Hardware

Helpful links and definitions of Raspberry Pi related hardware / software for the absolute beginner

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Raspberry Pi First Boot
Here is the first boot up of my Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is basically a $25 computer (Model A) or a $35 computer (Model B) meant to encourage children to learn programming by providing an affordable computing platform that can drive all kinds of projects from controlling robots to running a media center on a tv. I am not a hardcore programmer so I bought one to tinker and encourage my inner programming child.

I bought the Model B because it has 512MB Ram, 2 USB ports, and an ethernet port. The model A has 256MB Ram, 1 USB port, and no ethernet port.

So far I have managed three tasks.

  1. I have booted up with a copy of Raspbian “Wheezy”, surfed the internet and installed a mail client.
  2. I have booted up with a copy of Raspbmc, added some music, and took XBMC for a test drive.
  3. I have installed XBMC Commander to my iPhone and controlled my Raspbmc installation by playing music, videos, etc. I had varying degrees of success with this task.

Rather than copy other people’s fine tutorials I am going to provide definitions of the different technologies, as defined at their site(s). Below the definitions are link(s) to the site(s).

Raspberry Pi

What is (a) Raspberry Pi

“The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard.”

Raspberry Pi Site

Task 1: Raspbian

What is Raspbian

“Raspbian is a free operating system based on Debian optimized for the Raspberry Pi hardware.”

Wheezy is the recommended starting distro. There is also a link below to a distro that uses the MATE desktop environement instead of the LXDE desktop environment that “Wheezy” uses.

Raspbian “wheezy”

Bootable Raspbian “Pisces+MATE” Image by Mike Thompson

Task 2: Raspbmc

What is Raspbmc?

“Raspbmc is a minimal Linux distribution based on Debian that brings XBMC to your Raspberry Pi.”

Raspbmc Site

Task 3: XBMC / XBMC Commander

What is XBMC?

“A Complete media center solution for Windows, OSX, Linux, and more!”

XBMC Site

What is XBMC Commander?

“XBMC Commander is a remote control for the iPad especially designed to interact with XBMC, one of the most advanced open source media centers out there.” (There are iPhone and Adroid versions as well)

XBMC Commander Site

Hide .lck files (and others) in Aptana on the Mac

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I’m test driving the Aptana Studio plugin for eclipse.¬† It looks very slick.¬† Just a quick “how to” note for hiding files (like Dreamweaver .lck files, hidden system files, etc) in the project window.

  • Click the Project Window Tab
  • Hit FN+CMD+F10
  • Select “Filters…” in the dialog that opens
  • Check the boxes beside all the types you want to hide
  • Click ‘Ok’

Pretty simple.¬† So why did it take me an hour to figure it out 😐

imafan of imakey

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I use a USB drive almost every single day. I have a problem keeping up with USB drives and caps so this can be problematic. † Enter Lacie’s imakey USB drive. I never would have thought I’d be dorky enough to carry a USB on my key ring, but this looks so much like a key I’ll risk it.

Lacie imakey USB drive

Just got it in the mail today. It’s sweet.

Dual Monitor Heaven USB2VGA

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I have finally joined the world of dual monitors.¬† Finances and standards at my office have thwarted my quest for two years to have a dual monitor setup.¬† My propensity to multi-task and staring at a fairly small (by developer’s standards) monitor for many hours a day has made this a painful defeat.

But at last… victory.

Meet the USB2VGA from startech.com (purchased via Dell).¬† This little guy finally allowed me to win the battle of not having to “open the box” to install any hardware.¬† It works quite well, is cost effective, and best of all… easy to configure.¬† If you can plug a device into a usb port then you have skills to set it up.

iPhone Cannot Restore Error (6) disaster averted

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I was excited to download the iPhone 2.0.1 software tonight hoping it would stabilize my recently buggy iPhone 3G.  What I ended up with was this.

My iPhone hurled and was plunged into a limbo of cannot restore but cannot function.¬† I endured 3 failed attempts to restore.¬† Each ended with the dreaded “iPhone Cannot Restore Error (6)”.¬† I was using the machine I always sync it with, my iMac (iTunes 7.7.1) but I decided to roll the dice and plug it into my Macbook Air (iTunes 7.7).¬† I had to re-download the 250 MB update and restore to factory settings from the Air.¬† After that I plugged into the iMac and loaded my most recent backup.

Then I did a touchdown dance and spiked my iPhone.  Ok, not really.  Disaster averted.

To be clear I have a plain ole G3 with no jailbreak tomfoolery.

Leopard has no love for Belkin Flip

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I no longer love you

One of my favorite little pieces of hardware that is not an iPod or an iPhone, or anything else “i” is my Belkin Flip. It’s a handy little device that allows me to “flip” back and forth between two machines (including audio) with the press of a button. This little gadget has, or should I say “had” created a world of harmony for me allowing my pc and mac to share the same monitor and keyboard with minimal effort. Then I upgraded to Leopard.

I can count on one finger the number of times my mac has “crashed” in two years. Leopard + Flip = crash * every time you hit the button.

An email to Belkin support yielded the following direct quote:

“We are sorry to tell you that it is a compatible issue the Flip is compatible with MAC OS but since Leopard is the new OS.”

Hmmm… so… what exactly does this mean? How about a formal announcement Belkin?