Posted on 06/24/2012 12:53:15 PM PDT by Bobalu
Just got my 35 dollar Raspberry Pi Debian Linux computer and thought I'd show fellow freepers how to get on the web and freep on the cheap. It's a Linux setup so it's pretty secure compared to Windows. I'm installing a web server on it now (Apache) and trying to get a cheap USB wifi dongle to work so I can disconnect the ethernet cable...the less cables the better!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNX5Fdt7uu4&feature=youtu.be
Hmmm.. I am using on one machine a $3 bluetooth dongle that works pretty ok with my old ubuntu. Wonder if it will work with the RP. Less cables makes me happy.
Tonight at work I am experimenting with a $5 Windows wifi dongle. Our ISP goes down often however we have another relible wifi source and neighboring companies with geeks like me have cleared me to log on with them in emergencies.
An RP Linux setup would be perfect as a backup. I can keep it in my locker and pull it out when needed.
Got a question for you since you like puzzles. My Toshiba laptop developed a crack in the plug where the hard drive plugs into the motherboard. I cannot get the plug up to make consistent contact now so the laptop is useless ... unless there is a way to replace the slot in the motherboard where the hard drive slips in. Any ideas, or do I have to find a new motherboard which will work with the hard drive and figure out how to disassemble the whole laptop without destroying the grounding, etc?
I hate to be tied to the computer to listen and I also hate running the big PC just to stream audio.
The Pi uses 3 watts according to my kill-o-watt wattmeter.
I have the audio out on the Pi set to HDMI, a second sound card would be nice.
I usually manage to cobble up a repair when faced with such things. But I have good equipment to work with here, hot air rework gear, USB microscopes..etc. Cracks in a multi-layer board can be very tricky or impossible to fix.
I’m impressed. The closest I can claim was running Ubuntu in live mode on my old $30 Dell D810.
The youtube page has been favorited too.
Reading about things is nice but seeing in action is usually a big step up.
The slot to plug into had a piece break off on one surface where the HD slides in. I’m wondering if I could solder onto the contacts a new connector allowing me to plug in a hard drive to the connector. I can alter the case to accomodate the little extra space needed for the plug and wire to attach the HD and close the cover. How delicate is the soldering to attach contacts to bare wire of a plug cable?
Dittos to that! I finally pulled my Chinese IP webcam because the neighbors were getting worried the landlord might see something they don’t like.
Really that is not a problem.
But the big problem for me was setting it up. The manual in Chinglish, using a server in HK , and the Comcastic IP was a real Pain.
Best info was found on YouTube.
Sounds do-able to me.
If you are not experienced at soldering then check out some youtube how to solder videos.
I’m guessing it’s a SATA drive? It would have been no fun at all soldering up a new connection cable to the old HD interfaces...lots of pins.
Usually there is a good how to video on Youtube for all kinds of things.
A few of them have been a big help here and there because invaribly something was lacking in the directions sometimes or the directions would be poorly written.
One channel out there involved about working/upping the new droid phone helped a ton.
Yuo SATA drive. I have it in an external case right now, moving files to my desktop so I don’t lose them.
You and your “cat & mouse” games!
my husband and son built a linux computer as well I used it for a very long time. dirt cheap too.
thanks for the ping, this is worth following
The closest thing I can find to your problem is a page about fixing a damaged SATA slot on a COMPAQ laptop, but it might give you some ideas:
http://imateski.blogspot.com/2009/05/repairing-sata-slot-on-hp-compaq-6710s.html
This site has info on how to disassemble Toshiba laptops:
Thank you very much! I shall pour myself into them straight away.
The laptop in my office has no hard drive. I PXE boot off a server in the other room. Of course, it’s not very portable, but a laptop w/o a harddrive is not useless.
I was wondering if it might be possible to create a P2P backup for FR based on a bunch of these little Pi’s. With some custom software running on them all you would need is a 35.00 Pi plugged into the cable modem/DSL modem of several freepers. Power use is 3 watts or so and an old cell phone charger provides the power. Storage is on a cheap SD card.
Newegg has been selling 32GB SD cards for 18 dollars including shipping. 4GB is enough and those are pretty much throw-away items now.
A network of these things could ensure a P2P system would never go down. I’m an embedded systems guy, wish I knew enough about this type of software to create it myself. Don’t have the time to start from scratch.
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