BlueWolf Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 This is my entire computer right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 That little box is your computer??? Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 What happened to the rest of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterchillz Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 How? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 It's a Raspberry pi (Google it ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterchillz Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 It's a Raspberry pi (Google it ) Thanks, mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted November 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 That little box is your computer??? Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2 Well, one of my computers actually. But so far this one is the most fun to play with! And it's just £25! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 I set mine up as a complete Audio Video Server with a digital terrestrial TV tuner and full DVR capability, (digital video recorder), functionality for less than £99! It certainly takes you back to the 'early days' of the Acorn Atom, the Sinclair ZX80 and the superb Commodore Amiga! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 the superb Commodore Amiga! Superb is an understatement .... State of the art piece of toy that one was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Very cool!! But I have a question. What happens if something inside it stops working? I appreciate for £25 you could simply buy a new one easily enough but if you wanted to repair it, would it be possible? We used to have an asos pc, it wasn't a tower unit and when the nvidia graphics card went up the shoot and we took it apart, it became apparant that repairing it wasn't as simple as it looked. Ended up getting a new tower style pc instead and bringing over the old harddrive so that we've got two to play with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Very cool!! But I have a question. What happens if something inside it stops working? I appreciate for £25 you could simply buy a new one easily enough but if you wanted to repair it, would it be possible? We used to have an asos pc, it wasn't a tower unit and when the nvidia graphics card went up the shoot and we took it apart, it became apparant that repairing it wasn't as simple as it looked. Ended up getting a new tower style pc instead and bringing over the old harddrive so that we've got two to play with. Technically yes, but would involve the use of a soldering iron LOL. In reality you would probably just buy a new one. The advantage behind these is not so much the cost, but the lightweight, size, & flexability of what you can do with them. Example, jos has linux installed and it using it to surf the net. Martin has his set up as an audio/video server. I do something similar to martin. Think about it this way. How many computers do you know you can have attached to your TV that are powered by your TV, are running wireless on your network and are that small and light you can use sticky pads to stick them to the back of your TV? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Marc hits the nail on the head as, unfortunately, we now find ourselves in a 'throw away' society where complex electronic goods can be manufactured at very low cost - primarily due to miniaturisation, (circuits and circuit boards designed by computer, manufactured by robotic systems and the utilisation of surface mount components). It would cost hundreds of pounds/dollars to build a similar computer system from 'discrete' components and it would be the size of a dishwasher! Having qualified in electronic engineering I am not averse to a little design and repair, in my spare time, but I usually only do it as a hobby as it is usually not the most cost effective option if I need something urgently. I do have a number of eBay devices that I deliberately bought 'faulty' and then repaired them, (purely for the challenge), and the 'devices' range from several LCD TV's, a Home Theatre 5:1 Amplifier and a couple of Amateur Radio Transceivers. I am also very fortunate to be reasonably adept at mechanical engineering as well, (not sure where this originated from), and I have been known to restore the odd classic Japanese motorcycle and I am currently driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee that I bought for 1/4 of the price of one of my mountain bikes, (I had to repair and reprogram the LPG ECU), and I now use it purely to take the 'pack' across to Belvoir so that we can all run around the Castle! My best 'gamble' was the purchase, (last year), of a faulty Roland Organ for the princely sum of £30, (which retailed at £7,500 new),and it only took me a week to repair the faults on two of the PCB's! It now takes pride of place in my music/computer room although my musical talent is none existant! Despite being confident with all types of electro-mechanical challenges my attempts at the more creative skill of body repairs, (filler and spray painting), are well below average and I am of the opinion that we all have specific skills, (in certain areas), and in order to be successful we just need to locate and realise these skills - unfortunately I am still searching for mine!! The Rasberry Pi encapsulates the spirit of the 1980's when thousands of people learned all about computer programs, (in their own homes with their 'home computers' long before the likes of Microsoft, Novell, Sun, Oracle, etc), were even conceived and it laid the foundation for the sudden explosion in ICT in the 1990's. I still consider that the Commodore Amiga was one of the most innovative computers and it was head and shoulders above the basic PC's of the same era and it took the humble PC several more years before it could match the sound and graphic capabilities of the Amiga. Who knows where we would be now if Commodore hadn't discontinued the Amiga due to various political and financial issues. I still have several Amiga's, (including a German B2000 that is built into a standard PC case and which also contains an XT PC card that allows the Amiga and the PC to run simultaneously on the same screen - not bad for the early 1990's!!! I also have my old Dragon 32 and lots and lots of software for both computers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Marc hits the nail on the head as, unfortunately, we now find ourselves in a 'throw away' society where complex electronic goods can be manufactured at very low cost - primarily due to miniaturisation, (circuits and circuit boards designed by computer, manufactured by robotic systems and the utilisation of surface mount components). It would cost hundreds of pounds/dollars to build a similar computer system from 'discrete' components and it would be the size of a dishwasher! Having qualified in electronic engineering I am not averse to a little design and repair, in my spare time, but I usually only do it as a hobby as it is usually not the most cost effective option if I need something urgently. I do have a number of eBay devices that I deliberately bought 'faulty' and then repaired them, (purely for the challenge), and the 'devices' range from several LCD TV's, a Home Theatre 5:1 Amplifier and a couple of Amateur Radio Transceivers. I am also very fortunate to be reasonably adept at mechanical engineering as well, (not sure where this originated from), and I have been known to restore the odd classic Japanese motorcycle and I am currently driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee that I bought for 1/4 of the price of one of my mountain bikes, (I had to repair and reprogram the LPG ECU), and I now use it purely to take the 'pack' across to Belvoir so that we can all run around the Castle! My best 'gamble' was the purchase, (last year), of a faulty Roland Organ for the princely sum of £30, (which retailed at £7,500 new),and it only took me a week to repair the faults on two of the PCB's! It now takes pride of place in my music/computer room although my musical talent is none existant! Despite being confident with all types of electro-mechanical challenges my attempts at the more creative skill of body repairs, (filler and spray painting), are well below average and I am of the opinion that we all have specific skills, (in certain areas), and in order to be successful we just need to locate and realise these skills - unfortunately I am still searching for mine!! The Rasberry Pi encapsulates the spirit of the 1980's when thousands of people learned all about computer programs, (in their own homes with their 'home computers' long before the likes of Microsoft, Novell, Sun, Oracle, etc), were even conceived and it laid the foundation for the sudden explosion in ICT in the 1990's. I still consider that the Commodore Amiga was one of the most innovative computers and it was head and shoulders above the basic PC's of the same era and it took the humble PC several more years before it could match the sound and graphic capabilities of the Amiga. Who knows where we would be now if Commodore hadn't discontinued the Amiga due to various political and financial issues. I still have several Amiga's, (including a German B2000 that is built into a standard PC case and which also contains an XT PC card that allows the Amiga and the PC to run simultaneously on the same screen - not bad for the early 1990's!!! I also have my old Dragon 32 and lots and lots of software for both computers! Used to have an amiga 4000 with sampling card, expanded ram and even upgraded the hdd in it. If I remember rightly it was 50mb which at the time was MASSIVE lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 I used mine, primarily, as a video editor, (I purchased a 'Genlock' card and some very clever software), and the results were absolutely amazing. I also dabbled with audio sampling and sequencing, (I paid an absolute fortune for 'Music X'), but work took up most of my spare time unfortunately. I used the PC card to write interface software for the blood chemistry analysers that I was installing in hospitals, (the only PC's in hospitals at that time were the 'standalone' Apples with flopy disc drives)! I used an RS232 protocol analyser, (Procomm?), on the Amiga to monitor the interface data streams and test that the data was correctly structured. Today we have micro processors in everything around us and most people don't realise just how closely their movements are being monitored by the electronic devices they entrust on a daily basis. The Pi is so cheap you could use it for all sorts of projects and the only limitation is your imagination! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted February 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 [...] What about this one then? An Atari 1040ST. Who needs harddrives anyway?? It's completely functional. In fact, it's still being used regularly as it's part of my dad's music setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Jos, thanks for the great picture - another blast from the past, (and the only real 'competion' for the Amiga)! There were only two camps - the Amiga group and there was the Atari group and I do have to admit that the Atari was always favoured by the musical fraternity. I used to look after a couple of Atari's in a local recording studio that I rebuilt, (back in the early 90's), although the Atari was soon to be replaced by its natural predator - the Apple Mac!! You have now inspired me and I may go and get my Amiga out of the loft, (at the weekend), and see if it will still bootup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 am gonna join your club.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Thats practically new ... whats wrong with the good old 65XE? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GohanTheHusky Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Wow! thats crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted February 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Bought a camera for it. Can you guess what size it is? Had to add an SD-card for comparison This is a fully functional camera that can shoot photos at 2592x1944 and can film in full HD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 16, 2014 Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 The world is, quite literally, your oyster with the Pi. It is an ideal foundation stone to provide full 'in car' internet access, (something that is slowly becoming the norm), although not accessable to the driver whilst on the move. We are all becoming far more dependant upon internet access, (whilst on the move), and it makes perfect sense to have a 'terminal' in the car - rather than having to rely on your phone. You then add a couple of rear seat monitors and you have an entertainment centre for the children on longer journeys. Add an interface card and you can then fully 'automate' your house by programming your heating and lighting to switch on/off whenever you wish and then overide it to ensure that your house is warm when you arrive home earlier/later that expected, (presuming that you can still afford to run your central heating with todays ever increasing fuel costs). It could also monitor your garden pond level and automatically add water whenever the level drops below a pre set level and turn on your garden sprinkler, (during the summer months), assuming that we do manage to get a bit of dry weather, (in the UK), before christmas! It could also be programmed to run several model trains, (on a complex layout), controlling the locos, the signals and points - all to a precise timetable! I used to fly model helicopters, (in the 1980's and 1990's), when the technology was still in its infancy and, (as helicopters are the most difficult aircraft to fly), I always wanted to design and build an automatic 'fly by wire' failsafe system but I never had the time to realise this particular project and the Pi wpuld make such a system relatively simple to create. You are only limited by your imagination! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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