to get it up and running ANYTHING like a CPC/PCW.
>
> The £16 gets you JUST a motherboard and the bare essential chips.
>
> Users will need to add a keyboard or some other input device, a monitor
> (although a tv can be used as one), and an operating system.
>
> You asked me "how about the Amstrad's Locomotive BASIC?" but I understand
> the plan is that it will be very Linux-friendly.

It is hoped that RISC OS will also be available at the outset, or shortly
after. This is the operating system (still in development) which was
produced originally for the Acorn Archimedes, as a successor to the BBC B.
It comes with BBC BASIC, which may be of interest if you like BASIC.

--
Matthew Phillips
Durham

[Brian Watson]

"Matthew Phillips" <spam...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:eb8bef495...@sinenomine.freeserve.co.uk...
> In message <Leydnco1eJy222PT...@bt.com>

>> You asked me "how about the Amstrad's Locomotive BASIC?" but I understand
>> the plan is that it will be very Linux-friendly.
>
> It is hoped that RISC OS will also be available at the outset, or shortly
> after. This is the operating system (still in development) which was
> produced originally for the Acorn Archimedes, as a successor to the BBC B.
> It comes with BBC BASIC, which may be of interest if you like BASIC.

Excellent news, although other forums are quoting Linux as being the front
runner.

I suppose negotiations with are on-going.

Will the OS and BASIC be on board do you know, Matthew, or will there just
be a hardware call to an input device such as a disk drive?

I wonder if the Pi will get Richards Wildey and Fairhurst programming again.

Routeplanner 2012, anyone?

Watch out, Garmin and Tom-tom!

[Matthew Phillips]

In message <fsidnWai8qaY7GLT...@bt.com>

on 31 Dec 2011 Brian Watson wrote:

>
> "Matthew Phillips" <spam...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:eb8bef495...@sinenomine.freeserve.co.uk...
> > In message <Leydnco1eJy222PT...@bt.com>
>
> >> You asked me "how about the Amstrad's Locomotive BASIC?" but I understand
> >> the plan is that it will be very Linux-friendly.
> >
> > It is hoped that RISC OS will also be available at the outset, or shortly
> > after. This is the operating system (still in development) which was
> > produced originally for the Acorn Archimedes, as a successor to the BBC B.
> > It comes with BBC BASIC, which may be of interest if you like BASIC.
>
> Excellent news, although other forums are quoting Linux as being the front
> runner.

Well, they're not going to release it without a Linux distribution, that's
for sure. But if the licensing issues can be dealt with, and the USB support
and various other things can be written in time, then RISC OS may be there as
an option too.

> Will the OS and BASIC be on board do you know, Matthew, or will there just
> be a hardware call to an input device such as a disk drive?

The Raspberry Pi boots from an SD card. I'm not sure whether you would
switch SD cards to boot from another OS, or whether there would be a boot
menu allowing you to select the OS.

> I wonder if the Pi will get Richards Wildey and Fairhurst programming
> again.

Well Richard Fairhurst is certaibly still programming. He is "one of the
main developers for OpenStreetMap's map editing software, Potlatch 2". See

http://www.systemed.net/carto/

His interest in maps has certainly not gone away!

--
Matthew Phillips
Durham

[Brian Watson]

"Matthew Phillips" <spam...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message

news:fb22654a5...@sinenomine.freeserve.co.uk...

> In message <fsidnWai8qaY7GLT...@bt.com>
> on 31 Dec 2011 Brian Watson wrote:

> Well, they're not going to release it without a Linux distribution, that's
> for sure. But if the licensing issues can be dealt with, and the USB
> support
> and various other things can be written in time, then RISC OS may be there
> as
> an option too.

Ha, that might explain why Sophie hasn't replied to my Happy New Year text
yet <grin>.

>> Will the OS and BASIC be on board do you know, Matthew, or will there
>> just
>> be a hardware call to an input device such as a disk drive?
>
> The Raspberry Pi boots from an SD card. I'm not sure whether you would
> switch SD cards to boot from another OS, or whether there would be a boot
> menu allowing you to select the OS.

Well it's fired my interest and I never got any further in programming than
setting up complicated templates in Protext/Promerge

>> I wonder if the Pi will get Richards Wildey and Fairhurst programming
>> again.
>
> Well Richard Fairhurst is certaibly still programming. He is "one of the
> main developers for OpenStreetMap's map editing software, Potlatch 2".
> See
>
> http://www.systemed.net/carto/
>
> His interest in maps has certainly not gone away!

So many of the 8-bit programmers made good careers in IT.

[Matthew Phillips]

In message <k5idnfhGJ7CHvp3S...@bt.com>

on 1 Jan 2012 Brian Watson wrote:

> Ha, that might explain why Sophie hasn't replied to my Happy New Year text
> yet <grin>.

Well I meant to say in my previous message that you were probably in a better
position than me to get inside information on this!

> So many of the 8-bit programmers made good careers in IT.

Indeed, and I think that sums up a lot of the thinking behind the Raspberry
Pi.

--
Matthew Phillips
Durham

[Brian Watson]

"Matthew Phillips" <spam...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message

news:ab91c14a5...@sinenomine.freeserve.co.uk...

> In message <k5idnfhGJ7CHvp3S...@bt.com>
> on 1 Jan 2012 Brian Watson wrote:
>
>> Ha, that might explain why Sophie hasn't replied to my Happy New Year
>> text
>> yet <grin>.
>
> Well I meant to say in my previous message that you were probably in a
> better
> position than me to get inside information on this!

I need to speak to her anyway to book a meal, so I'll see if she can, or
wants to, talk about it.

[Patric]

On Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:00:52 +0100, Brian Watson <Br...@imagebus.co.uk>
wrote:

>
> "Matthew Phillips" <spam...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:ab91c14a5...@sinenomine.freeserve.co.uk...
>> In message <k5idnfhGJ7CHvp3S...@bt.com>
>> on 1 Jan 2012 Brian Watson wrote:
>>
>>> Ha, that might explain why Sophie hasn't replied to my Happy New Year
>>> text
>>> yet <grin>.
>>
>> Well I meant to say in my previous message that you were probably in a
>> better
>> position than me to get inside information on this!
>
> I need to speak to her anyway to book a meal, so I'll see if she can, or
> wants to, talk about it.
>

Not sure if Sophie is involved with the RISC OS port as such and I rather
doubt
it but she's certainly aware of what's going on at Broadcom and the
Raspberry Pi.
If any of you want to know more about RISC OS and the current porting have
a
look here:

https://www.riscosopen.org/forum/forums/5/topics/783

For (old) news on the project when it was first demoed:

http://www.riscository.com/2011/london-show-2011-report/#more-471


-- patric

[Brian Watson]

"Patric" <pat...@invalid.de> wrote in message
news:op.v7kec...@aristide.fritz.box...

Thanks for that, Patric.

No, I think she probably has bigger things on her mind at the moment and,
anyway, our meal will be a social thing.

Still, she might like to talk about it.

[David Cantrell]

On Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 11:16:03PM -0000, Brian Watson wrote:

> The £16 gets you JUST a motherboard and the bare essential chips.

Those "bare essentials" include everything you need for a minimal modern
computer. I'll be going for the slightly more expensive version with
ethernet built-in though.

> Users will need to add a keyboard or some other input device, a monitor
> (although a tv can be used as one), and an operating system.

We all have keyboards and monitors, and once it's set up and on the
network you don't need them.

> Even the In/Out pins may require soldering in place, either vertically or
> horizontally. For some reason (teaching basic soldering?) this is seen as a
> Good Thing that adds versatility.

Most people won't use them anyway, as USB and ethernet provide all the
I/O most people need. Including experimenters, who can use USB adapters
for serial, CANBUS, etc.

--
David Cantrell | Enforcer, South London Linguistic Massive

The test of the goodness of a thing is its fitness for use. If it
fails on this first test, no amount of ornamentation or finish will
make it any better, it will only make it more expensive and foolish.
-- Frank Pick, lecture to the Design and Industries Assoc, 1916

[Brian Watson]

"David Cantrell" <da...@cantrell.org.uk> wrote in message
news:20120109125...@bytemark.barnyard.co.uk...

> On Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 11:16:03PM -0000, Brian Watson wrote:
>
>> The £16 gets you JUST a motherboard and the bare essential chips.
>
> Those "bare essentials" include everything you need for a minimal modern
> computer. I'll be going for the slightly more expensive version with
> ethernet built-in though.
>
>> Users will need to add a keyboard or some other input device, a monitor
>> (although a tv can be used as one), and an operating system.
>
> We all have keyboards and monitors, and once it's set up and on the
> network you don't need them.

I'm not sure that all the target audience (the Console Crew and newcomers to
"proper"<g> computing) DO have uncommitted keyboards and monitors.

[Craig Harrison]

On 29/12/11 15:26, Kulvir Bahra wrote:
> Anyone eager to get there hands on a Raspberry Pi the latest computer
> at �16?

Well I got mine last week, primarily to run XBMC and stream HD Video
from my server box.

However as with these things the possibilities are (almost) endless.

On my wish list however....

I'd love to see a port of the CPC T-Rex & Symbos
An Arnold Port
An updated Locomotive basic for interpreter
Elite

On a non-CPC note, Frontier and Quake 3 projects are already coming
along nicely, as well as 2 different XBMC releases (OpenELEC and
RaspBMC) I am sure there will be many other ports and uses for these
wonder boards before long.

Just some thoughts :)

Craig

[Brian Watson]

"Craig Harrison" <cr...@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:e9NBr.51308$sD5....@fx03.am4...

> On 29/12/11 15:26, Kulvir Bahra wrote:
>> Anyone eager to get there hands on a Raspberry Pi the latest computer
>> at �16?
>
> Well I got mine last week, primarily to run XBMC and stream HD Video from
> my server box.
>
> However as with these things the possibilities are (almost) endless.
>
> On my wish list however....
>
> I'd love to see a port of the CPC T-Rex & Symbos
> An Arnold Port
> An updated Locomotive basic for interpreter
> Elite

Is it pretty easy to set up, Craig?

I know such judgements are subjective, but it was presented as an
entry-level hobbyists' computer.

[David Cantrell]

On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 08:55:53PM +0100, Craig Harrison wrote:

> On my wish list however....
>

> An Arnold Port

IIRC there's already a Linux port of Arnold.

--
David Cantrell | http://www.cantrell.org.uk/david

Erudite is when you make a classical allusion to a
feather. Kinky is when you use the whole chicken.

[Craig Harrison]

On 13/06/12 09:14, Brian Watson wrote:
<snip>

>
> Is it pretty easy to set up, Craig?
>
> I know such judgements are subjective, but it was presented as an
> entry-level hobbyists' computer.

Hi Brian,

yes really is easy, anyone who knows how DD works under linux (Or use
the windows tool) can write the SD image to an SD card, then plug in
HDMI, SD Card Power, ethernet cable and USB Keyboard/mouse.

And away you go.

XBMC boots in about 10 seconds
Debian in about 20

:)

It's a great little board.

Craig

[Craig Harrison]

On 13/06/12 13:05, David Cantrell wrote:
> On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 08:55:53PM +0100, Craig Harrison wrote:
>
>> On my wish list however....
>>
>> An Arnold Port
>
> IIRC there's already a Linux port of Arnold.
>

Yes there is, I was thinking more of a standalone one. You know turn on
and boots straight to Locomotive basic :) thus bypassing large parts of
the linux "bloat"

Craig

[Matthew Phillips]

In message <MN6Cr.70596$B64....@fx26.am4>

If you want to avoid bloat, RISC OS is almost ready as an alternative
operating sustem for the Pi. See

https://www.riscosopen.org/forum/forums/9/topics/997?page=1

There are quite a few things not working properly yet, including the screen
display, as the bottom 100 pixels or so are not visible. Keep an eye out, as
progress is quite rapid at the moment, so it may be fixed in a week or two.

Boots in six seconds at present. That will get a bit slower once booting to
the desktop is incorporated.

No Locomotive BASIC, but you get BBC BASIC. And you can probably still
change the settings to boot to BASIC rather than the GUI, but I've not done
that in years.

--
Matthew Phillips
Durham

[Brian Watson]

"Craig Harrison" <cr...@geemail.com> wrote in message

news:pL6Cr.70595$B64....@fx26.am4...

I understood the last line....

:-)

[David Cantrell]

On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 08:29:39AM +0100, Brian Watson wrote:
> "Craig Harrison" <cr...@geemail.com> wrote:
> > On 13/06/12 09:14, Brian Watson wrote:
> >> Is it pretty easy to set up, Craig?

> > yes really is easy, anyone who knows how DD works under linux (Or use the
> > windows tool) can write the SD image to an SD card, then plug in HDMI, SD
> > Card Power, ethernet cable and USB Keyboard/mouse.
> > And away you go.

> I understood the last line....

Allow me to translate:

"plug everything in to the right shaped holes"

and that's it. You don't need to know how dd works, if you're willing
to spend a coupla quid on an SD card with an OS pre-installed, which I
think both vendors are offering.

The RPi is apparently a bit fussy about SD cards, so even if you *do*
know how to drive dd, I'd recommend buying the OS on a card anyway, as
that way you'll have a known-good card.

--
header FROM_DAVID_CANTRELL From =~ /david.cantrell/i
describe FROM_DAVID_CANTRELL Message is from David Cantrell
score FROM_DAVID_CANTRELL 15.72 # This figure from experimentation

[Brian Watson]

"David Cantrell" <da...@cantrell.org.uk> wrote in message

news:20120621111...@bytemark.barnyard.co.uk...

> On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 08:29:39AM +0100, Brian Watson wrote:
>> "Craig Harrison" <cr...@geemail.com> wrote:
>> > On 13/06/12 09:14, Brian Watson wrote:
>> >> Is it pretty easy to set up, Craig?
>> > yes really is easy, anyone who knows how DD works under linux (Or use
>> > the
>> > windows tool) can write the SD image to an SD card, then plug in HDMI,
>> > SD
>> > Card Power, ethernet cable and USB Keyboard/mouse.
>> > And away you go.
>> I understood the last line....
>
> Allow me to translate:
>
> "plug everything in to the right shaped holes"

Brilliant! I understand it at once!! Thanks David.

>
> and that's it. You don't need to know how dd works, if you're willing
> to spend a coupla quid on an SD card with an OS pre-installed, which I
> think both vendors are offering.
>
> The RPi is apparently a bit fussy about SD cards, so even if you *do*
> know how to drive dd, I'd recommend buying the OS on a card anyway, as
> that way you'll have a known-good card.

Is there a list of OK and NOT-OK SD cards yet?

[Craig Harrison]

On 21/06/12 15:53, Brian Watson wrote:

>
> Is there a list of OK and NOT-OK SD cards yet?
>

Hi Brian,

I've not had a single problem with any of mine yet...

The one I currently have OpenELEC (xbmc) installed on is a PureMedia 4gb
class 4

I also have the Default Debian distro instaled on a SanDisk 16 gb Class
10 Ultra 30mb/s

Both work faultlessly

However a list is in the wiki

http://elinux.org/RPi_VerifiedPeripherals

Regards

Craig.

[Brian Watson]

"Craig Harrison" <cr...@geemail.com> wrote in message

news:brLFr.358042$jl.2...@fx19.am4...

Great. Thanks Craig.