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Five million Raspberry Pis sold!

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  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2015-03-07 22:48
    re: Any obvious advantages over Win8?

    You will get your start button back :)

    C'mon now, I was one of the first guys in the "Classic Shell" pool, which gave Win8 and 8.1 a Start button. Phew!
  • Dr_AculaDr_Acula Posts: 5,484
    edited 2015-03-07 23:03
    erco said "Dr_Ac, did you lose any hardware compatability when you transitioned to Win10? That's still a beta version, yes? Any obvious advantages over Win8? "

    No, hardware all works fine. It seems to run faster too. And yes, start button is back (I was running the original win 8). As it is beta it occasionally has a popup asking for a quick one line survey. It seems very stable.

    Re the Rasp Pi and Win 10, a search on google reveals pretty much every hit on this topic is dated Feb 2nd, which I think was when the press release went out. Nothing new since then. I signed up as someone interested but no emails either. I'm looking forward to a cheap IoT platform.
  • Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL) Posts: 1,720
    edited 2015-03-08 00:19
    The latest interview (Published on 18 Feb 2015) - They discuss various issues - Display for the Pi, Win 10 etc.

    Raspberry Pi - Q&A - Eben Upton & Gordon Hollingworth

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L991wyOHTJ4
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2015-03-08 04:06
    @Dr_A,
    Donning flame proof suit now...
    Please do. This is a most disturbing development.

    It's kind of amazing and funny. The huge, gigantic, rolling in money MS corporation reduced to leeching off the work done by a couple of guys from a charity working on a shoe string budget.
    I'm looking forward to a cheap IoT platform.
    So what's wrong with the one that exists already, the Raspberry Pi, and Raspbian?

    You can run your .NET apps on it already using mono.

    @Bob Lawrence

    Thanks for the link to the video.

    More deeply disturbing new. The hint that one day The Raspberry Pi Foundation might even think about switching to Ubuntu as the "official" Linux distribution.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2015-03-08 06:03
    @Heater, mono is always a release or two behind the MS CLR, and classes are often not present. So if you are doing C# programs you might as well go with the real thing, or use the lingua franca on the platform in question.

    Source: me we investigated an iOS port of one of our products two years ago. We concluded a rewrite in Objective C would probably yield the best results on that platform. Fortunately our Java code ports to Android like a dream.
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2015-03-08 09:30
    Heater. wrote: »
    More deeply disturbing new. The hint that one day The Raspberry Pi Foundation might even think about switching to Ubuntu as the "official" Linux distribution.

    "...its good there's an ubuntu distribution... if it becomes really fantastic and everyone's using it...we could switch".

    To me, this sounds like a diplomatic way of saying "possible, not likely; expect never".

    The greater likelyhood is that folks that use windws 10 on the Pi will eventually need to move to linux due to community intertia, and end up migrating to linux on their desktop as well in a few cases.
  • Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL) Posts: 1,720
    edited 2015-03-08 09:34
    @ Heater

    re:You can run your .NET apps on it already using mono.

    Dr_Acula just needs this book: :)

    Design and implement state-of-the-art solutions for Internet of Things using different communication protocols, patterns, C# and Raspberry Pi



    If you're a developer or electronics engineer who is curious about Internet of Things, then this is the book for you. With only a rudimentary understanding of electronics, Raspberry Pi, or similar credit-card sized computers, and some programming experience using managed code such as C# or Java, you will be taught to develop state-of-the-art solutions for Internet of Things in an instant.


    https://www.packtpub.com/application-development/learning-internet-things?utm_source=Sentori&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=DotD+8th+March+2015

    I haven't tried C# on it but I've been using Node.js and Free Pascal/Lazarus on the Pi B however, once I upgrade to the pi 2 later this week I should notice a nice performance for the Pascal stuff. Then I'll add the propeller IDE on it.

    Lazarus on Raspberry Pi

    http://wiki.freepascal.org/Lazarus_on_Raspberry_Pi
  • Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL) Posts: 1,720
    edited 2015-03-08 09:37
    Here is a great set of instruction to get Free Pascal / Lazarus setup on the Pi-2 ( should also work on the older Pi's)

    http://otapi.com/2015/02/10/raspberry-pi-2-freepascal-lazarus-and-delphi/

    Wiki:
    http://wiki.freepascal.org/Lazarus_on_Raspberry_Pi
  • Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL) Posts: 1,720
    edited 2015-03-08 10:09
    re: Mono

    Projects are developed in C# and compiled using Xamarin. They are executed on Raspberry Pi using MONO. By modifying the classes in Clayster.Library.RaspberryPi, the code can be made to run on other hardware platforms as well. This library is the only library that contains code specifically written for the Raspberry Pi.

    Clayster Library RaspberryPi
    https://github.com/Clayster/Learning-IoT-XMPP

    Example of Source code:

    /// <summary>
    + /// Current value of the parallel digital output.
    + /// </summary>
    + public uint Value
    + {
    + get
    + {
    + return this.value;
    + }
    +
    + set
    + {
    + if (this.value != value)
    + {
    + this.value = value;
    +
    + uint SetMask = 0;
    + uint ClearMask = 0;
    + uint Mask = 1;
    +
    + foreach (uint PinMask in this.masks)
    + {
    + if ((this.value & PinMask) != 0)
    + SetMask |= Mask;
    + else
    + ClearMask |= Mask;
    +
    + Mask <<= 1;
    + }
    +
    + GPIO.SetDigitalOutputs (SetMask, ClearMask);
    + }
    + }
  • Don MDon M Posts: 1,652
    edited 2015-03-08 14:22
    erco wrote: »
    I finally broke down and ordered a RasPi2 from MCM. Flat rate $6 shipping thru Sunday

    Yes I just gave in as well. $6 shipping ends today...
  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,261
    edited 2015-03-08 14:30
    Just got mine. Took a while.

    Next week, power supply and MicroSD. Turns out, the only one I've got has a filesystem for the CoCo3 on it. Don't want to ditch it. Small board. I'll make a nice case and call it good.

    Being 4 core and in the upper hundreds of Mhz, I expect it to perform just fine as a general development computer. Most of the time, I've worked on much slower and similar in terms of size RAM & resources. Looking forward to it.

    I have access to a great X server. (Exceed), so I'm very likely to set that up on my Win7 machine, and use the X Server on the Mac. From there, setup the Pi so that it's networked to those hosts and their wi-fi capabilities. When it's stand alone, I'll just be developing on it. When It's networked, I'll just remote display most things on the desktop I'm running at the time.

    (That's the plan anyway, we shall see what sorry state X is in these days...)

    If it all plays out, that will replace my aging XP + Prop Tool + GCC environment. Fun fact: The fan is Smile. (replaced it once and I don't want to do that again) I keep an air can next to the machine. Trigger boot, send air in to get the BIOS to believe the fan is working, and it boots! Like a jump start. Once booted, I've got it clocked down as I don't need any real speed. Amazing it still works, and yes I've got my code backed up.

    For me, I really like to just setup camp on one machine and go. Saves time, and I don't always have it.

    These things are cheap and plenty fast enough. If it gets borked, get another one. Awesome.
  • Dr_AculaDr_Acula Posts: 5,484
    edited 2015-03-08 18:05
    Bob said "Dr_Acula just needs this book..."

    He does! Reading through the online sample pages now - very interesting. The examples are all very familiar (to me at least!) and would be easy to implement on a PC or a laptop. It would be so convenient to then port the same code to a small embedded controller.

    Just a thought - a definition for an embedded controller - something that you can turn on with a timer switch and which will run with no human input needed. I'm not sure a PC can do that. Maybe it can. Ok, add another definition - a device that can be turned on and off with a timer switch and which runs with no human input needed. Try turning a PC off at a random time and it will get a bit unhappy on the next restart.

    So... if it is possible to port code over to a Pi and run that Pi on a timer switch, that is very useful. The first thing the Pi could do is reboot the router/bridge/repeater because those devices don't seem to be able to run forever reliably, and they are a key part of the IoT. Just had to hack another router yesterday and glue little heatsinks on all the hot chips. The IoT is going to need routers that run on milliwatts rather than watts.

    I've got too many projects running at once at the moment, but one that needs dusting off again is the ESP8266 + Propeller. It ran out of space on an Arduino Uno and a Pi might be overkill and a Propeller should fit neatly between those two in terms of specifications/memory/speed.
  • Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL) Posts: 1,720
    edited 2015-03-09 09:56
    Pi Delivery : Dartmouth, NS, Canada 03/09/2015 5:30 Out for Delivery

    So close LOL

    @Dr_Acula

    Re: Try turning a PC off at a random time and it will get a bit unhappy on the next restart.

    Depending on what your goals are you probably don't need to power it off completely, just re-boot once in a while. PC only get cranky if the PC OS is not shut down properly. They can programed and scheduled to re-boot at a specific date, time etc then run whatever application you want automatically.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2015-03-09 10:28
    The traditional definition of "embedded computer" was a computer built into some other machine or system whose function was not computing.

    Think the engine management computer in your car.

    Slamming a Pi that runs Linux on and off may well result in a damaged file system or lost files. Although modern file systems are far more robaust to that kind of mistreatment than they were a decade ago.

    However that problem can eliminated by mounting the file system containing the operating system as read only.

    I have no idea how Windows IoT handles this.

    Edit: I reflashed all the routers in the house with OpenWRT about a year ago. OpenWRT is a Linux based router firmware. There has been no need to reboot any of them since. Used to be a regular thing. https://openwrt.org/

    No idea how we get the power consumption down, still it's not much.
  • Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL) Posts: 1,720
    edited 2015-03-09 11:47
    I'm posting this with my shiny new Pi 2 :)

    You got to like it when everything works out of the box (even WiFi ) and it fires right up. It even seems to be zippy. :)
    I'm looking forward to getting the Propeller development stuff running on it. I like my new case much better than my old one. It fits great. Having 4 USB ports is great!! I also got a 5 V @ 2.5 amp's power adaptor.

    @Leon

    re: Yes, the display is very good. I use a Philips 227E4 HDMI monitor (1920 x 1080) with mine.

    It looks great on my TV screen
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2015-03-09 13:36
    Bob,

    That is very cool. I made the mistake of taking my Pi 2 into the office. Now it's been requisitioned for all kind of evaluation there.

    I'd be quite happy for it to replace the honking great PC under my desk at home.
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2015-03-09 13:59
    I've almost cleared enough space off my workbench to give my Pi 2 a permanent home.

    Velcro Pi2 to the back of the back of the monitor and it has no footprint. Do the same with a powered USB hub and you have some extra POWERED USB ports. The only thing I don't like in this plan is the 3 power cords. Maybe I can find a small surge protector/power strip for the base of the monitor or leach some power from the monitor's mains. Add a USB keyboard/touchpad combo and an arm to put the monitor on and I've got some nice PC horsepower with a minimal loss of workspace!

    Thinking about it almost makes me want to go clean up some more!
  • Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL) Posts: 1,720
    edited 2015-03-22 18:24
    YouTube runs fine on Pi 2 :) (with the default browser) I just spent the past hour listening to some of my favorite Pedal Steel Guitar video's :)
  • Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL) Posts: 1,720
    edited 2015-04-03 15:40
    Today I deployed a few HTML5 Builder samples to the Raspberry Pi 2. Everything worked including the video player.


    <img>http://forums.parallax.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=113762&d=1428101688</img&gt;
    <img>http://forums.parallax.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=113761&d=1428101673</img&gt;
    621 x 495 - 127K
    535 x 867 - 28K
  • Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL) Posts: 1,720
    edited 2015-04-03 16:19
    Today I deployed a few HTML5 Builder samples to the Raspberry Pi 2. Everything worked including the video player. :) Now I have to figure out how to use the GPIO with it. I'll probably be able to use the same code that I'll use with Node.js for the GPIO. :)

    <img>http://forums.parallax.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=113763&d=1428102976</img&gt;

    <img>http://forums.parallax.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=113764&d=1428102984</img&gt;

    <img>http://forums.parallax.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=Movie_HTML5_Pi.png</img&gt;



    It seem's that I don't have the image tags working for the pictures either but it looks ok to me LOL
    621 x 495 - 127K
    535 x 867 - 28K
  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2015-04-03 17:48
    potatohead wrote: »
    Just got mine. Took a while.

    Next week, power supply and MicroSD. Turns out, the only one I've got has a filesystem for the CoCo3 on it. Don't want to ditch it. Small board. I'll make a nice case and call it good.

    Being 4 core and in the upper hundreds of Mhz, I expect it to perform just fine as a general development computer. Most of the time, I've worked on much slower and similar in terms of size RAM & resources. Looking forward to it.

    I have access to a great X server. (Exceed), so I'm very likely to set that up on my Win7 machine, and use the X Server on the Mac. From there, setup the Pi so that it's networked to those hosts and their wi-fi capabilities. When it's stand alone, I'll just be developing on it. When It's networked, I'll just remote display most things on the desktop I'm running at the time.

    (That's the plan anyway, we shall see what sorry state X is in these days...)

    If it all plays out, that will replace my aging XP + Prop Tool + GCC environment. Fun fact: The fan is Smile. (replaced it once and I don't want to do that again) I keep an air can next to the machine. Trigger boot, send air in to get the BIOS to believe the fan is working, and it boots! Like a jump start. Once booted, I've got it clocked down as I don't need any real speed. Amazing it still works, and yes I've got my code backed up.

    For me, I really like to just setup camp on one machine and go. Saves time, and I don't always have it.

    These things are cheap and plenty fast enough. If it gets borked, get another one. Awesome.
    '
    Could you post or send me a link for the CoCo3 program?....This would really make the RPi more useable...I can write in python, But it's goofy to me...lol
    '
    I started life with a CoCo2
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