[Bradford] Fruit Pies

[Steve Wilson]

Hi,

Responses inline :)

On 13/12/2020 00:03, Moanin via Bradford wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> I just wanted to buy a Raspberry Pi
> But there's so many models I now want to cry.
> It's really confusing so please tell me why
> It's so hard to know which Raspberry Pi?
>
> Continuing with my efforts to get to grips with programming I thought 
> it may be a good idea to get one of these. But so many choices! The 
> commercial offerings were bad enough but there seem to be a never 
> ending list of them on raspberrypi.org, from version 1 to 4 and each 
> with its own variations. From a "sticking with Linux" perspective, 
> should I be getting the latest or will an earlier version suit my 
> needs? They all look affordable. But I don't want to have to fight off 
> 'Doze and 'Tosh if I get something towards the shinier end!
I bought into them earliy, and it turned out I was working at the time 
with the author of the official user guide book who "co-" wrote it with 
Eben ( Here's hoping he's on this list as he's a Bradford lad ). I don't 
have the latest and greatest but certainly loved hacking the original 
into an old spectrum case and have internal ad blocking DNS running on 
one full time. I've not compared prices, based on further comments and 
future proofing I'd go for the best bang for the buck you feel 
comfortable paying.
> My objective is to set one up as a server, then write and test simple 
> programmes. I'd also like to start knocking up a few web pages using 
> the Smarty templating engine, to get a handle on its basic principles. 
> I don't mind if it means deleting earlier work to make space but I 
> gather they can hold quite a lot?
Not being familiar with your experience makes it a bit tricky here. 
Smarty's a php templating engine and IMO apache's got bloated and you 
could save resources using nginx with php-fpm rather than apache+mod_php 
but that could be another learning curve. Both should be possible either 
way.
> The main question: Which "board" to get - online it looks like boards 
> or you can buy one in a box but is there much point in that beyond 
> cosmetics? Several people brought theirs to the BradLUG meetings, 
> remember those anybody? so hopefully a few of you can help to 
> enlighten me? :)
I'd go with a Pi 4, I didn't realise there was such a price difference 
in the RAM sizes. Based on what you've already said you should be good 
with the 2GB version but maybe 4GB if you're wanting to try new/more 
stuff later that could put pressure on the RAM usage.
> Am I right in thinking I can plug one into the laptop or PC to get a 
> screen? What other bits and pieces will I need?
Firstly, they've got HDMI output or composite via the jack so you'll 
need a HDMI display to at least set it up. Once that's done, and 
depending on configuration, you should be able to ssh to it for command 
line or RDP. There's options with the OS and it's configuration but ssh 
is the way we normally go.
As for other bits, it depends on the supplier and what they bundle with 
the board. At a minimum you'll probably need a micro-hdmi to standard 
adapter and a decent power supply to start, they'll also need an SD 
card. You might find some suppliers have a started kit which might help 
show what you might need, some add cases, heat sinks and pre-installed 
OS on a card which might not be needed and save costs.
> Any recommendations for a UK supplier? I found thepihut.com which 
> prices in £p. There's Farnell too, which used to be in Armley but were 
> bought out. No idea how reliable or trustworthy any of them are though.
Originally I used RS for the version 1 and have used both pihut and 
pimoroni, no issues with any. I think pimoroni and pihut have expanded 
to sell other pi related items now and I think they'll have more 
expertise than farnell/cpc when it come to what's needed.
> Finally, are they upgradeable? So for instance I may only need say 2gb 
> just now but could I add more or is it better to start off with say 
> 8gb? What's the maximum?
No. Your only option is to make an educated guess at what you need and 
buy that. I believe all the latest versions have the same CPU and the 
only difference is the RAM 2/4/8GB. Personally I think the 8G may be too 
much unless you're going for something like the 400 and replacing your 
desktop. For what you've said you should be good with 2G, I think the 
original only had 512MB.
> Any and all help and/or tips welcomed warmly.

Research what you initially want to do as much as you can so you can 
make an informed decision on the initial outlay. It's only the board you 
need to replace if you do find you need to upgrade in the future but at 
£50/80 the upgraded options seem quite expensive.

Steve.