3/Other Operating
Systems and
Linux Distributions
The stock Raspberry Pi OS is great for gen-
eral-purpose computing, but sometimes
you may want to tailor the Pi to a specific
purpose, like making it a standalone me-
dia center or a guitar effects pedal. The Li-
nux ecosystem is rich in software for every
imaginable application. A number of folks
have spent the time to bundle all the right
software together so you don’t have to do it.
This chapter will highlight just a few of the
more specialized Linux distributions and
other operating systems to get you started.
When talking about “Linux distributions,” we’re usually talking
about three things together:
• The Linux kernel and drivers
• Preinstalled software for a particular application
• Special configuration tools or tools preconfigured for a
particular task (e.g., to boot up into a particular program)
Other Operating Systems and Linux Distributions 51 51
GSW_RASPI_4ED_FIN.indd 51GSW_RASPI_4ED_FIN.indd 51 10/28/21 10:54 AM10/28/21 10:54 AM
As you saw in Chapter 1, there are essentially four popular general-
purpose distributions. You’ll find the first three in the NOOBS
installer:
Raspberry Pi OS (
raspbian.org
)
The recommended distribution from the Foundation to start
with; based on Debian. If you’re not sure which distribution to
choose, this is the one for you.
Arch Linux
(www.archlinux.org)
Arch Linux specifically targets ARM-based computers, so they
supported the Pi very early on.
Pidora
(pidora.ca)
Pidora is a version of the Fedora distribution tuned for the Pi.
Ubuntu MATE
(ubuntu-mate.org)
Ubuntu MATE is a version of the very popular Ubuntu distribu-
tion of Linux. It has a slimmed-down desktop environment that
works rather well on Raspberry Pi 2 and subsequent versions.
It won’t work on previous versions of Raspberry Pi because
Ubuntu only supports ARMv7 and later.
Here are a few other interesting specialized Linux distributions and
operating systems.
Distributions for Home Theater
A long-time favorite operating system for home theater is XBMC,
which began as a media center project to run on the Xbox game
console. Over the years, however, XBMC morphed to become a
more general entertainment center platform and happens to work
very well on the Pi. In the summer of 2014, the XBMC Foundation
renamed the software Kodi to bring the evolution of the project
into focus, because it doesn’t even run on the newer Xbox versions.
There are a couple of Pi distributions that make it easy to put Kodi in
your living room:
OSMC
(osmc.tv)
Formerly called Raspbmc, the OSMC distribution is based on
52 Getting Started with Raspberry Pi
GSW_RASPI_4ED_FIN.indd 52GSW_RASPI_4ED_FIN.indd 52 10/28/21 10:54 AM10/28/21 10:54 AM
Debian and Kodi. It has great support for Raspberry Pi and can
be installed from NOOBS (Figure3-1).
Figure 3-1.
OSMC’s interface
OpenELEC
(openelec.tv)
The Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center is a pared-
down version of Kodi that may appeal to more ascetic Pi users
(Figure 3-2).
Figure 3-2.
The main menu for The Open Embedded Linux Enter-
tainment Center (OpenELEC)
Other Operating Systems and Linux Distributions 53
GSW_RASPI_4ED_FIN.indd 53GSW_RASPI_4ED_FIN.indd 53 10/28/21 10:54 AM10/28/21 10:54 AM
Distributions for Music
It’s cheap and it can fit in a guitar effects stompbox, so of course
the electronic music world has been excited about the Pi since its
release. Here are some examples:
Satellite CCRMA
(stanford.io/1riPJsE)
This distribution from Stanford’s Center for Computer Research
in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) is geared toward embedded
musical instruments and art installations, as well as effects pedals.
The original rationale is described in Edgar Berdahl and Wendy
Ju’s paper “Satellite CCRMA: A Musical Interaction and Sound
Synthesis Platform” (bit.ly/1qol7Wo).
Volumio
(volumio.org)
A music player for audiophiles. This project evolved from Raspy-
Fi (www.hifiberry.com/hbdigi).
PiCore Player
(www.picoreplayer.org)
This is a full-fledged music player distribution for almost all
models of the Pi, enabling you to play your Spotify, Tidal, or
other streaming music service playlists on your Pi, as well as
local music playlists on a local drive.
PiMusic Box
(www.pimusicbox.com)
Another music player distribution for local and streaming play-
lists. Like PiCore Player, it’s exceedingly small, which means it
can run on any version of Pi, even the Zero W.
Also on the music front, you may want to check out the Sun Vox
modular music platform for the Pi (www.warmplace.ru/soft/sun-
vox).
Although it’s not limited to the Raspberry Pi platform, there is also
a fascinating program called Sonic Pi (sonic-pi.net) that music-
loving programmers might want to check out. It enables you to
create music in real-time by writing coding commands, and has
been used in environments as diverse as teaching and ambient
music in nightclubs.
54 Getting Started with Raspberry Pi
GSW_RASPI_4ED_FIN.indd 54GSW_RASPI_4ED_FIN.indd 54 10/28/21 10:54 AM10/28/21 10:54 AM
Retro Computing and Retro Gaming
The Pi was inspired by the inexpensive personal computers of the
1980s, so it seems fitting that there are a number of distributions
aimed at nostalgic retro computing or gaming:
RISCOS
(www.riscosopen.org/content)
Boots straight into BASIC!
Retropie
(retropie.org.uk)
An SD card image and GPIO hardware board that makes it easier
to build retro gaming consoles.
PiPlay
(piplay.org)
A prebuilt distribution for gaming and emulation based on
MAME (formerly PiMAME).
It’s not an OS, but if you’re into retro text adventures,
try Frotz:
sudo apt-get install frotz
Internet of Things
The
Internet of Things
or
IoT
describes the realm of devices
connected to the internet. These can be thermostats, body weight
scales, and doorbells that can be accessed remotely via the
Weborina mobile app. The realm of IoT extends beyond the home
as well. Large companies put their equipment online to monitor
their assets, which may be spread all over the globe.
Because of Raspberry Pi’s low cost and connectivity, it makes
a great choice for experimentation with the Internet of Things,
especially the Pi Zero W. While you could use Raspberry Pi OS for
this (in fact, see “Connecting the Web to the Real World” on page
181), here are a few operating systems that are geared toward IoT.
Other Operating Systems and Linux Distributions 55
GSW_RASPI_4ED_FIN.indd 55GSW_RASPI_4ED_FIN.indd 55 10/28/21 10:54 AM10/28/21 10:54 AM
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.