ubuntu and Raspberry Pi

[squakie]

I just don't know where else to ask this, so if it needs to be moved please do so.

I know Raspian on the Raspberry Pi is Debian based, and since Ubuntu is also Debian based, I was wondering if there is a version of Ubuntu that runs on the Raspberry Pi and it's architecture (Armtel or some such thing). I don't have a problem using Raspian, since the look and feel is pretty much the same, but wouldn't mind if I could just stick with Ubuntu all the way around.

As a side note, if you don't know what a Raspberry Pi is, you should research them on the net. Very inexpensive, very small, and they make a nice little media center when XBMC is installed.

[QIII]

Last I heard, no.

Raspian is a pretty thoroughly reworked Debian.

[Noah0504]

As far as I know, there still is no version of Ubuntu that will run on the Raspberry Pi.

Also, from the Raspberry Pi FAQ:

Fedora, Debian and ArchLinux will be supported from the start. We hope to see support from other distros later. (Because of issues with newer releases of Ubuntu and the ARM processor we are using, Ubuntu can’t commit to support Raspberry Pi at the moment.) You will be able to download distro images from us as soon as the Raspberry Pi is released, and we will also be selling pre-loaded SD cards shortly after release.

If for some reason you don't want to run their Debian-based distro, they have a new "out of the box" software which allows you to choice from a few different distributions based on Fedora and Arch.

[Bucky Ball]

There's heaps of options. I have one running RaspBMC, which is basically XBMC for the Pi, and have it streaming vid/iview/radio from net and data from any of the four other computers in the house. Beautiful picture, sound, and RaspBMC is pretty rock solid. Nothing untoward at this point.

You might want to look at Xbian. Apparently that is a bit of a blend of media centre/regular OS. Why not try something that is not a media centre? That is going to be reasonably 'Ubuntu-ish' (unless of course you use something non-Debian). I did read a website about someone getting Xubuntu up on a Pi, but don't know how that works. Anyway, good luck.

[1clue]

Hope this isn't considered a hijack by anyone here, but since I have at least 2 enthusiasts paying attention I want to ask a question.

My parents are both almost blind. I want them to get on the net so they can do email and watch videos that the rest of my family is sending. They have a large screen TV which they can see fine, it's 1080p with HDMI.

I'd like to know how well this would work with two computer-illiterate 78-year-olds who can't seem to remember a lot? I'm hoping for a simple menu-driven setup that they can use for email, photos and videos, both from a USB thumb drive and from YouTube or whatever.

Some sick, twisted part of me wants them on Facebook. Most of the rest of my family is there, and it would give them a hook into our lives.

[squakie]

You may need to add a USB hub (AC powered - as the load may be too much for the power supply you might use with the Pi). It has a web browser, so presumably you could do Facebook. If they can handle desktop Ubuntu, then they could probably handle the Pi. Keep in mind it is a relatively slow mono-processor of a different architecture, so don't be expecting all kinds of things. It also isn't a full-blown version of Debian (nor the others, I suspect) - it's been modified to get it to run.

I have used mine to get on the net and research things for the Pi and XBMC. I currently have one running raspian instead of the dedicated XBMC version. So currently I have to start XBMC myself, but that's okay for now. I'm trying to get this all set up for my sister and brother inlaw as a gift. Currently using a wireless mouse and keyboard, and an USB 750gb hard disk. I haven't done it yet as I'm waiting until I have everything set up and all the media (dvd's, pictures, cd's, etc.) actually loaded and working with XBMC, but....you can place everything but the essentials to boot on an external drive partition so that you only boot from the SD card. This would also make things a little bit more responsive.

Since it will eventually need wireless connectivity, I have a powered USB hub to connect to it for the drive, wireless keyboard mouse, wireless networking adapter (my Tenda W332M [?] worked with no fuss), and room for more drives and USB flash drives if needed. I plan to try having Samba running such that my sister and/or brother inlaw can use Handbrake on their Windows laptops and transfer the output to the Pi wirelessly so it is ready for XBMC. I'm interested to see if/how big a performance hit for XBMC there is while Samba is running but not transferring anything and XBMC is playing back.

My biggest suggestion would be to check the net - there are forums for the Pi, youtube videos where you can see it in action, etc..

After I get this all set up for my sister and brother inlaw, I'm going to get some more of them as I just love the little dudes. I'll rig one up as a XBMC unit using wireless to get movies from the other wireless Pi, so they can rsync and then move to the bedroom TV and continue watching the same movie right from where they left off.

I also just want to play with the dang things. There's actually quite a bit there on the board and for $39 to $40 you can't beat it. The GPIO pins are on the board, along with voltage and ground pins, etc., so you can interface to a lot of experiments, and I love to experiment.

Also working on adding wview to one so my niece's husband can hook up his Oregon Scientific weather station to it.

EDIT: just remembered another possibility, slightly more money, but still under $100. There is something called the PCDuino which has a version with a lot better processor and runnning Ubuntu. There is no where around here in Minnesota that i've been able to find that even carries them. Pi's on the other hand are quite well stocked and restocked at our local Micro Center - I assume other places carry them as well but I just go to Micro Center for most things - it's fun to look while buying

[Bucky Ball]

Thread moved to General Help.

@ 1clue: Yes, I would consider it hijacking and would move my post and the last two posts to their own thread normally, but as squakie started the thread and happily replied to yours, what the hey. Probably avoid in future, though.

Nicely put, squakie. You have done your research. The PCduino connects with the Arduino boards by the looks, another item you'd like if you haven't already got one or two:

http://www.arduino.cc/

There is also a camera board for the Pi (available at Element14 I think).

I think if you are looking to run a full blown Ubuntu, the Pi is not the place to go. It was never really intended for that and one of the only reasons it's come this far is the 1080p capabilities built right into the same chip. I don't know if you'd have any luck running anything like, say, Firefox. There are no plans I know of no plans for a more powerful one anytime soon. They were made as an educational device originally.

[jfbooth]

Here are friendly 2 cents. I have a model B Pi running Raspbian Wheezy. Have not had it very long. I purchased it with a preloaded SD card 4GB, a usb WIFI dongle, a compact USB Keyboard w/ mouse USB port, a 4-port USB hub - USB powered which I do not use (yet). It is connected to a 20" LG lcd display via HDMI. Being preloaded, .. very easy to set up ... and seems to run impressively well. I can't get sound out of the Display .. only out of the audio port with headphones ... but there is a fix for that ... I just have not found it.

From my time in forums etc it is apparent there are MANY distros being used on Pi ... but I only have limited experience with Raspbian. I dumped the provided browsers for Chromium. My setup does not seem to do (much) multimedia. It came with a 'player' but it SEEMS that a lot of software needs to be installed b4 it will do anything. Not sure ... but with this 'player', I have not got anything to work ... mp3, mp4, .wmv. ... nothing. Have not had time to look further into this.

It won't do a YOUTUBE video due to a FLASH issue .... and probably never will. This is my greatest disappointment:

http://blog.christosoft.de/2012/08/f...-raspberry-pi/

Is this a 'review of the Rasperry Pi"? No, it is advice that I don't think it is suitable for Mr. Squakie's lovely parents. Then again ... my acquaintance with mine is quite 'freshman' at this point.

[Bucky Ball]

Yes, there is a fix for that, but it's strange you have that problem as the audio is forced to HDMI by default on first boot. Hmm. Perhaps not with Raspian Wheezy, but RaspBMC is built on that I think. Updates from Wheezy repos. Anyway ...

You could try editing the /boot/config.txt file and adding:

hdmi_drive=2

... at the end of the file. From here:

http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=5062

That should force audio to HDMI and you are in for a big difference I imagine. Make sure you have your volume down before booting after the change.

[1clue]

At some point I'm gonna have to get one, but I don't think my parents are going to be part of that.

IMO an operating system is best when it uses only a tiny part of the system resources, so I don't think I would put any *buntu on a pi.

I might look into that bigger PCDuino whatzit though, sounds interesting.

I find myself a bit disappointed at the pi guys though, I would have called the second edition a Pi r2, and the third 43 pi r3. I love puns.

Sorry for the diversion, guys.