Getting Started¶
Hardware Components¶
Exercise¶
Which components do you expect to find in the following computers:
- desktop
- laptop
- mobile
- tablet
What makes the Raspberry Pi special?
Start up¶
There is no power on/off button. You simply add or remove power.
After the computer is finished loading the operating system you land in the shell.
Shell welcome message:
Linux raspberrypi 3.12.22+ #691 PREEMPT Wed Jun 18 18:29:58 BST 2014 armv6l
The programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free software;
the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.
Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent
permitted by applicable law.
Last login: Tue Oct 14 18:43:45 2014 from 192.168.0.6
pi@raspberrypi ~ $
The pi@raspberrypi ~ $ is called a prompt. You type commands after the ‘$’.
System configuration raspi-config¶
Type:
pi@raspberrypi ~ $ startx
and you will get:
┌─────────┤ Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool (raspi-config) ├─────────┐
│ Setup Options │
│ │
│ 1 Expand Filesystem Ensures that all of the SD card │
│ 2 Change User Password Change password for the default │
│ 3 Enable Boot to Desktop/ScratchChoose whether to boot into a de │
│ 4 Internationalisation Options Set up language and regional set │
│ 5 Enable Camera Enable this Pi to work with the │
│ 6 Add to Rastrack Add this Pi to the online Raspbe │
│ 7 Overclock Configure overclocking for your │
│ 8 Advanced Options Configure advanced settings │
│ 9 About raspi-config Information about this configura │
│ │
│ │
│ <Select> <Finish> │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Exercise¶
Explore the options that you have.
What are the similarities and differences with this from Mac OSX?
Starting the Desktop¶
The shell is one interface. A graphic user interface is another.
Type this to start the GUI:
pi@raspberrypi ~ $ startx
Exercise¶
We are going to focus on using the shell (command line).
Find:
- the Terminal
- a browser
- anything else you would typically use.
Recap¶
- The Raspberry Pi is a general purpose computer.
- However it exposes a lot that is typically hidden.
- Use raspi-config for a convenient way to configure your computer.
- Use startx to start the GUI
We will return to hardware later in the electronics section.