Polls

Raspberry Pi 2: Which OS is best?

biglesp — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 15:01:45 GMT

Current Revision posted to Polls by biglesp on 10/11/2021 3:01:45 PM

When we think of the Raspberry Pi operating system we instantly think of the giant raspberry wallpaper that is prominently placed on the Raspbian desktop. But is Raspbian still the best distro for the Pi? Well we put Raspbian up against two new distros for the Raspberry Pi, but these are well known distros in the world of Linux and their pedigree is hard to beat. Ubuntu has been a runaway success on the desktop and has converted thousands of users since it’s release in the mid 2000s, it has even recently spawned a version for mobile devices. Fedora is another big distro, coming from Red Hat and considered the leading name in open source solutions. Fedora is Red Hat’s bleeding edge product that often tests new innovations and technologies for Enterprise class products. Both of these distros have enjoyed a long and prominent history in the Linux community and their entrance to the Raspberry Pi community is something to get excited about.

There are many more distros for the Raspberry Pi but for this feature we wanted to show two strong new contenders against the de facto standard that is Raspbian.

So can Ubuntu or Fedora beat Raspbian’s dominance in the Raspberry Pi community? Or is Raspbian the perfect example of what a Raspberry Pi distro should aim to be? Let’s find out.

For all of these reviews we created a baseline to ensure a fair test.

A Raspberry Pi 2 Model B
No overclocking or tinkering of hardware
8GB SD card that came with our Pi

Raspbian

The de facto standard for Raspberry Pi projects but does it still meet the needs of the user?

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Raspbian has been the standard Raspberry Pi operating system, more commonly referred to as a “distro”, since the Pi arrived in 2012 and we have seen it grow over time into the capable distro that we use today. Raspbian is a fork of the massively popular Debian distribution and it is jointly maintained by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the community.

Being based on Debian, Raspbian comes with the APT (Advanced Packaging Tool) as it’s package manager, which is used to install software from the vast Raspbian repositories, but Raspbian also comes with raspi-config, a menu based tool that simplifies the act of managing Raspberry Pi configurations such as setting up an SSH, overclocking and enabling the official Raspberry Pi camera.

Since December 2014 the Raspbian desktop has received a notable improvement to it’s user interface thanks to the hard work of Simon Long. Moving away from the cluttered LXDE menu system we now have a simplified and refined interface that groups applications and configuration tools into clearer categories. As Raspbian is the default distro for Raspberry Pi it is also the distro that sees the most improvement and innovations examples of this are the RPi.GPIO library that enables Python to talk to the GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) pins, Minecraft the popular survival / sandbox game that has seen a massive investment of time from the community to enable a Python API for programming the game world. Lastly we have Sonic Pi the Ruby powered music creation application that has risen in popularity thanks to the efforts of Sam Aaron.

With the release of the Raspberry Pi 2 we have seen Raspbian receive the speed boost that it always needed, by no means was it a slouch on the original Raspberry Pi, but the addition of more RAM and better CPU has enabled it to become a usable desktop distro that can easily be used as a main machine.

Raspbian has improved since it was first released in 2012 and with each new release we see more refinements added to it, no wonder the majority of projects around the world are based upon this distro. It is a rock solid development base that runs well on the original Raspberry Pi but screams ahead on the new Raspberry Pi 2 specification.

If you are taking your first steps with the Raspberry Pi or need a solid and dependable basis for a project, Raspbian has to be your first choice. No other Raspberry Pi distro can compete with it’s stability, range of projects nor it’s supportive community. Hence why Raspbian is the official distro for the Raspberry Pi and is supported by a series of projects available via the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s learning resources.

Ubuntu MATE

Ubuntu finally makes it’s onto the Raspberry Pi but will it claim the top spot?

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In the early days of the Raspberry Pi many questioned the choice of Raspbian over Ubuntu. At that time Canonical had stopped supporting the ARM11 CPU that powered the Raspberry Pi and this spelt the end of any possible Ubuntu releases. We now fast forward to the Raspberry Pi 2 release and it’s ARM7 CPU which is now compatible with Ubuntu to try out Ubuntu MATE. Ubuntu MATE can be downloaded via the Raspberry Pi Foundation downloads page and copied to your SD card using dd or another image writing tool. On first boot you will be asked to configure the system and create a user account. Once complete and quick reboot will present a graphical login screen and once logged in you will see the desktop, but not the Unity desktop, rather you will see the MATE desktop, which is a lightweight desktop based upon the GNOME 2 desktop environment . Unity is the default desktop for Ubuntu but it is too heavy even for the new Raspberry Pi 2 specification. MATE is a rather light and full featured desktop.

Ubuntu comes with a few applications installed, such as LibreOffice, but you will need to install a few more applications to make the most of it, you can do this using the Software Center or by dropping into a terminal and running apt-get. Ubuntu MATE feels very slick and using a class 6 or 10 SD card will help speed up the operating system.

At the time of writing this version of Ubuntu does not have access to the Raspbian repositories, meaning that RPi.GPIO, the library needed to use the GPIO pins, is not available for use. But as Ubuntu for Raspberry Pi 2 is still in heavy development by the community it is just a matter of time before it is successfully ported across along with other favourites such as raspi-config.

The version of Ubuntu used in this review was based upon Ubuntu 15.04 which has just been released. At the time of writing there is another version of Ubuntu for Pi 2 based on the 14.04 image. This version does not come with a desktop so will require installation of LXDE, KDE or another lightweight window manager.

Using Ubuntu is a joy, it is swift and smooth enough to be used as a desktop computer. The current lack of “Raspbian” features is not a major issue due to the community interest of integrating them into Ubuntu. A good distro for general use but not one for the makers amongst us, yet.

Fedora

Fedora is one of the big names in the Linux world, but is it ready for the Raspberry Pi?

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Back before the Raspberry Pi was released to an eager public, there were a number of videos and blog posts that showcased the Pi running Fedora. It turned out that at the time Fedora was too much for the original specification, but with the recent release of the Raspberry Pi 2 the rules have changed.

We’re looking at the Fedora 21 remix and chose to run the LXDE window manager. Installation was relatively painless requiring us to copy the raw image to a blank 8GB micro SD card, the image is created for 8GB and above cards only. Upon first boot we were presented with a config screen which enabled us to setup the root password and create a user account for general use. Once created we are asked to login to the desktop via a pleasant login screen. Once logged in we see a typical LXDE desktop environment, an uncluttered and functional desktop with the main menu in the bottom left of the screen. Fedora comes with a few applications installed, such as Abiword for word processing, Gnumeric for spreadsheets and the file manager PCmanFM.

To test Fedora we installed a few essential applications via the terminal and the yum package manager. Firstly we installed Libreoffice, weighing in at 275MB it installed quickly and when we launched the Writer application it opened in less than 15 seconds and was very usable with no lag experienced. The same was true for installing Firefox which provided a better browsing experience thanks to it’s ARM7 optimisations.

The only application we tested that felt sluggish was GIMP, but it is quite a beast of an application that gobbles up RAM and CPU cycles. Multitasking was possible and we had Firefox, GIMP and Libreoffice open with the terminal program “scrot” capturing images in the background. We’re pleased to say that Fedora also has the RPi.GPIO Python library in it’s repositories which means that you can easily build GPIO powered projects using this distro, but the library is only for Python 2.7 with no Python 3 version in the repositories.

Fedora handled our hardware quite well, we used the official Raspberry Pi Wifi dongle to connect to the Internet and it required no extra configuration steps, unlike Ubuntu which required a hack of the wpa_supplicants.conf file.

Fedora is a slick and very usable distro and we enjoyed the experience of moving away from a Debian derivative distro. Fedora is competent and provides a good user experience and could quite easily be used as desktop distro for general purpose work. The Python GPIO library is a nice addition but it really needs to be updated for Python 3 inline with the Foundation’s learning resources.

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Tags: raspberry_pi_space

Which Pi is more cost efficient?

godblessamerica — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:57:30 GMT

Current Revision posted to Polls by godblessamerica on 10/11/2021 2:57:30 PM

Could it be the Zero or the Three or maybe even something else?

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Tags: raspberry pi two, raspberry, raspberry pi one, raspberry pi a+, raspberry pi zero, raspberry pi three, raspberry pi, raspberry pi b+, raspberry pi accessories, raspberry pi b plus

Vote on Our Pi@Night Competition Finalists

spannerspencer — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:57:18 GMT

Current Revision posted to Polls by spannerspencer on 10/11/2021 2:57:18 PM

The lens cap is back on our Pi@Night competition now, in which we celebrated the launch of the new Raspberry Pi cameras by asking you to cast a creative eye over the waning sun and share your vision.

And you guys have a keen eye, as we've seen here on the Pi@Night Competition page, and over on Twitter.

So the next step is shining a spotlight on our top five twilight snapshots, each of which wins a both an 8 megapixel Pi Camera V2 and Pi Camera NoIR V2. The overall winner also lands a Pi 7-inch touchscreen, Cirrus Logic audio card, alongside the two new camera models, and that's where you come in.

Below is our short list of shutterbug splendour, and we'd like you to cast your vote to let us know which nigh time shot shines the brightest. You've got until Wednesday 25th May (a week from today) to do your democratic duty.

Thanks to everyone who's taken part, and we'll look forward to seeing all the artistic and creative ways you guys put the new Pi Camera to use.

That's all folks! Voting is now closed. Thanks for joining in!

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Tags: pi camera noir v2, competition, pi camera v2, pi@night, raspberry_pi, raspberry pi, pi camera

Raspberry Pi 3 - Choose Our Next Design Challenge

spannerspencer — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:57:14 GMT

Current Revision posted to Polls by spannerspencer on 10/11/2021 2:57:14 PM

NEW! Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
Frequently Asked Questions	Comparison Chart	Technical Specifications
40 Pin Out	Pi3 Video Arcade Project	Raspberry Pi 3 RoadTest

Every year element14 sponsors a Raspberry Pi Design Challenge - we've Rocked our Pi, Sci-Fi-ed our Pi's and asked our members to Forget Me Not! See previous>

Now we have a new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B to create the 2016 Design Challenge here. Why join?

What Challenges of our modern life can be addressed by a Raspberry Pi with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth technologies? What other great Pi accessories should be in The Kit for the Challengers? Let us know...

Here's some category ideas to get the conversation started. Simply look through the tabs below, and then vote for your favourite in the poll at the bottom, telling us why in the comments or submit your very own idea!

{tabbedtable} Tab Label	Tab Content
Gaming	Computer and video games are a wonderful way to connect people with a device like the Raspberry Pi. It's a conduit between a lifestyle tech we've all grown up with, and the exciting world of single board computer development. This Challenge would ask you to create a gaming project, whether it's a recreation of a classic console with a new twist, mapping a giant game of Donkey Kong onto the side of a building, creating a new type of controller/display/physical interaction or advancing geocaching gaming. As long as it's recreational and involves players scoring points, it's up to you.
H20-Aid	Could you bring the gift of safe, clean water to disaster-affected communities? Perhaps by safeguarding fresh water for aid organisations; enabling faster, cheaper purification or greater sized water storage. Or, look in to improving submersible pumps with macerators to revolutionise or economise wastewater transportation?
Industrial IoT	The Industrial Internet of Things is much talked about and promises to enable huge companies to transform their operational efficiency by increasing production, exploiting intelligent technologies to fuel innovation and optimise labour forces and critical physical infrastructure. Made up of a multitude of communications devices, IIoT can monitor, collect, exchange, analyse and change the behaviour of a critical environment to reduce the breakdown of machinery and schedule routine and emergency maintenance before the worst potentially happens. Whether you have small or medium-sized manufacturing at the forefront of your mind, you could build an environmental monitoring system to change the air conditioning within a small food production plant or direction and speed of conveyors within a small distribution/parcel business...
IoT for Pets	How could IoT for man's best friends change them? More and more products are being designed to track animals so that we can understand them better and monitor their fitness. Wearable Tech for dogs or even wild animals in expansive national parks and reserves is increasing in popularity. What do you think should come next after the FitBit Collar, WUF and the FitBark?
IoT Gateway for Home Automation	How can a Raspberry Pi 3 be paired with other home devices to connect and automate your home? The kitchen is already a hive of technological invention, so why not innovate in the kitchen to brew your coffee at a different time every morning, switch your lights on when you are away on holiday or operate your garage doors on demand - simply, automate your most important room and daily activities for a fraction of the cost of pricey app subscriptions perhaps?
Retailing	Finding new ways for us to shop and spend money is a powerful driving force behind new technologies, and there are many of us who happily embrace any new innovation when it comes to improving, refining, speeding up or even eliminating the shopping experience. Large merchants have access to a variety of technologies to help them get more customers and sell more goods. What about smaller retailers - how can the Raspberry Pi help them compete in the exciting world of retail?
Upcycling	DIY electronics upcycling is a creative and responsible way to dispose of and re-purpose defunct kit and save money. What's bits do you have on your bench and laying around in redundant assemblies that you can strip bare and partner up with a Raspberry Pi 3? It could be quite simply anything to do anything that is personal to you and appealing to other friendly upcyclers!

OTHER THOUGHTS?

What other electronics theme could you find a home for one our very sought after Raspberry Pi 3's? Be one of the first to get your hands on one if your idea wow's the crew here at element14!

You never know if you enter the next Raspberry Pi Challenge when announced - perhaps one of these - your idea might later inspire a real-life production product.

Cast your votes and add your comments before 00:59 GMT 14th March, 2016.

[Please visit the site to access the poll]

Tags: design challenge, home automation, internet of things, retail, pets, internet of industrial things, pi3, gaming, iot, raspberry pi 3, upcycling

Would you Bake Your Own Raspberry Pi?

cstanton — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:57:05 GMT

Current Revision posted to Polls by cstanton on 10/11/2021 2:57:05 PM

I like pie, maybe it's because I'm from Yorkshire in England.

There're a good number of different Raspberry Pi's available now, but I wonder would you bake your own?

With the Compute module you can kinda make your own Raspberry Pi, it has an additional board but it does mean you can just produce your own PCB and plug it in.

Or are you happy with the Raspberry Pi as it is, how would it be different if you're doing one project as opposed to many, many copies? Or maybe something else entirely.

You can now use the Raspberry Pi Customization Service if you want to bake your own Raspberry Pi!

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Tags: baking, raspberry_pi, customization service, customisation service

What language and what DevEnv are you using to develop with raspbian on Raspberry PI?

balearicdynamics — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:57:03 GMT

Current Revision posted to Polls by balearicdynamics on 10/11/2021 2:57:03 PM

I have started this poll as I am interested to screen in the most possible complete way what is the various languages you are approaching to develop on the Raspberry PI. I have explicitly added raspbian as the most Debian-like Linux distribution supporting the larger number of components almost for every programming language.

Please add your comment on the PI development usage you are using.

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Tags: development_platform, raspberry-pi, development, development_language, raspbian, linux

Polls

migration.user — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 18:01:06 GMT

Current Revision posted to Polls by migration.user on 10/1/2021 6:01:06 PM

Vote For Your Favorite Halloween Pi Project!

lbittner — Mon, 10 May 2021 18:53:17 GMT

Current Revision posted to Polls by lbittner on 5/10/2021 6:53:17 PM

How do you want to use the Raspberry Pi this Halloween season? To chill and thrill? To entertain? We've listed our top 10 favorite Halloween Pi projects to get your creative juices flowing. Vote for your favorite!

Need more info before you vote? Read more about each project below or learn more in our Top 10 Halloween Projects Blog.

1. Halloween Special Effects <AKA "Scary"> Door
2. Pumpkin Pi

3. Halloween Scream and Picture Taker

4. Make An Entrance Party Doorbell

5. Drinkmo, the Drink-Mixing Robot

6. Dance Dance Revolution

7. Build a Board Game

8. Karaoke Machine with Pi Digital
9. Internet Radio Player

10. Pi Powered Joke Machine

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Tags: raspberry, halloween, raspi, pi, raspberry_pi, raspberry-pi, 2014, halloween-2014, halloween_2014, raspberry_pi_projects

Are you monitoring your devices?

cstanton — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 16:10:09 GMT

Current Revision posted to Polls by cstanton on 4/8/2020 4:10:09 PM

Check out the blog post Keeping an Eye with Raspberry Pi - Monitoring Electricity + Bandwidth - what're you monitoring in your home?

[Please visit the site to access the poll]

Tags: power monitoring, raspberry pi electricity monitoring, raspberry pi home automation, working from home, network monitoring, raspberry pi, bandwidth monitoring, electricity monitoring, traffic monitoring, wfh