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Geeks Corner

7 Best Raspberry Pi 3 OS And Content Managers For Any DIY Project

raspberry pi 3 os for diy projects

In one way or other you might have surely tested the concept of Open Source Software. Raspberry Pi has used this concept in hardware and has been widely successful. This year itself it has completed more than 10 million Raspberry Pi sales.

Due to its incredibly low cost and ease of usage it has become popular among fans, educators, equipment manufacturers and everyone interested in electronics. This credit card sized maker board offers great performance and is extremely versatile. If you are a beginner, you can learn everything about Raspberry Pi online from any of the resources mentioned in the link and come back here later.

Also Read: Raspberry Pi FAQ – Everything You Need To Know To Get Started

List Of Best Raspberry Pi 3 OS And Content Managers

The best part, however, with Raspberry Pi is the provision to install a variety of operating systems. It is precisely this ability to customize your Raspberry Pi for the project at hand that makes it more valuable. Although the list of available OSes is broad and ever-increasing, we have presented to you some of the best Raspberry Pi 3 OS from projects we have come across.

Also Read: Raspberry Pi 3 Spec and Features – Everything You Need To Know

Raspian: Best All Round Performance

Raspbian is a lightweight Debian-based OS specially developed for Raspberry Pi. It is one of the most popular operating systems and is the official operating system. Raspbian comes preinstalled with all basic software including an email client, web browser, and even Libre Office. You can install Raspbian by dumping its image file on the SD card.

Raspian could be a little confusing if you are using Linux for the first time. Anyway! you can make use of the Raspberry Pi 3 resources from their official website too. Even YouTube channels like the Raspberry Pi for Beginners and Raspberry Pi Tutorials can come handy.

OSMC: Best Feature Rich Media Center

You can use Raspberry Pi to enjoy movies on your TV. In such a case you can go for the popular option, OSMC. The OSMC media manager, based on Kodi (formerly XBMC) is easiest to use media managers even for beginners.

Unlike Kodi, OSMC features much cleaner interface. You have a menu on the left to select media (videos/music/pictures), change settings, or check programs. It is completely self-explanatory and you don’t have to be a geek to understand it.

For those who are into DIYing, OSMC offers support to many Kodi plug-ins based on Debian. It also supports SSH, FTP, Samba Sharing and other forms for those who want to tinker.

OpenELEC: Best Media Manager For Speedy Performance

Another popular option for media managers is the OpenELEC (stands for Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center). It is almost similar to Kodi, except eliminating all non-sense and trimming it down to the most basic options.

The focus of OpenELEC is speed. It is simple, fast and does exactly one thing – playing multimedia content that you put within reach. Comparing to OSMC, OpenELEC isn’t that flexible, feature rich or beginner friendly.

RISC OS: Best Platform To Have Fun

RISC OS Pi is the RISC OS version designed especially for Raspberry Pi. It brings a completely different desktop environment, unlike Linux or Windows. It is weird and definitely fun to play around.

For anyone who wants to learn, explore, or experiment this OS is what you need. For example, to save a file you will have to drag the Save As icon onto the document. However, it comes with a stack of heavily functional applications for the Raspberry Pi boards.

Win10 IoT Core: Best Platform For Coders and Programmers

The Raspberry Pi 3 doesn’t support the same Windows 10 version like our PC does. Instead, it runs a simpler, slimmed-down version called Windows 10 IoT Core.

It is an excellent development platform for coders to develop prototypes of connected devices. This OS is best suited for applications ranging from taking temperature readings from a sensor to acting as a web server.

The installation experience is quite easier too. Some interesting projects are listed here on the official Microsoft website covering various smart gadgets, robots, and home automation systems. Other than the Raspberry Pi 3, this OS also works with Raspberry Pi 2, DragonBoard 410c and the MinnowMax boards.

Retro Pi: Best Retro Gaming Platform

You can also turn this $35 Raspberry Pi board into a perfect all-in-one retro gaming console. With RetroPie your Raspberry Pi converts into a retro-gaming machine. RetroPi is built on Raspbian, EmulationStation, and other projects and enables you to play your favorite games without any Linux knowledge.

It also comes with a variety of tools to customize and configure the system as you want. You can install RetroPi on an existing Raspbian OS or use the RetroPie image and add other software later.

PiMusicBox: Best Music Player Platform

Is music your thing? Then you will be tempted to use the Pi MusicBox OS on your Raspberry Pi for sure. You can build a cheap standalone music player to enjoy music stored on your PC, a USB or an SD card. Additionally, you can also stream your favorite music from Spotify, Sound Cloud, Google Music … and even podcasts.

If you fancy tweaking you can build yourself a remote controller or control music using your phone. The big plus is you can enjoy music on the go without draining your phone’s battery.

Bonus: Best Lighting System For Your TV (LightBerry)

Lightberry is the favorite LED lighting system for lots of users. It is directly inspired from the Philips Ambilight, best lighting system in the industry.

This effect can be re-created using the Raspberry Pi and some LEDs through a simple project anyone could easily complete. Once you are done, you will be left with a spectacular effect and watching television will never be the same again.

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Geeks Corner

The Best Lightweight Linux Distributions For Old PCs And Processors

best lightweight linux distributions

Linux offers countless advantages over other operating systems. With the umpteen numbers of distributions that suit everyone’s needs, it has continuously gained popularity among users. While preparing the list of the current 8 most popular Linux distributions, we have come across some lightweight Linux distributions that consume low resources and can perfectly suit PCs with Atom Processors.

While there are many Linux distros available, you should particularly try one among this list if you fall under any of these categories:

  1. You have an old and slow PC.
  2. You are a DIY enthusiast and work with miniPCs and SBCs (e.g. Raspberry Pi)
  3. You need more usage space for yourself on your powerful modern PC.

Without further delay, let’s get straight to the point. Remember that all these items on the list are similar and we encourage you to try them all before you find the best lightweight Linux distribution that suits your style and gets your old PC up and running.

5 Best Lightweight Linux Distributions

Lubuntu

For beginners, Linux is synonymous with Ubuntu. Lubuntu is part of the Ubuntu family and is based on LDXE desktop environment. (ldxe.org). The openBox window manager makes this distro much lighter than Xubuntu maintaining Ubuntu compatibility.

Unlike many other lightweight Linux distributions, Lubuntu is an official distro and receives updates on par with Ubuntu. It can run on low-RAM computers, old chipsets, and even hard drives with little capacity.

If this is the first time you are shifting to Linux, Lubuntu is most ideal. The strong community backing can help you with any problems you may likely encounter while configuration.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

CPU: Pentium II or Celeron

RAM: 128MB of RAM

Linux Lite

Linux Lite is a lightweight distribution based on Ubuntu LTS. It is based on the lightweight XFCE desktop environment. These LTS (Long Term Support) versions have extended support for 5 years, thus there is guaranteed stability and long-term updates.

Jerry Bezencon, the creator of this Linux distro, developed it keeping ease of usage as a priority. So, even if you have absolutely no knowledge about Linux distros, Linux Lite will be a smooth step into the Linux world.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

CPU: 700MHz+ PAE support processor

RAM: 512MB RAM

Puppy Linux

Puppy Linux is one of the best lightweight linux distributions in the middle. Puppy Linux can even be loaded into system’s RAM directly. Through this, the startup applications will be way faster than while booting from a storage medium.

In fact, it was initially developed in order to operate from USB. Thus, all kinds of applications come pre-installed and ready for operation from the first moment itself.

Puppy Linux has an interesting integrated software package with several lightweight desktop environments. You can easily customize it to suit your needs.

Disclaimer: You don’t even have to install this Linux distro on an internal drive, simply live boot from a USB flash drive.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

CPU   : 333MHz

RAM :  64MB (recommended 128 MB)

Tiny Core

TinyCore is a GNU / Linux distro and as the name suggests is a really small operating system. It is even smaller than most of the modern text editors with a size of 16 MB including GUI.

This tiny OS comes with only a few applications installed and lesser packages thus makes use of fewer resources. You can also install your favorite applications if needed. This lightweight Linux distro works wonders once installed in an ancient computer.

This Linux distro is available in three different versions: The Core, TinyCore and CorePlus. The Core is sized at 11 MB and is completely based on the Command Line Interface (CLI).

The second version has a size of 15 MB and sports a Graphical User Interface. Even beginners can become familiar with this version real quick.

CorePlus is an installation image rather than a distribution. It is recommended for beginners and comes with core and tools required to set the system up.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

CPU: 486DX Processor

RAM: 32MB

Damn Small Linux

Damn Small Linux or DSL is a perfect fit for the x86 family of personal computers. Based on the Knoppix/Debian technology, it was specifically designed to run graphical applications on older PC hardware.

Disabling all unnecessary services, it gives you tools to directly manage applications. Bundled applications are also chosen for their ability to consume fewer resources.

The DSL can also run entirely from RAM if it is at least of 128MB. Such installation eliminates slow CD, hard disk, or USB access issues and runs the system at better speeds as mentioned earlier.

Similar to Puppy Linux distro, you can boot DSL from any bootable devices like Live CD, USB memory stick or flash drives.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

CPU: 486 or better processor

RAM: 16 MB

Your Thoughts:

What was your experience using these distros? Did we miss any other lightweight distros that our readers must know of? Add your experiences and suggestions in the comments section below.

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Geeks Corner

8 Most Popular Linux Distros You Should Know About

8 most popular linux distros

The Linux universe is so immense that the distros to install on your computer come in different types and conditions. There’s something for everyone, to meet any need, different levels of complexity, and freedom.

It is quite difficult to curate a list of Linux distros without grouping them based on defined criteria. In this post, we have chosen to introduce the most popular ones there are. To compile this list we have relied on the data from Distrowatch and our own experience.

8 Most Popular Linux Distros Till 2016

MINT

This Irish origin Linux distro has made it into the market recently and the most latest one in this list. Thanks to all the   popularity it is gaining in leaps and bounds. This distro based on Ubuntu/Debian, inherits many features and makes life easy for users along with usability and stability.

It has many interesting tools and the so-called Mint tools to make things quite easy for users. Based on Ubuntu, it uses the default desktop environment , GNOME. The  KDE, XFCE and Fluxbox Desktop environment versions are also available. The Mint versions are released 1 or 2 months after the respective version of Ubuntu.

DEBIAN

The Debian Linux distro is a classical and one of the oldest distro aging over 16 years. Even Ubuntu is based on this distro and is the most robust and stable distro in the market. Though it has a reputation for being difficult to use for beginners, its capabilities are spectacular.

On its website, it is presented as “The universal operating system” and surely stand up to it. It is versatile, robust, powerful, stable, available for different architectures, comes with various desktop environments. Not just that there are also versions of Debian based on kernels other than Linux like   KFreeBSD, NetBSD and Hurd.

UBUNTU

Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distribution with its name in Zulu, meaning “Humanity towards others”. As mentioned earlier, it is based on Debian and is versatile with support extending to desktops, servers, and netbooks.

This Debian derivative is ideal for both beginners and experts alike. Its Unity environment with the launcher allows you to keep the desktop clean in addition to being more productive, inspired from Apple’s OSX.

There is usually a new version of this distro launched every 6 months, thus applications are quite updated. For those who prefer more stability, there are also the LTS (Long Term Support) versions are updated every 3 years (5 years in case of server version).

openSUSE

The German origin distro, openSUSE is supported by AMD and SUSE. It is possibly one of the best Linux distributions for generic use and also one of the most used.

This distro shares many features with SUSE Linux. Apart from being quite powerful, the tools like AppArmor ensure greater security in the system. YaST, a management center for system configurations, installations, uninstalls and updates with just one click, Xen for virtualization. The installer gives the option to use GNOME or KDE desktop environments.

Fedora

This top quality distro emerged from the Red Hat project. It  is based on RPM packages (Red Hat Package Manager) instead of a Debian package manager. It features different flavors, i.e. desktop environments like GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE or LXDE. Though it is not a complicated distribution, it may not be the most appropriate one for beginners.

Being one of the most popular distro, it is constantly developing and has a large community, as well as Wikis, tutorials, and manuals.

elementary OS

Linux distributions have different focus areas, mostly technical differences. In many of these distros, the look and feel are not really considered seriously. The uniqueness in elementary OS is that it is one of the most beautiful distros, with its own desktop called Pantheon. Only those applications that fit into the design paradigm are considered.

Based on Ubuntu and is fully compatible in terms of package repositories. It is powerful with a clear inspiration from the Apple world. It integrates Plank, an element that is similar to the Mac OS X Dock.

CentOS

CentOS (Community ENTerprise Operating System) is another distro that has gained immense popularity. It is a binary fork of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

Like Red Hat Enterprise Linux, it is GNOME-based and uses RPM packages. The objective of the developer community was to offer a free of charge distribution similar in capabilities to the RHEL. It is also robust, stable and easy to manage, making it the best server OS.

Arch Linux

Arch Linux since its release has a reputation as a distro for very advanced users and has its reasons. It has a high degree of control and customization and has to built from scratch. There is nothing like a desktop environment, all you get is a foundation and you have to build whatever distro you want over it.

It is, therefore, a popular distro among computer science students and others who want to learn everything about Linux. Luckily, has its own wiki full of answers and a strong and supportive community. There is so much software available for Arch Linux and other distros, plus it uses its own packaging format ( “pacman”)

In addition to being stable, Arch Linux has undemanding hardware requirements. This is because everything is left to the user’s decisions instead of coming with a pre-installed set of applications and features you may never use. Therefore, it rightly deserves its place in this list of the most popular Linux distros.

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Geeks Corner

Meet Onion Omega 2 The miniPC That Costs Only $5

omega 2

Since its first appearance in 2012 the Raspberry Pi has always enjoyed great popularity. It is now positioned as one of the reference development boards. Within the makers world of the miniPC there are many other options other than the Raspberry Pi.  But RPi has managed to stand out impressively thanks to its versatility that makes millions of people to discover a new utility every day. Thereby it has a strong user base always on the hunt to expand their capabilities and find new applications.

This has led to the emergence of new and cheap boards seeking to offer stiff competition to the Raspberry Pi. In this article we present to you a new bet on the market, which looks good, and is here to compete directly with the Raspberry Pi Zero both in terms of price (only $5) and size, called the Omega 2.

A year ago the first version of Omega hit the market like a miniPC seeking to break into the world of makers and programmers. The Onion Omega 2 is based on MIPS and Wi-Fi enabled Qualcomm Atheros AR9331 SoC and is a leap forward from its predecessor.

omega 2

Onion Omega 2 vs Raspberry Pi Zero

Its size is just a quarter of a Raspberry Pi and is fully configurable and expandable through a variety of modules. While some of these are OLED displays and battery modules, this miniPC can be connected to Arduino boards, thereby expanding its power and other capabilities.

No doubt the attractive part is the price of $ 5, which gives us access to a Omega2 in its entry-level version with a 580 MHz CPU with 64 MB of memory and 16 MB of storage.

The price of the ‘Plus’ version of the Omega2 goes up to $ 9, but with this we get twice the memory, storage and support for microSD. When compared to Raspberry Pi Zero, with only 1GHz CPU and 512 MB of RAM it falls short. However, it has an integrated WiFi module which isn’t the case with the Raspberry Pi Zero.

The Raspberry Pi Zero uses the HDMI output to connect to any screen, while the Omega2 uses its cloud, the Onion Cloud. This enables control of this miniPC from any browser and computer or platform, and adds extensive support hardware and software through APIs.

The base price is $ 5 for the Omega 2 version, the Omega 2 Plus version is priced at 9 dollars, and the expandable modules start at $ 15. You can pre-order this miniPC from the Omega 2 Indiegogo crowdsourcing campaign.

More Information at: Onion

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Gadgets Tech News Virtual Reality

Enjoy HTC Vive VR Experiences Wirelessly With This $220 Update Kit

Wireless Virtual Reality device TPCAST

One of the major drawbacks of most virtual reality headsets is that they should be tethered to your computer or console that provides them all the digital content. The HTC Vive, the Oculus Rift and even the most recent PSVR force us to use wires, and this makes the experience a little uncomfortable.

A team of developers and engineers has devised a way to solve the problem in HTC Vive. The company TPCAST has developed an add-on to transfer all necessary information wirelessly . This development platform goes on sale with the blessing of Vive X, the “accelerator” of projects related to the virtual reality of HTC.

Wireless Virtual Reality is now available and is expensive

Wireless Virtual Reality device TPCAST

HTC is responsible for ensuring that the experience is not compromised at all and there is no “significant difference” to the cable connection on issues such as latency. The device includes a battery with a range of one and a half hour, which may look like less but VR sessions don’t last longer anyway.  However, it is expected to market a larger battery that can be stored in the pocket like any other external battery in future developments.

Also Read: The Ultimate Comparison of all the Best VR Headsets

This add-on module for the HTC Vive was available for pre-order from the Chinese website for $220 and were sold out for just 18 minutes. This clearly demonstrated how much fans are waiting for an upgrade like this one. However, if you are also looking forward to ditch those cumbersome wires and experience wireless VR experience, it is expected that the upgrade may be available for pre-order again next month.

This upgrade makes it certainly more interesting (and comfortable) to use HTC Vive, and avoids one of the obstacles to the use of this technology. However, yes, the bundle now gets much more expensive. Others OEMs are attacking this market from the other end. Google Daydream begins to be available as a mature version of the original Google Cardboard , and even with the Samsung Gear VR, the idea is to avoid large investments to experience decent virtual reality. After Oculus launched their touch controllers recently, its now HTC Vive’s turn to introduce wireless virtual reality add-ons and takes us into a fresh year with expectations for a lot more such updates and finally hassle free VR experience.

Few Other Interesting Reads: 

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Geeks Corner

UDOO x86 : This Mini PC is the most Powerful Maker Board Ever

Image Credits of UDOO x86 board: kickstarter.com

UDOO took the makers world by storm with their new UDOO X86 board for makers. This powerful maker board is 10 times more faster than a Raspberry Pi 3 and combines the benefits of both PC and Arduino 101.

This open source board is based on Intel Braswell X5 Quad Core, with upto 2.24 GHz of CPU speed. It is cross compatible with Arduino thanks to the built-in Arduino 101 development (Curie). It is said to be 10 times powerful than a Raspberry Pi 3 and the perfect replacement for your PC.

This can be explained by its ability to run all software available to PC (video editing to gaming) and drive three 4K screens at a time. However, it isn’t something you can’t afford either. Priced at just $89 for the X86 Basic edition it is one board that’s taken the limelight in the makers world.

UDOO X86 board is 10 times faster than Raspberry Pi 3

On comparing this maker board with any other board in the market, it is by far the most powerful. It can be considered more of a mini PC board for being not just faster but incredibly powerful too. Undoubtedly, running 4K displays is out the league for many other boards like the Raspberry Pi 3.

Based on 64-bit Quad Core generation, the UDOO X86 board is built on 14 nm architectures. These processors usually consume as little as 5 or 6 Watts of energy. With x86 version Intel processors based on 14nm architecture these boards can run both Windows and Linux and are truly designed for the PC domain.

UDOO X86 boots from everywhere

The multi-boot configuration in the UDOO X86 is an amazing feature. This multi-boot support happens to be a flexible option with which you can simply boot from everywhere. You can boot from a USB 3.0, MicroSD card an eMMC to outline a few option.

This hacker board comes with a 8GB eMMC, Micro SD card reader, M.2 Key B, SATA, USB 3.0 ports and a LAN port.

Also Read: What is eMMC and why all Flash Memories are not the same

UDOO X86 board is completely open source

UDOO X86 has opened it self up completely to the community with both open source hardware and software. The team has already released the design and data sheet files and are available for free download from their official site.

If you are a DIY fan like us you can visit their official UDOO store and learn a lot more about the different versions available, their specifications, pricing and additionally have a know how of their previous DIY boards and accessories available. Do check it out.

Categories
Gadgets Virtual Reality

Fove VR: The Eyeball Movement Tracking VR Headsets Are Available For Pre-Order

fove vr eye tracking

Have you ever wished your HTC Vive or Oculus Rift could look into your eyes with infrared sensors? Well, Fove has finally presented the technical specifications and the order date for your of their eye tracking virtual reality headsets.

In order to track your eyes, Fove VR headset uses an infrared tracking system. It not only detects movement of your eyes and adjust your VR experience but also represent eye movements on your avatar.

It is even expected that Fove can replace high end headsets like Oculus VR and other head mounted displays (HMDs) based solely on motion tracking technology.

For example, in multi-player experiences VR eyes of your character will move like yours, making your avatar a little more realistic. In addition, the eye tracking can reportedly be used for a technique called representation approach that could improve the performance of your VR headset.

fove vr eye tracking hmd Image Credits RoadtoVR

By using eye-tracking this device determines what direction the user is watching in and reallocates resources accordingly. If that happens without latency there’s no doubt you will experience a far better VR experience and almost the best VR experience till date.

However, it is to be seen how Fove VR lives upto its promises of an incredible experience.

According to VR way, the eye-tracking Fove will also be used to make UI selections, attack enemies, create dynamic depth of field and activate contextual events within the VR environment.

As cool as that sounds, Fove VR headset is not exactly in the same league as the current generation of HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The specifications released on Friday show a headset more in line with the development kit  at the pre-launch of Rift.

Fove VR headset has a higher resolution screen compared to HTC or the Oculus Rift, but with a much lower refresh rate, which might not perform as smoothly as the others. Note that the Rift has 90Hz refresh rate with the HTC Vive and PSVR up at 110Hz.

However, it should be noted that the Fove 0 headset looks like a couple of versions off of the killer product like Oculus Rift. Undoubtedly, it can be considered as a starting point to a great future of the company.

The Fove 0 headset costs $549 and is currently available for pre-orders with a discount of $50 till November 9 from the official getfove website.

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PC Guides Software Virtual Reality

How To Check If Your PC Can Run Virtual Reality With VRmark

VRmark: can your PC run virtual reality games and apps

Virtual reality is already among us and anyone can access it in different forms. We have headsets that are tethered to PCs or the ones which use your own mobile screen. All options are valid, but each with its limitations, advantages, and disadvantages.

If you want to know if your computer is compatible with virtual reality, we now have a new tool. The VRMark is developed by Futuremark, creators of the famous 3DMark.

VRMark is available for free download from the website of Futuremark or Steam and is compatible with Windows 7 or higher and 64 – bit systems.

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It is compatible with HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets. It is offered in two versions, one free and one paid. The paid version will cost you $ 19.99, but during its launch can be purchased for a 25% discounted $ 14.99.

VRMark checks if your PC can run Virtual Reality experiences

can your pc run virtual reality games ? VRmark can check

As we mentioned, VRMark is available in both free and paid versions. Each has different possibilities to test the maximum compatibility with virtual reality.

With this tool, we can see if your PC is compatible with the most popular headsets, although it is not necessary to have them checked.

This is important because it will allow us to see if we meet the minimum requirements before shelling out money on these high-cost headsets.

Orange Room is the test that is offered in the free version. It tests your system for minimum requirements of the various VR Headsets.

The paid version contains more analytical tools and is called Blue Room. In the first test, we can activate the so – called Experience Mode that allows us to move around a VR environment, a true litmus test to see if the computer is able to withstand the high demands of virtual reality at its best.

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However, the test included in the paid version will really push your system to its limits and will demand maximum performance.

If your computer passes this test, it means that your PC is ready to run virtual reality games and apps at maximum settings. In addition, the payment mode offers more details results for a wide range of VR headsets.

So, is your PC ready to offer you virtual reality experiences?