Time for Pi

Sun May 19 00:20:44 UTC 2013

Here's another website where they specialize in the devices they've gotten
Linux working on:  https://www.miniand.com/  I've personally put Linaro
Ubuntu on the Hackberry and the GK802.  I've got an Mk808B but haven't had
a chance to work on getting a Linux distro working on it.

Here's a blog posting from the person who I followed to get Ubuntu working
on the GK802:
http://jas-hacks.blogspot.ca/2013/05/imx6-gk802-xubuntu-1204.html

I haven't tried any video acceleration stuff as I don't need it for the
application I'm using them for, but some of the devices do have drivers for
it.  Jas says he's gotten it working on the Gk802.

On Sat, May 18, 2013 at 12:32 PM, D. Hugh Redelmeier <hugh-pmF8o41NoarQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org>wrote:

> | From: Evan Leibovitch <evan-ieNeDk6JonTYtjvyW6yDsg at public.gmane.org>
>
> | OK, you've convinced me. I wanna get a Raspberry Pi. Maybe more than one.
> | Probably to play around with, but maybe ultimately as a home theatre
> client
> | running Rasplex.
>
> I think that they are great toys, and a bargain.  If you want a
> "production" HTPC, you might be ahead with something that is less DIY.
> It depends on how you value several dimensions: openness, community,
> price, required effort, perfection.
>
> In the worst case, you'll learn a lot from the RP, even if you end up
> wanting something else.
>
> One neat feature of the RP: CEC support.  That means it can control
> your devices over HDMI.
>
> | Now ... about procurement...
> |
> | The two sites that are the direct sellers -- Newark and Allied -- both
> | appear to make you create an account before they'll tell you shipping
> | costs. What are they? Is one suppier clearly better than the other? Is
> | there any clear advantage to multiple people pooling into one order?
>
> I've bought a few from Newark.  They charged me $8 shipping and were
> very very quick.  Slight hickups:
>
> - they've advertised free shipping a couple of times but in the fine
>   print exclude shipping to Canada.  Once was on their Canadian web
>   page; another in email to me, even though they have my location.
>   Grr.
>
> - once I ordered two RPs and two power supplies.  They were backordered
>   on the RPs so they made it two shipments, charging me twice for
>   shipping.  Apparently I missed the tick box to request that everything
>   to be shipped in one shipment.
>
> Their phone people are not like mass-market CSRs.  That's good.
>
> Their power supplies are $7.00 (including the cable).  You could hunt them
> down for less.
>
> | And finally ... what are people doing for cases?
>
> I've cut a few cases at Hacklab.  Scott is the expert.  Paul Wouters
> really helped me.  The blank plexiglas came from Plastic World, in
> your neck of the woods.  Slightly tricky: get the right thickness (my
> first attempt used slightly too thick stock that I had already; the
> result was cracking as I forced the bits together).
>
> The cases from Newark are probably fine.  Just less in the DIY spirit.
>
> | From: Nicholas <nicholas-D2Whf1L5i00 at public.gmane.org>
>
> | Which reminds me -- you'll want an SD card.  I got a high speed Phillips
> | 16GB SD card from Fortune Computers (also at College & Spadina) for $10.
> |  It does a pretty good job.
>
> I've heard that Sandisk SDs do better than (most?) others because of
> their superior performance on short writes.  I've not verified this.
>
>
>
> | From: John Martin <martjh-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>
>
> | I bought mine from Newark. If I remember, the cost with tax and
> | shipping was $53.11 so the shipping would have been $12. I think it
> | was Purolator.
>
> Maybe my $8 charges were sale prices, but that's what I've paid each
> time, as far as I recollect.  I think that that is a minimum charge
> and would increase when the mass reaches a certain threshold.
>
> Hmm... from their FAQ:
> <http://canada.newark.com/help-delivery-information>
>
>     Standard delivery
>
>     We use Canada UPS for next day delivery to all major cities in Canada.
>     Please add additional days for remote locations. All deliveries will be
>     shipped UPS at a shipping cost of $8.00 CDN per parcel up to 50 lbs.
>     Shipments greater than 50 lbs will ship ground with the cost based on
> the
>     actual weight.
>
> | From: Stewart C. Russell <scruss-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>
>
> | • HDMI cable — cheap ones (~$5 from College St or Active Surplus) are
> | fine. Sayal might be $6-8. If you want to buy a Monster cable, can I
> | also interest you in this lovely beach-front timeshare just outside
> | Phoenix, AZ …?
>
> Short ones are even cheaper from Dollarama.
>
> | • powered USB hub — optional, but the Raspberry Pi has very little
> | protection on its USB ports, and hot-plugging something has a good
> | chance of resetting or hanging the board.
>
> Will a powered hub prevent that?  I've only once tried hotplugging on
> the RP, and it wasn't successful.  Apparently a well-known bug.
>
> | > And finally ... what are people doing for cases?
> |
> | I think the Allied (or whoever's aligned with RS [Radio Spares]) ship
> | it in a small plastic box that can be used as a case — it has cutouts
> | for ports, and most importantly, the SD card is fully enclosed.
>
> Neat!
>
> Scott (I think) recommended Newark and I've stuck with them.
>
> | From: Tim Tisdall <tisdall-DXT9u3ndKiSh7up9GtFB90EOCMrvLtNR at public.gmane.org>
>
> | Might I suggest something like this:
> |
> http://www.geekbuying.com/item/MK808B-Dual-Core-Android-4-1-Jelly-Bean-TV-BOX-RK3066-Cortex-A9-1GB-RAM-8GB-ROM-Mini-PC-TV-Box---Black-313213.html
> |
> | There's a ton of these small stick-like machines out there that primarily
> | run Android, but there are Linux builds for them as well.  This one is a
> | dual-core processor.  There's also some quad-core processors out there
> now.
> |  This one has built in wifi and bluetooth.
>
> Those are intriguing.  I've not tried them.  Not as much of a culture
> of open-source hacking.
>
> These have much more CPU horsepower than the RP.  Doubly so for the
> quad core ones.  And more RAM -- most have 1G but the quad core ones
> have 2G.
>
> I think that the RP's video is more powerful (but less open, oddly
> enough).
>
> They might have better I/O bandwidth that the RP.  In the RP, All SD,
> USB, and ethernet goes through a single internal USB 2.0 port, which
> sure sounds like a bottleneck.  I don't know the topology of these
> sticks.
>
> These sticks are specialized for HTPC so might be better for that
> purpose.
>
> Is there a reasonable ordinary linux distro for these?
> Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora/Arch/...?  Most of the activity appears to be
> custom permutations of Android, key parts of which are binary-only.
>
> The Geekbuying link you gave is for US$44, a very attractive price.
> They have quad cores for twice that price too.
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