Topic: Raspberry Pi ($35 computer)

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

http://www.raspberrypi.org/







Has anyone gotten one of these yet. I realize they just came out. I have one on order and it should be here in a couple of weeks.

The first one will be turned into a torrent / media server. That should be fairly easy. I'll probably just install Fedora Linux on it (it only runs Linux).



Eventually though, I'd like to make a portable machine that has an audio input and you can control via a remote desktop on my smart phone that I can use to stream shows. It's USB powered, so power isn't an issue. Getting the internet hooked up to it shouldn't be too hard.

Things I need to figure out:

1. Remote Desktop. Not sure if an app for Android exists to remote desktop onto the Raspberry Pi. If it doesn't, I'm sure with this little device someone will make a way.
2. Audio input. The way it comes now, it only has audio out. It does have a USB input, so I could get a USB audio interface for it. I'd like it to be fairly small (around the same size at the computer case would be ideal...then I need to get one that actually works with Linux. It seems what I've found so far is Windoz/Mac only, but that may just be what they officially support. Obviously it's fairly common for people to make unofficial Linux drivers.
3. Wireless Network connection. I'd be either hooking up to a venue's interweb connection, or use my phone's hotspot. No idea if this exists either. Hoping I can find a USB solution here as well.

I may be in over my head...but that's part of what make's it fun.

[H₂O]

You could probably build a GPIO Sound Card - for audio input

For streaming you could use a Ethernet to Wireless bridge as well.

 

[rastasean]

Leap morning day I was ready to order one but both distributors who were selling had their sites unavailable due to ddos and they were not even selling the pi. Fortunately, my interest was registered and I ordered one at the beginning of the month so I'm also hoping it shows up soon.

For wifi, maybe you could use a usb wifi device in one of the free usb ports. I'm sure you would be able to use vnc to control the device or you could use a terminal app on your phone and ssh into it.

possible streaming solution:
mics > usbpre amp like sound devices usbpre2 or ua5 > pi connected to wifi
Then you would ssh on your phone to run a script to start sending the audio out to the streaming provider. I'm not quite sure how this would work with only livestream.com so this would be more suited for a CDN like scaleengine.com

still a lot to figure out and there's no wrong way to do this. Have fun!

[page]

For wifi, maybe you could use a usb wifi device in one of the free usb ports. I'm sure you would be able to use vnc to control the device or you could use a terminal app on your phone and ssh into it.

Thats what I was going to suggest. I think this is something that would work best as a kick-off-the-script setup. One thing I'd investigate is an app for the Pi that will immediately email an ip address (to you) when it finds a wireless network to connect to. That way you don't have to burn spectrum having the Pi broadcast a wireless signal if there is already one available. I guess you could have it act as a wifi server first, you connect, force it to connect to a different wireless server (the AP in the room), shut down the temp wireless AP, then start up the streaming, but that seems kludgy to me.

Ideal would be having your android connect to the server over usb. I know it's possible to reverse tether your phone (so it uses the PC's internet connection) over usb, but I havn't sat down to look at how to just bridge that so you can get a login prompt or if you have to do the full reverse tether to get it.

possible streaming solution:
mics > usbpre amp like sound devices usbpre2 or ua5 > pi connected to wifi
Then you would ssh on your phone to run a script to start sending the audio out to the streaming provider. I'm not quite sure how this would work with only livestream.com so this would be more suited for a CDN like scaleengine.com

I'd go the CDN route, I think you have more options that way. Tapers.org has a setup like that, and many VPS/CDN providers would let you install a shoutcast server on your slice.

[fleish]

Very cool looking product. I've been wanting to return to running a tiny Linux box as my home router/firewall & for $35 + whatever a USB ethernet costs this might be it. I kept trying to goto http://www.raspberrypi.com/ and always find it's down, but I guess you're meant to order through their resellers. Let us know once someone has one in hand how it works.

[rastasean]

www.raspberrypi.ORG for the blog site and all the information! the .com hasn't had any information since I've been following this in December.
The .org lists the two places you can order from and the shipping to the states will be ~$5-7 from what I remember reading.

[Chilly Brioschi]

$35 for a computer!?

Thanks, but I'll wait for the Groupon for it.     

[JackoRoses]

If you can't find a RDP client for your droid there might be a vnc client for it.
Good luck with the wifi, So far there are only 3 chipsets supported.

$35 for a computer!?

Thanks, but I'll wait for the Groupon for it.     

the model A is only 25, doubt you'll find a groupon for it 

[newscane]

This will let you tether a computer to use an Android phone's network connection:
http://www.junefabrics.com/android/index.php

Free android app, requires software on the computer side as well.. and right now, it's only Win/Mac.  I wonder if you could run the Windows version under WINE?

[Fried Chicken Boy]

Very intriguing.  Anyone here have experience with running one of these?

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Very intriguing.  Anyone here have experience with running one of these?

Not many out there yet. They had an issue getting it though EU CE (standards). They are starting to ship now.

I should have mine at the end of June.

[Fried Chicken Boy]

^^ Cool.  Would definitely like to hear your thoughts after you drive it around the track a few times.

[capnhook]

http://www.raspberrypi.org/

Hmmmmm....."raspberrypi"?  Looks blue to me.

Color FAIL

[rastasean]

I have one and wine won't work. Keep in mind the RAM is only 256MB.
Its very easy to install one of the distros on it and get it up and running and you're able to install packages just like you would on a  desktop.
I was hoping to use this to stream audio but adobe flash media live encoder is mac/win only so I'm not certain if there's a way to stream easily.

I haven't attempted wireless just yet on it but hopefully one of the wireless cards i have works. One thing I overlooked was USB for power, its micro not mini so its being powered by a swindle charger right now. 

This is a great way to try out the few supported distros since you don't have to burn CDs, partition disks, take a long time installing, etc.

I believe the only difference between model A and B is ethernet.

[page]

I was hoping to use this to stream audio but adobe flash media live encoder is mac/win only so I'm not certain if there's a way to stream easily.

look at icecast/shoutcast and an ogg vorbis stream. Takes a bit more bandwidth, but not much more. If you have fiber/fios at home, that should be enough for the typical taper stream in place of the ustream servers.

edit: added clarification

[Sebastian]

I should get mine sometime in June and was hoping to use it as a cheap FLAC player. The idea is to hook it up to my network and my HiFi so that it can play my FLACs directly from my NAS.

[Popmarter]

Maybe stupid question,  but can this be turned in a bit bucket?

[Chilly Brioschi]

Maybe stupid question,  but can this be turned in a bit bucket?

It is the opposite of a bit-bucket, it is processing, not storage.
What the world needs is smarter storage that can store digital streams and wrap them up in file types as we need, such as video or audio.
This is not that.

Most bit-buckets are sold as recorders, but we bypass most of their features, such as the Pre-Amp and Phantom stages to gain higher quality recordings.

I hope that helps.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Maybe stupid question,  but can this be turned in a bit bucket?

It doesn't have a digi in...but it does have USB. If there was a SPDIF > USB dongle of some sort, it's possible.

It doesn't have a TON of processing power, but I think it has enough to handle 24 bit audio.

One big hangup might be the lack of drivers for such a device running on Linux.

I think half of the fun of this thing will be thinking of things that it MIGHT be able to do and then trying to get there.

[Popmarter]

Maybe stupid question,  but can this be turned in a bit bucket?

It doesn't have a digi in...but it does have USB. If there was a SPDIF > USB dongle of some sort, it's possible.

It doesn't have a TON of processing power, but I think it has enough to handle 24 bit audio.

One big hangup might be the lack of drivers for such a device running on Linux.

I think half of the fun of this thing will be thinking of things that it MIGHT be able to do and then trying to get there.

That is what I thought. I am in now way technical enough to figure out, but IF you get something to do SPDIF > USB and you can connect a tiny flashcard/SSD to it...
Put box around it and voila 

[page]

IF you get something to do SPDIF > USB and you can make some money since nobody else has a good solution to this problem yet

fyp

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

SPDIF to USB is very easy if you are happy with Audio Class 1.0 performance (16/48 max).  I imagine that the Linux distro supports Audio Class 1.0 which means no writing drivers.

Yep. Don't think it would be worth turning it into a bit bucket. Too much a pain in the ass for not enough performance. I'd rather just buy a DR-100mkII.

[kindms]

Another interesting competitor to the rasperrypi

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/05/another-tiny-computer-vias-49-apc-offers-android-hdmi-video-out/

[Colin Liston]

Article on the 8 cheapest computers

http://gizmodo.com/5914561/the-8-cheapest-computers-in-the-world

[spyder9]

Engadget's review:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/01/raspberry-pi-impressions-the-35-linux-computer-and-tinker-toy/#continued

[rastasean]

I don't really think the review was fair as the foundation's goal is not have people watch youtube videos but develop scripts and learn a language. I'm not sure what the issue with starting up in a command prompt (run level 3) is, either, but if you're used to clicking on things, that's extra work for you. Many devices like the iphone don't support flash so its not just the rpi.

My favorite part:
Honestly, as an introduction to the world of hardware and software hacking, the Arduino seems like a more natural and simpler entry point.

The pi and Arduino are similar in that they are affordable ways to learn but they really have no relation to each other. You can, however, use the two together: http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1171

The author should have actually said, "find a smart phone on craigs list and use it to watch youtube."

[rastasean]

if you want to see how you can use the raspberry pi, check out this online magazine: http://www.themagpi.com/

[rastasean]

a pretty fair and in depth review on the pi for those who are considering it: http://goo.gl/GM4yU

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Woo hoo! My Pi shipped today. Hopefully I have it by early next week.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

My Pi has arrived!

No case yet. I theory it's being made and I should have it by the end of the month...key word...theory. ...getting this in my possession has been interesting to say the least.

Pics first. Going to fire it up in a few minutes.

In the box (Key placed for size comparison):



In static bag:



Top:



Bottom:



All hooked up:



Logging in:



IT WORKS!!:

[larrysellers]

Sam Nazarko is building a stand-alone version of xbmc that will run on this, much like crystlbuntu for the first gen appletv.

http://www.raspbmc.com/

[Colin Liston]

This place is seling cases

https://www.modmypi.com/shop/raspberry-pi-cases

[burris]

this is the smallest off-the-shelf spdif<>usb interface available:  http://www.minidsp.com/products/usb-audio-interface/ministreamer

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

So...update.

So far, this little thing is pretty good for what it cost. Really easy to get up and running. I haven't had much time to really dig in, but I have it so it will auto log into it, and I can remote desktop into it via my Windows 7 computer (although once I reboot the Pi I need to physically log into it again). I've added an external HD. And have SSH so it will start automatically.

Trying to figure out how to get the Remote Desktop server to be active on the Pi on re-boot. After that I can really start to dig in.

I am using Putty on my WIN 7 machine for most of the installs. That is WAY faster than using the GUI on the Pi.

Downsides:

Seems to reboot on occasion randomly. Obviously with the Remote Desktop issue this is sort of a PITA, but I have it hooked up on an alternate input to my desktop monitor, so not a huge problem for now.

SLOW. I would not recommend this to be used by ANYONE trying to surf the internet. It does work, but it's painfully slow to load pages.

I'm reading that people are having big issues using it as a torrent box (my main objective). I haven't been able to compile all of the required software so far, so I can't say for sure. Due to this, I may give up on the torrent box idea and just use it as a media server for my home stereo.


Happy I bought it. It's been a good learning experience. I think it will become more fun once more advanced users find some other uses for it and make some tutorials.

Anyway...not a lot to say, but figured I'd update ya'll on my progress with this little thing.

[vanark]

Anyone interested in one?  Mine shipped today and I've determined it will just sit on a shelf unused at my house.  Figured I'd off it here before going to ebay.  My out of pocket is $42.19.  I'll ship it to you as soon as I receive it.

ETA: no longer available.

[page]

Anyone interested in one?  Mine shipped today and I've determined it will just sit on a shelf unused at my house.  Figured I'd off it here before going to ebay.  My out of pocket is $42.19.  I'll ship it to you as soon as I receive it.

 

damn, I'm seriously tempted. If nobody picks it up before Sunday let me know. The nerd-factor makes me want it.

[rastasean]

Old news now but new debian released: http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads
Next month I get to try the pi out on a plasma TV and I'm very anxious to try out with http://www.raspbmc.com/

I continue to be amazed by the pi and what people are doing with it. To learn more about it, read these
http://elinux.org/R-Pi_Hub
http://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/

Did you buy vanark's pi, Page?

[Sebastian]

Next month I get to try the pi out on a plasma TV and I'm very anxious to try out with http://www.raspbmc.com/

I just did that an I am actually not impressed at all. While most content plays just fine, some is shaky or doesn't play at all. Also, the PI is quite slow at indexing content via my NFS share.

[rastasean]

Next month I get to try the pi out on a plasma TV and I'm very anxious to try out with http://www.raspbmc.com/

I just did that an I am actually not impressed at all. While most content plays just fine, some is shaky or doesn't play at all. Also, the PI is quite slow at indexing content via my NFS share.

Is it slow over wifi and/or ethernet? if you don't want it, post it for sale.

[Sebastian]

Is it slow over wifi and/or ethernet? if you don't want it, post it for sale.

Ethernet. It doesn't have anything to do with the network speed.

And I'm not gonna sell it as I still have other plans for it.

[rastasean]

Is it slow over wifi and/or ethernet? if you don't want it, post it for sale.

Ethernet. It doesn't have anything to do with the network speed.

And I'm not gonna sell it as I still have other plans for it.

Currently running xbian on the plasma TV and I'll soon try out raspbmc, but I've been able to stream gigs of ISOs of actual DVDs (with mpeg license) and flac files both wireless nfs share with very little issue.

I have another pi running freepbx with several trunks, in/out dialplans without any real issues as well.

[rastasean]

on sale now: raspberry pi model B rev 2 with 512MB of RAM.

[DigiGal]

This Raspberry Pi sorta reminds me of the old Timex Sinclair computer concept.

So I'd be interested in knowing if the can the thing be used to live stream audio to ustream or the like, anyone know or tried?

[rastasean]

This Raspberry Pi sorta reminds me of the old Timex Sinclair computer concept.

So I'd be interested in knowing if the can the thing be used to live stream audio to ustream or the like, anyone know or tried?

My understanding is that ustream (and probably most steam-like sites) use adobe flash media encorder to stream from your location to the other endpoint. Unfortunately Adobe does not have any client other than mac and PC and if the sites don't require FME, it would very likely require flash and the pi can't run flash.

I'm fairly positive there is a use for the pi in our world but I have yet to discover what it can be. Most wifi dongles are now supported so that's not much of an issue anymore, fortunately.

[spyder9]

I just bought one these.  Has Jellybean loaded on it.  Specs are fantastic. 

http://dx.com/p/mk808-dual-core-android-4-1-1-google-tv-player-w-1gb-ram-8gb-rom-wi-fi-tf-hdmi-160535

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNyC7dcXx5w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owsUMKhbZb4&feature=relmfu