Raspberry Pi - $35 Linux computer

  • Thread starter Thread starter daz
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afraser2k said:
However, since I already have a drive spare does anyone have any similar alternatives for just the case to hold a 3.5" HDD?
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I don't think I've ever seen a commercial case with room for a 3.5" drive, everyone uses 2.5" models and even then there aren't many of them.
 
I'm considering getting started with a Pi to run Homebridge - https://github.com/nfarina/homebridge

I'm beginning to look at Apple HomeKit products to automate my home. I already have a Nest Thermostat, Nest utilise their own protocol and ecosystem for automation (Nest Weave - Works with Nest) to combine it's functions with other equipment which unfortunately isn't compatible with Apple's HomeKit and probably never will be :(

Official HomeKit products care still thin on the ground, however a Homebridge server will allow me to start the process of automating my home using 3rd party products.

My question is what do I need to do to get started with Pi computing? Where is best to purchase a Pi, any good deals etc?
 
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There is an excellent deal on rainforest ATM for a pi 3, official case, proper PSU (micro USB), 16gb SD with noobs

£40
(Can I just point out ocuk don't stock pi 3 so mods pls don't rek me)
 
Shivy011 said:
There is an excellent deal on rainforest ATM for a pi 3, official case, proper PSU (micro USB), 16gb SD with noobs

£40
(Can I just point out ocuk don't stock pi 3 so mods pls don't rek me)
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Thanks the info :cool: That's a great deal will look at getting it ordered shortly
 
Evilpaul said:
I had an original RPi B (an early version with only 256MB RAM) knocking around that was unused and I was always struggling for a project to put it to use.
With the Edge browser not yet supporting ad blockers I have resorted to modifying the HOSTS file, but that is a pain to maintain across multiple machines and it's not possible on Windows Phone.

So at the weekend I set up a Pi-Hole, and I've got to say that I'm impressed. Quick to install on the RPi and then only needed some simple router configuration (static IP for the RPi and then set the RPi as the primary DNS).
Browsing some websites with a horrible amount of Ads (like windowscentral.com) is now much more tolerable, especially on my mobile.

Only thing I saw that was unintentionally blocked were videos from the BBC Sport website, so I need to investigate getting those whitelisted. Other than that it looks pretty good so far.
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After reading your post i just setup my old Raspberry Pi i had laying around with Pi Hole :).
As you said works great and now pages load much quicker on my android phone for example even though that has adaway on it, there was always a delay when i opened a page but now its gone, did not think it could be ad's but now seems much better.
 
bledd said:
I think you're expecting too much of a Pi.

A NAS with Plex server would be a far better solution.
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+1

I have a self build home server running fedora and Plex server then several of my clients are Pi's. If you want maximum compatability for all clients and the ability to stream over the internet then you need a server with more grunt than a Pi to transcode on the fly.

Also, I've tend to use RaspPlex for my Pi clients. Its seems a more reliable plex client than Kodi.
 
yes, and it has built in wifi and bluetooth so don't by USB plugins for it :)

Think PiHut is one of the cheapest around for them.
 
ok, setup SSH on the raspi3.

Installed Putty on my Windows 7 PC, I than installed Xming so that I can view the remote desktop.

Problem is, whenever I launch Putty, I log in, startlxde and xming opens up across the very bottom of my 2 screens and can't seem to be resized. I can see about as much of the top of it as you can the taskbar.

Any suggestions while I go off and trawl the internet for answers?

I could just use the terminal and learn to use it properly, but this is going to be used by other people eventually and they are generally idiots.
 
AHarvey said:
Problem is, whenever I launch Putty, I log in, startlxde and xming opens up across the very bottom of my 2 screens and can't seem to be resized. I can see about as much of the top of it as you can the taskbar.

Any suggestions while I go off and trawl the internet for answers?
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Any particular reason you're using Xming? I've never tried Xming, but the newest version of Raspbian comes with RealVNC pre-installed, so you could give that a try. I've been using TightVNC with very few problems.
 
purely because the video I was watching on Youtube advised using it.

I'll have a look at that solution instead :)

Edit:
For some reason, TightVNC dies when it gets to adding shortcuts. tells me I need admin rights, but i'm and admin.
 
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Ok, Fixed the issue with TightVNC not installing and now I can SSH + and VNC to the raspi which is great.

Now, how would I go about connecting too and controlling the Pi itself, instead of replicating it on my own PC. For instance, Raspi's are going to be connected to several remote TV's in an office and we would need the ability to connect and remotely make it run webpages with stats on, presentations/images, or even, if needed make it run something such as Skype for remote meetings.
 
Yeah the audio out boards, and especially the digital boards, tend to be quite pricey, I doubt they sell many of them.
 
I bought a pi a while back just as the memory was increased from 256Mb to 512Mb and I didn't really have a specific reason to use it so ended up selling it shortly after.

I have an old computer here running XP with some amateur radio software on it and a few days ago I decided to get a pi3 and use that to replace the old box I have here with some alternative software instead of the windows stuff. It turned up and I spent a happy couple of evenings configuring everything. I've also set it up as a pi-hole.

Initial impressions are good, I did it all via an ssh connection, everything is working and it's running with a nice low CPU usage and according to the pi-hole dashboard, temperature is around 45-50C. It's barely ticking over.

ticking-20161029-131250.png


It's been a long while since I've messed around with anything like this and I'm enjoying the tinkering. I bought the starter kit from Amazon which is the pi, case, psu and 16Gb card for £40.

OcUK don't sell the Raspberry Pi so you're quite OK to mention Amazon without having to use silly 'rainforest' hints.
 
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