Raspberry Pi?

[dedanna1029]

Yes I will, thank you, but I need some feedback on them. Obviously I don't want a Windows one. Anyone have suggestions on what to get? I'm currently spying this starter kit. Because of certain circumstances being what they have been, I kind of missed the Pi rave, and am late on it. I am curious about what all they are useful for as well. I'm seeing all kinds of projects people are doing with them. I'd like to do something media-related (inet radio station server maybe?), or do something to watch movies with (I have both Netflix and Amazon Prime [so shoot me for the Amazon Prime]), something maybe music-related (I am thinking about going back to the piano, but a real piano, upright or grand). Y'know, the things you know I'm interested in. My roomie says she wants an Arduino. Whadya think?

[viking60]

Well that little thing is great for streaming videos.
I have installed Arch on mine and installed Kodi on it. It is blistering fast with no lagging whatsoever. That is the strength ot the ARM technology.
It is a fully fledged media Center.

Doing Libre Office on it would be less useful though.

You can do all of your installations - just by buying some extra cards (like with Cameras) and simply switch them - depending on your needs.

Kodi one day - something else the next day.

All of your suggestions are doable - and that starter kit seems to have it all.

[dedanna1029]

Very cool, thank you. What do you think on the price?

[viking60]

Including free shiping; that seems OK.

[Snorkasaurus]

Rpi's do well with video, but there is not enough processing power to make it a usable as a desktop PC.
S.

[dedanna1029]

I'm not sure yet, but I'm not thinking of using it for that. More of as a server, or part of an HTPC setup. A part of a project kind of thing. Is it still too low?

Edit: Although I will say the XBMC plug looks enticing.
All of the Raspberry Pi 2s (latest version) that I've seen so far appear to be 900MHz with 1GB RAM. This makes me think it's standard for them. I still have yet to look however at the Arduino Unos at Radio Shack ($34.99).

[dedanna1029]

There's also this one. Switch it to the Ultimate Starter Kit... Link sent to me by roomie.

[Snorkasaurus]

I'm not sure yet, but I'm not thinking of using it for that. More of as a server, or part of an HTPC setup. A part of a project kind of thing. Is it still too low?

Edit: Although I will say the XBMC plug looks enticing.
All of the Raspberry Pi 2s (latest version) that I've seen so far appear to be 900MHz with 1GB RAM. This makes me think it's standard for them. I still have yet to look however at the Arduino Unos at Radio Shack ($34.99).

A pi would work fine as a low-end server. I had [temporarily] setup a rpi B+ as a web/mail server and it was perfectly functional, though I would not want to use it in a high-volume or mission critical scenario. My B+ was later repurposed as a media client using Kodi14 and it is perfectly capable of streaming 720 video across my gigabit internal network. It is much quieter than my old Boxee Box and using these instructions I was able to get the excellent Boxee remote working on my pi. Things to note about a pi are:

• In many cases they do not come with a power source
• They often also do not come with a case (which is fine if you don't mind a small blinking exposed circuit board)
• If your display device does not have HDMI or composite input you may need an additional adapter
• While they are low power, they draw more when you plug in peripherals of any kind
• Some do NOT come with a network card, see model comparison for details
• Getting USB wifi networking to work can sometimes be a pain (typically driver related and a result of the OS used)
• They are limited in available OS's and the OS must be installed via another computer or by using NOOBS if it is on your [micro]SD card already
• The SD slots (and SD cards) can be error and problem prone

Having said all that, a media box is about the best thing you can do with a pi.

S.

[dedanna1029]

Thanks, and yeah, I expected all of that with a Pi. It's half the fun, chasing down all the parts and building! It's also why I'm looking at bundles like the one in the OP.

In the end, it will be either a media server or part of a media setup more than likely. We'll probably have it doing a lot of things.

[viking60]

I set it up with Arch

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2907

It was all new to me - but it works just fine now.

bi0 has made a tutorial here

[dedanna1029]

Nice, always an option here!