The Raspberry Pi Issue

Raspberry Pi

I've been reading a lot about the Raspberry Pi lately, then a few weeks ago I saw one at a technology expo. I promptly ordered one (for delivery 25 September 2012), then the next day cancelled my order, then decided to cancel that I had cancelled. Then I cancelled my order again.

I think the Raspberry Pi is great, but with an EEEPC lying around (with Ice Cream Sandwich on it) I can't think of a use (for me) for a Pi. Nevertheless, it's a great little thing.

If you (like me) are interested in the Raspi, then check these links:

Setting Up:
http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/2012/08/a-beginners-guide-to-getting-started-with-raspberry-pi-raspi.htm
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/started-raspberry-pi/

Raspberry Magazine:
http://www.themagpi.com/

Cases and case ideas:
http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1354
https://www.modmypi.com/index.php
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-interesting-diy-raspberry-pi-case-ideas/
http://blog.brettjames.au.com/?p=112
http://www.eurogamer.net/forum/thread/208891?start=180
http://www.bitrebels.com/technology/a-geeky-collection-of-creative-raspberry-pi-cases-15-pics/

Learn programming:
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/freshers/raspberrypi/tutorials/os/

Getting your Raspberry Pi some WI-FI:
http://www.takealot.com/electronics/networking/trendnet-150mbps-mini-wireless-n-usb-adapter,9303453

Projects for your Pi:
http://www.ponnuki.net/2012/09/kindleberry-pi/
http://m.techrepublic.com/blog/european-technology/10-coolest-uses-for-the-raspberry-pi/505
http://www.designspark.com/content/ten-essential-raspberry-pi-projects
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/tag/raspberry-pi/
http://ostatic.com/blog/meet-the-raspberry-pi-supercomputer-with-lego
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18900862
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/raspberry-pi-keyboard-case-hack-23-08-2012/
http://hackaday.com/tag/raspberry-pi/

The Raspberry Pi Foundation:
http://www.raspberrypi.org/

Operating Systems for your Pi:
Debian, Arch, Puppy, Openelec
http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads
http://puppylinux.org/wikka/PARM
http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php?title=Building_and_Installing_OpenELEC_for_Raspberry_Pi

Enjoy the read!

Conky on Peppermint 3

One of my favourite programs has to be Conky.

To install Conky, open a Terminal window and type:
sudo apt-get install conky

If you don't want to autorun Conky at startup, you can run it by clicking the Menu button, click Run, type Conky and press <ENTER>

To edit what Conky displays:

• open the File Manager
• go to /etc/conky
• right click on conky.conf and click on Text Editor

(I will post my config file in the comments if you wish to use or modify it.)

Now, if you want Conky to autorun at startup:

Right click on the Desktop
Select New Blank File
Name it conky.desktop
Enter the following into the file and save it:


[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Conky
Comment=System monitor
Exec=conky
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=
NotShowIn=gnome

Peppermint 3 will run all the shortcuts located in: /etc/xdg/autostart
go there using the File Manager
Click on Tools, Open current folder as Root
Type in the root password, press <ENTER>
now, cut and paste the conky.desktop file from your desktop to the folder you opened as root

Conky should run at startup now. You can delete programs you don't want to run at startup from this folder, or make other programs run at startup using this method.

Day 2 with Peppermint 3

So far so good. Thanks to everyone in the forums for their help (I removed Mint and Installed Peppermint over it).

This is what I have done so far:

• Installed proprietary wireless drivers
• Sylpheed
• ms core fonts
• ejecter
• empathy
• libre office
• audacity
• vlc
• conky
• samba
• updates

I've got a lot to do yet, but I feel that this is a good start for now. Want to get Wine working as well as find a cross platform note taking program.

Got any suggestions or comments? Leave them below!

Peppermint 3!

So, Peppermint no longer has an ICE flavour. Tonight I installed Peppermint 3 and I am a happy camper!

Peppermint 3

A lot of the things I had to "fix" or rather set in previous versions is no longer a problem. The digital clock does not display seconds and backgrounds stay that way once you save them.

Will carry on updating and installing programs (Audacity, Play on Linux, LibreOffice come to mind) and report back soon!

A long overdue update

Hi there, its been a while.

I finally had time to download and try out ubuntu 12.04, and I have some comments.

Before that though, at the moment I am dual booting a Lenovo netbook (Windows XP and Linux Mint 12 Lxde) and I used unetbootin to create a bootable flash drive so I could test out Ubuntu. I have Mint set up just the way I like it and I wanted to test Ubuntu before reinstalling or formatting my netbook.

I have heard a lot of people ranting about Unity and I have some comments of my own. I don't like it, having a bar at the top of the screen makes my interface look more like a mobile phone or tablet than a computer (I usually reconcile both toolbars into the bottom one when I use Ubuntu - similar to the gnome interface Mint uses).

I really don't like having the close, maximize and minimize buttons hidden in the top left corner either. I am a creature of habit, you can invent someone to blame for that later. I like my interface gnome, I like a bar at the bottom showing which programs are open, and I like having the time in the bottom right corner. Switching applications takes longer (for me at least).

Now, on to what I like about the new Ubuntu. It detects that I need proprietary drivers for my wifi adapter and installs it automatically (something Mint 12 Lxde did not do), which was nice. I like the folder icons and the wallpapers that are part and parcel of this release as well.

From what I have heard, lots of people are moving away from Ubuntu to Mint and I am not prepared to go back to Ubuntu myself either. Hooray for choice! (And for Linux Mint!)

Just a final thought, if you are into Linux news check out www.sixgun.org and their Linux Outlaws podcast (with Fab and Dan) which is worth listening to.