RPi - June update

I continue to get visits from those that are trying to find out information on the Raspberry Pie computer.

I must admit that I have lost a bit of my interest in that I have moved on to other things and what I wanted to do with the RPi are not certain in their feasibility. For example, I could mock up what I am trying to do on a Linux box that I have sitting in my basement. I can configure the necessary Samba shares and I could populate the drives with media. What is stopping me is that I remain to be convinced that either Linux Samba Shares or Windows HomeGroup networking are going to do what I want to do.

I am currently of the opinion that technology has to move on from the perspective of the main-stream such that what I am trying to do becomes common-place. The solution that I have at the moment, swapping out HDDs from Media Center to another, is working well for me. The drives that I acquired for the RPi project have even been used in the manner that I started out. My dream is to have everything networked but I am highly skeptical that it has been achieved. It is a while since I have read the "home gadget press" that claims to have everything working. I know the theory behind all this, I just doubt that it works in practice.

I really should re-register on the RS Components website that I am interested in the RPI. As far as I know the boards are now freely available and all I need to do is order one. I was on the mailing list to be informed when I was eligible to purchase one but the email that I used to register had to be "canned". If, for some strange reason, you are reading this and have managed to order and receive an RPi please email me (or make a comment on this post) and tell me. It may renew my interest in the RPi.

At the present time I see the RPi as little more than an exercise in politics (on the part of the U government - w.r.t. furthering the "art of programming") and a marketing exercise by Seneca College in Toronto and the retailers RS Components and Premier Farnell. 

The distinction between a Media Sever and a Media Centre

The reason for this distiction is that many have expressed the intention of using the Raspberry Pi computer for use as a Mini Media Center. This has gained me some interest in my project of using a RPi as a Media Server.

My requirements are specific in that I have established a need and a deficiency in the market for a device that I think fulfills this function effectively. I am not looking for a cheap solution because I cannot afford the solutions that are available. It is my belief that there are no working alternatives.

Due to the problems and deficiencies found in Windows HomeGroup sharing and Windows Home Server solutions a small dedicated NAS solution is to be developed using the RPi and Samba shares. The things to develop here are not the configuration of the the Pi computer, the installation of Fedora (or Debian) and the set-up of Samba shares, that has all been done before. It is the administration of large amounts of digital media on the storage device, the transfer of these files on and off the shared drives. I have also established that the use of a NAS device does in fact provide what appears to be a viable solution but the problem that I face at the present time is that the hardware that I have managed to get to do this is unmanageable from the administrative standpoint.

The difference between a Media Center and a Media Server

A Media Centre is another name for a HTPC (Home Theater PC), it is a self contained piece of hardware for the reproduction of digital  media. It can consist of a computer with processor and drives to store the media, a display and a means to control it all.

A Media Server is just a network storage device that is used for just that: storing and serving digital media to devices on that network.
This may include any number of Media Centers. A Media Server does not require to be able to provide a high definition video output. Its primary function is as a file server.

• What is a HTPC 
• HomeGroup Networking for media distrubution

Premier Farnell

Premier Farnell - Element 14 Forum/Community

It doesn't seem possible to order hardware on this website.

• The Premier Farnell website
• element14 receive first batch of Raspberry Pi's and founder gives masterclass to local students - 14 April 2012
• Eben Upton - the founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation
• How I intend using the RPi

PandaBoard ES

I can't really see that this is an alternative to a RPi - it is 5 times the price! Even the non-ES version is $174.

I am presuming that this motherboard processor combination will run a distribution of Linux. Without doing a little more research I cannot see why the Pandaboard cannot be used as a media centre and run programs such as Handbrake.

Links:

• DigiKey - Distributors of the Pandaboard
• Pandaboard on Twitter
• Community on Pandaboard.org

1st impressions of Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot)

Having re-configured my server and media machines I allowed the webserver backup machine to update to version 11.10

At first glance the new Unity GUI was a bit of a shock.

Take the tour (of the current version of Ubuntu)

Having run Ubuntu and other distributions of Linux for a number of years now, I have fair amount of experience to make a comparison between Ubuntu, Windows and OSX. So far the rhetoric I have seen so far, and I haven't been looking for long, it seems to be the "same old same old". The discussion on whether Linux or OSX are better than Windows is pointless in my opinion.

The main advantage of not using Windows as I see it is that they are both still minority o/s and as such, smaller targets.

My interest in the re-configuration of the Linux box was to setup Samba Shares for use in a media server. This is part of a "proof of concept" for the Raspberry Pi Media server.

RPi

Index to pages featuring the Raspberry Pi on The Technology Muse

Since starting this project I have had to rebuild my website and I am in the process of transferring a lot of the material to this blog. I have made significant changes to the navigation of the posts/pages as they have been transferred to this blog. This page should be starting place for all of the posts.
This post updated 20 June 2012

• Using the RPi as a Media Server - this was the most popular at the time starting this index, probably as it was the first.
• RS Components - Ordering the Raspberry Pi
• Premier Farnell
• Intel's NUC and the Raspberry Pie
• Using Fun Plug on a Dlink DNS-323
• Frustration in purchasing a Raspberry Pi
• Where to buy a RPi
• Update on Raspberry Pi - What I decided to do 23 March 2012
• The distinction between a Media Sever and a Media Centre 
• Is an ITX form motherboard an alternative? 
• Other alternatives such as the PandaBoard

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At the time that I was compiling this index I was retraining myself in posting the information on the RPi on my website as I was in the process of shutting the website down. The reasons for me shutting it down are irrelevant to this post. However, if you are the person that precipitated this action, or an agent/lawyer of that person, and you are reading this (I haven't seen your visits lately), my website was never about you or a vendetta against you or your companies (see the comment on this post).

If you threaten me with something that you will do if I don't remove information about you I am likely to re-post that information on this blog. If something is obviously libelous I will remove it. However, the expression of the opinion that you and your business practices are somewhat suspect are simple that, opinion. The posting of a street address, one that is associated in other places on the Internet with your business is neither an invasion of privacy or libelous. I have no intention of taking sides with your former employees no matter what has transpired between you. The only reason that information about you appeared on my website was due to an observation of mine and the response of some of the visitors to my website.

Update on Raspberry Pi

I have decided to wait on incorporating the RPi in the D-link NAS - mainly due to the fact  that the boards are still mythware.

I am going to configure a full-size Linux server and try out my ideas there first. I continue to see searches for more information on the Raspberry Pi project (Apache WebServer and Media Server) - I will make further updates on this blog.

RPi frustration

The main frustration that I have with the Raspberry Pi project is not the difficulty in procuring the hardware, it is the nonsense that I see springing up on the Internet from those that appear to be "milking" it for all they can get.

The project and foundation are supposed to be founded on "educational" aims, if there is anything to learn from all this is "how not to launch a product". I understand and appreciate all the hard work that those responsible for this project have put in to date, but the announcement of the project as being "released" when there are now quite obvious problems with supply of hardware, is pitiful.

• Systems pages on The Technology Muse
• Using the Raspberry Pi as a Media Server.
• Where to buy the RPi 

The forum and You Tube activity from those that have "plans" for the RPi, or those that are just showing off or have an agenda (like generating sales or fame) is getting more painful than usual. Both these formats continue to be largely useless to find really useful information. That you do find is mainly of the Warholian variety.

I am quite happy to wait until I have the hardware to perform my experiments. I have a specific goal that I want to achieve. One that I have been working on for a few years now. I do not see the RPi as a means to show how clever I am or to gain notoriety. Frankly, the forum activity and competitions that I see around "What are you planning on doing with the Raspberry Pie when you get your hands on one?" as merely as a diversion and not very helpful. Those that enter and post to such seem to be mainly immature males with nothing much else going for them. (I realize that this is a gross over-simplification but it is an expression of my frustration - it is not limited to this project, but to most of what I see and find on the Internet with regards to technology)

Update May 2012:

Since starting the posts on this blog about the RPi I have  had to re-post a lot of what I previously had on my website to this blog. This also resulted in my place on the RS Components waiting list for the RPi to lapse as the email address for the updates got lost in the process.

I am still thinking of using the RPi and my notes will continue to be posted to this blog.

• The RS Components website
• The Premier Farnell website.

Youtube Raspberry Pi

This is a great opportunity for those that don't have the hardware to exercise their 15 minutes of fame.

Has anyone done anything useful yet?

• Using the RPi as a Media Server

HomeGroup Networking

Is Windows HomeGroup networking a viable solution for home networking?

It was my plan to use a Linux Samba share server to provide a solution to what I observed to be a deficiency in the operation of Windows Homegroup.

My observation is that Homegroup is unreliable in a Windows 7/IPv6 environment. but so are Samba Shares.

• Powerline Networking discussed 
• Samba Shares