Blog Post Actions
Group Actions
Engagement
  • Author Author: deepankarmaithani
  • Date Created: Date Created
  • Views 538 views
  • Likes 4 likes
  • Comments 16 comments
Related
Recommended

Raspberry Pi 2: My Experience

deepankarmaithani

I received a Raspberry Pi2 from element14 and in this post i will share about my experience. Pi is really evolving and getting better with the time. Here are my experiences and observations.

1.BOOT TIME

The first difference you will find when you will make the Pi2 boot is there are 4 raspberries on the top of screen instead of 1 raspberry on B+ representing the quardcore nature of the processor. The time taken by Pi 2 to boot is significantly lesser than the B+.


2. NOOBS

If you have an older version of NOOBS you need to update it to run it on Pi2 since the ARM  architecture is different on the two boards.The new version of NOOBS is compatible with the B+ model and the Pi2. However the new Noobs have very few operating systems to select from. Future releases will definitely and should definitely have more options.

However i had a *** observation i ran the new noobs on B+ and on Pi2 using the same SD card. When i run it on Pi2 and boot into the desktop i get the following message on screen.

GDBus.Error.org.feedesktop.Policykit1.Error.Failed: Cannot determine user of subject. Apart from this the operating system works fine.

 

3. RESOLUTION

since there is no bios on the Pi there is pain in getting the resolution right.The GPU reads the config.txt file everytime it boots up. I connected my Pi on a LG LED TV.And when i swap the Pi2 and B+ keeping the same SD card resolutions get disturbed. Had to fix it time and again if you also have such problem it can be fixed by firing Sudo nano/boot/config.txt. in the LX terminal . Paste the config.txt in your SD card if it is not there ,the file can be found on the raspberry pi official website. You will need to change a few values.

 

4. GAMES AND APPLICATIONS

I ran minecraft and the game play is much smoother on the Pi 2. Also the game loads faster. Similarly mathematica loads much earlier on Pi2. I also found the webpages load much better on PI2


5. VIDEOS

Ran the sample video by using omxplayer /opt/vc/scr/hello_pi/hello_video/test.h264. The video runs great on both. Also ran a movie "book_of _life". To put the movie on pi i first put the file on the pendrive connected it to pi ,from the pendrive i copied it to the desktop.Changed the directory  using cd/home/pi/Desktop. Then used omxplayer -o local book_of _life.mp3  to play it and have the audio through the 3.5 mm jack.I couldn't see any difference in the video playback on both the pi.

 

 

I have also done a video about the Pi ecosystem and comparison of the two Pi boards i used. I have made the video with the view that anybody who is not familiar with the Pi is able to have a understanding of what it is and for those who are already familiar with it i have info about the new things we are likely to see in the Pi ecosystem. Hope you will enjoy the video.

 

 

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT PI :

1. while booting the pi. The pi asks for username and password. After you enter the user name as Pi and then when you will  try to enter the password  you will see nothing appearing on the screen when you will press the  keys on you keyboard.But actually if you have faith in yourself image and you type raspberry and then if you will press enter you will find that you have successfully logged in. There should be  stars****** on key press.

2. Pi doesn't have a power on /off button. Usually most of us connect our pi's adapter  to a multisocket board but it is annoying to turn it off from there. It would be great if there is a button on pi to do this. Till it gets there on the board there is another solution for the people like me ,there comes a used cable that has a on/off button which can be used to as an alternate.

 

ABOUT  THE PERIPHERALS I USED:


I used a wireless keyboard and mouse for the first time,earlier i use to go with a wired one. For those who want to buy one ,Logitech MK220 works flawless on the pi,no hassel just plug and play. Moreover this is the cheapest one available right now.

For wireless connectivity i used  EDUP Mini Wireless N 11n Wi-Fi Nano USB Adapter. This is also just plug and play.

One last thing, do use a good quality power adapter otherwise it might deter the quality of your experience,the B+ and pi2 has good brown out detection and the power LED blinks if there is not enough power available.

  • in reply to Former Member

    thanks  Sammi

    yes that was on my list, unfortunately the HDMI input on my display got damaged,so may be when i get it fixed i will do it.

  • Great review, I know this is a little old now but one thing I could think of to add would be to measure performance on the various operating systems, so say compare video playback using openelec vs raspian for example. Regardless, great review and I hope to get this product soon.

  • in reply to clem57

    Let's not forget that you can't compare the Pi B+ directly with the Pi 2. They have completely different chip structures. It is one thing to have a single core processor on the B+, it is quite another to have a quad core processor on the Pi 2. The kernel and all command routing routines are different between the two versions of Pi. The Noob is built to be backwards compatible. But you need to take into account that just because it is backwards compatible doesn't mean the boot will react the same in each Pi. I made sure to keep my microSD cards separate from another to keep from having the issues you are having. Don't mix the cards up or swap them out.

    An example of the differences between the two Pi's can be seen just by flipping them over. The Pi 2 has the ram underneath the board, where the Pi B+ has it on the same side as the processor. What this means is that there is a huge improvement in how instructions and the boot are executed on the Pi 2. If you are having problem with the video out, try the HMDI out. Check for updated versions of the display driver. Ada fruit had the same problem when it came to their 2.8" and 3.5" screens. The assumed the Pi's were the same but they found out there drivers would not work for the screens on the Pi 2. A new image needed to be built for those screens and was released on 15 March 2015. That was two months after the Pi 2 came out.

    The Pi 2 is a whole new level for microcomputers. What worked before may not work now. It isn't the Pi's fault. You now have a badass computer running at 1,000MHz. Learn to love the Pi.