Raspberry Pi Forums

Hello sorry for the blindly ovivois question (probally)

I am 13 and very intressed in eletronics/ict but what is rasberry pi is it a fully functionally computer or just for certain programs?
Can i do libre office on it (great open source software) and can i print via usb?
How can you get with it?
How powerfull is it?
What do i need for a basic monitor with a very big cable (i think it is a DVI) what keyboard ,mouse would you recommend?
How much would this all cost?


please help
Thanks so much Nick

NickLong wrote:Hello sorry for the blindly ovivois question (probally)

I am 13 and very intressed in eletronics/ict but what is rasberry pi is it a fully functionally computer or just for certain programs?
Can i do libre office on it (great open source software) and can i print via usb?
How can you get with it?
How powerfull is it?
What do i need for a basic monitor with a very big cable (i think it is a DVI) what keyboard ,mouse would you recommend?
How much would this all cost?




please help
Thanks so much Nick

The pi is a fully functional computer providing you stay with in it's limitations.

It will run Libre-Office but it's very slow, it will print from USB on a good day.

Its not very powerful - PCs were more powerful before you were born.

A DVI-D monitor will work with the appropriate cable. Most cheap, simple USB wired keyboards and mice will work.

It costs a lot if you're buying it all new. If you've got a lot of it laying around, not much.

At the very least and you're prepared to control it via another computer. It can just be a Pi, an SD card and a Micro-USB power supply. About £40 in the UK. It depends a lot on where you are, as does where you can get one.

Costs: https://export.farnell.com/jsp/raspi/or ... country=GB

Computer: yes a fully functioning computer, but in terms of speed and usability, no fast what-so-ever

**Learning Tool: absolutely great for learning programming like Python and the basics of Debian Linux with Raspbian Distribution

Libre Office and Printing: certainly feasible if have a lot of patience

Monitor: preferably one with a DVi input


** the Pi was designed for primarily this purpose, any extras is a bonus.

It's intended purpose is as a hardware and software learning tool but it does have some useful applications. Just look through the forum and you will some of the innovative applications. It is programmed in Linux but you can also use ARM assembler if you want. Under Linux, you can use languages like Python, C++, etc. It can connect to a TV or computer monitor. One video port is composite and most TVs have an input for that. The other video is HDMI but there are adpaters to go to DVI or even VGA inputs on a monitor. Keyboard and mouse can plug into the two USB ports on the Pi or you can buy a USB hub if you need more connections. A small wireless USB adpater can be used and/or you can connect directly to your router with an ethernet cable. It's lot's of fun, even for an old retired guy like me - just don't expect too much horsepower from it.

Hi,

Thanks guys that should be really good i have been looking at this for ages. Just how slow is it ,how long would it take to load a simple document for example? Is it suitibable for small bits of work or only for scrach/python etc?

Sorry to keep on

Nick Long

Libre Office isn't fast at the best of times, its not so much opening the document as opening the program itself. It's performance is acceptable to me on an Intel i3 processor with 1 GB of RAM. The Pi is about 2 orders of magnitude slower than an i3.

The Pi is fabulous for what it can do, great to play around with, ideal for stuff that doesn't need a lot of computing muscle. But it can never replace a 'proper' computer. I haven't run Libre Office on a Pi, but I know how fast the Pi handles stuff I do on other computers. Its frustratingly slow at basic browsing, I'm not going to even attempt running Libre Office on it. It would probably take an hour to install it. I don't do a GUI on my Pis (all 4 of 'em) any more - I stick to what it can do well.

Its cheap for a reason, and like it or not, you almost always get what you pay for.

The Pi is wonderful, depending on what you intend to do. If you're looking for it to act as the be all, end all computer in your life, you'd probably want to buy something more powerful.

Having said that -- the Pi can be used for TONS (literally, tons) of things... it all depends on your imagination and linux/programming skills.

I have connected my Pi to an Arduino and have built a robot that moves around, speaks to me, takes pictures, answers emails, sends me text messages, fetches the weather, tells me random jokes, etc. etc. etc. For that purpose, it is perfect. It was also cheap for me because I had most of the stuff already lying around.

While you can connect peripherals to it, I simply use VNC server to tap into it. Sure, it's not as fast that way but I don't have to use extra keyboard / mouse / monitor. Also, this allows me to keep it tucked away nice under the coffee table and the wife doesn't complain that way

One word of caution -- it's not like you take thing right out of the box and turn it on. You'll need to set it up, which can be time consuming depending on your knowledge already.... but, this is why the thing is so cheap... you get bare bones and force yourself to learn the rest.

There's a nice writeup over on The Register that answers a lot of your questions. Very funny too.
And just for the record, my HDMI to DVI-D cable cost £1.99 from Amazon... but I do have a pibow