The Bakery

Alex Chamberlain

18:07

Rather interesting Meta question:

-1

Q: What makes Raspberry Pi different from the others, worthy of a SE?

What makes the Raspberry Pi different from other small computers and why does it make sense to have a Stack Exchange site with a scope specific to it? Other similar items that can be bought or will be available in the future are: The MK803 Mini PC goes for around $72 and can be ordered now The...

discussion

dunsmoreb

I guess you could say so.

I personally don't like the question.

5

Q: Should this site only support the Raspberry Pi?

Proposal: Raspberry Pi It took me a long time to commit to this proposal because it is only geared towards the Raspberry Pi. I owned a Beaglebone before the Pi and plan on buying other single-board devices that can run embedded linux and other OS's in the future. Liz Upton herself does not agree...

technology proposal-name

Alex Chamberlain

I agree

The site should stay focused, as it allows us to provide better, more focused answers.

I'm going to post that

dunsmoreb

This topic has already been discussed to death.

It just gets annoying when people barge on in thinking that this site serves no purpose.

Alex Chamberlain

Has it already been asked on Meta?

Thinking aloud

dunsmoreb

You might want to include the link to the discussion in your answer.

Alex Chamberlain

18:12

-5

Q: Can we rename this site to be more inclusive of Linux ARM hardware?

I think there is a lot of overlap between questions that will be asked on this site concerning the Raspberry Pi, and questions related to other similar hardware such as the BeagleBone, PandaBoard, etc. I'd like to propose that we rename this site to something more inclusive. My example would be...

discussion feature-request scope

@dunsmoreb How?

dunsmoreb

@AlexChamberlain That was the one.

Alex Chamberlain

O I see, the other question

bmike

@dunsmoreb Don't get annoyed. Once there are three or so wordings, you can just comment "We think keeping it limited to one platform will help the site grow and remain focused, but only time will tell where the community that forms wants to take this forum."

Alex Chamberlain

I've VTCd

Shane Hudson

It should definitely stay focussed.. that way it makes it much easier for people (especially in an educational environment) to get quality answers.

dunsmoreb

18:14

@AlexChamberlain Why can't I edit your answer?

Btw, VTC.

Alex Chamberlain

Mwhahahaha No idea

dunsmoreb

Okay. I'll just add a comment.

Alex Chamberlain

There isn't a proposed edit or anything like that

dunsmoreb

Mhmm... Weird.

@AlexChamberlain Added comment, might want to edit it in.

Alex Chamberlain

Done, your comment is now redundant

dunsmoreb

18:18

Mwahaha.

0

Q: Simple Keyboard Configuration

My USB keyboard was configured slightly wrong. So far I have only tried it with the Debian image. Certain keys were not in the right place (such as the '~' character). I know how to change the keyboard configuration and that this is trivial for many Linux users. However, in the interest of ben...

keyboard

I don't really think this question is beneficial...

Alex Chamberlain

I think an answer on how to configure your keyboard would be beneficial

Not sure the question as stated is

dunsmoreb

I find a lot of the questions of those types aren't really beneficial here.

Alex Chamberlain

Though, I would leave it for a couple of hours - I'm pretty sure the answer is No

dunsmoreb

There was another one that just seemed out of place... Let me see if I can find it...

This one here was a bad question.

1

Q: Why is my Audio (Sound) Output not working?

I can't get the audio running. I don't hear anything and can not play anything. Is there a solution to enable audio?

audio output

Shane Hudson

9 badges.. slowly catching up lol

dunsmoreb

18:28

@ShaneHudson 15 =P

Alex Chamberlain

It depends... This is a question that someone new to Linux, such as an RPi user, is likely to have. Should we not answer those questions?

@ShaneHudson @dunsmoreb 18 :P

dunsmoreb

@AlexChamberlain It's more like a general FAQ.

It wouldn't really be considered a "quality" question.

There is no attempt at trouble shooting, we don't even know what the OS is.

Alex Chamberlain

The keyboard question says Debian in all fairness

@ShaneHudson we must be able to get you some more badges

dunsmoreb

That is a good question.

Alex Chamberlain

Thought you said it wasn't?

dunsmoreb

18:30

No. The Audio (Sound) Output isn't.

@ShaneHudson @AlexChamberlain Analytical?

Alex Chamberlain

The sound one needs dividing in 2.

and the answer says "See this random link that will break soon."

dunsmoreb

Where?

Alex Chamberlain

I may have posted an abridged version...

"see the instructions at Raspberry-Pi Configuration File."

dunsmoreb

God.

Why do people do that?

Wait.

Shane Hudson

@dunsmoreb got that one :)

dunsmoreb

18:34

Your message was misleading D=>

@ShaneHudson K. how about Autobiographer?

Shane Hudson

yep!

d.pr/i/xHj0 those

dunsmoreb

Commentator?

Haha.

Mortarboard?

Alex Chamberlain

Citizen Patrol?

Shane Hudson

not yet, only got 70 rep so far

dunsmoreb

Quorum?

Scholar?

Self-Learner?

Student?

Shane Hudson

18:37

Think I need to ask a question!

dunsmoreb

Just created the input tag to coincide with output

@ShaneHudson Si.

Alex Chamberlain

You could have just posted a link to the badges page

dunsmoreb

@AlexChamberlain Shh...

Alex Chamberlain

@ShaneHudson There must be an OS noone has asked about yet.

Puppy... DSL...

Shane Hudson

VMS? :p

OS/2?

dunsmoreb

18:38

DOS?

Alex Chamberlain

<Insert silly suggestion here>?

Shane Hudson

Got it! "How Can I Build A Difference Engine Using A RPi?"

dunsmoreb

I got one.

I'm just waiting a bit. =P

Should a question tagged gpio also be tagged input and output?

Alex Chamberlain

Depends on the question... but Yes

dunsmoreb

This one?

9

Q: How can I use the GPIO pins as a digital output?

I've read that the raspberri pi has a number of input and output pins. How can I switch them? (from Python?) What voltage logic? Do I need pullup/pull down resistors? Do I need to switch the pins from inputs to outputs? Which pins are available?

gpio python

Alex Chamberlain

18:42

Yeah, that's [tag: output]

Shane Hudson

I would say so

dunsmoreb

K. Retagged.

Alex Chamberlain

We have several tags developing for screen/video

dunsmoreb

I'm assuming IO is going to be one of the more popular tags.

Alex Chamberlain

I suggest going for display if it is about the VDU and video if it is about playing mp4s?

@dunsmoreb They are going to be the more interesting answers!

dunsmoreb

18:44

The worse questions are probably going to be like.

> Is there a ObscureProgramThatCLaimsToDoEverythingButCan't 1654 for ARM?

Alex Chamberlain

Just answer Yes

dunsmoreb

Starred.

Alex Chamberlain

Another badge, whoop!

dunsmoreb

Haha.

> There was also another small problem. ICANN, the group responsible for doling out ccTLDs, didn't believe that Tokelau really existed.

Alex Chamberlain

@jivings isn't going to be happy!

dunsmoreb

18:47

edition.cnn.com/2012/06/13/tech/web/tokelau-domain-name-holder/…

Why?

Alex Chamberlain

He was moaning I had more badges than him earlier - think I had 12 at the time

dunsmoreb

Haha.

Alex Chamberlain

He's still top rep wise - this 200 rep limit sucks

dunsmoreb

Haha. The day is almost over for SE.

About 3:10 left.

Alex Chamberlain

What timezone is it?

dunsmoreb

18:51

UTC.

I got a good question that I want to ask and answer, but I'm waiting for the day to end. =P

Alex Chamberlain

That's almost mine - I'm in the UK

haha

dunsmoreb

It isn't even 1400 where I live. =P

Why did you retag that question video to display?

Alex Chamberlain

I've had 12 upvotes with no rep inc. Moan moan moan...

anyway...

Probably because it wasn't about video

dunsmoreb

Okay.

I'm assuming by video we mean actual video then.

Alex Chamberlain

I think we should

So, how does the Beta proceed?

When will it become a public beta?

dunsmoreb

18:59

What do you mean?

After seven days I think.

Wait for it...

Bamn.

Blog - Stack Exchange: Moderator Pro Tempore

Robert Cartaino on July 27, 2010

There’s a bit of a leadership vacuum inside the new Stack Exchange communities in public beta. We’ve put a lot of responsibility on each group to take ownership of their own site. The Stack Exchange team can act as guide, but we don’t always have the domain knowledge to understand the needs of each group. As the Network expands, this stretches our ability to assure that each community’s issues are properly addressed.

That’s why I am in the process of identifying and organizing a team of provisional Moderators from within each community (about three per site, starti …

We need to organize a group of temporary mods for the public beta If I read correctly.

Does nobody. Read. The Meta?!?!?!

0

Q: Linux Questions: to close/migrate or to accept

It's apparent already that there are going to be a lot of questions relating to basic setup and accomplishing certain tasks within Linux. A choice we're going to have to make is whether to close/migrate these questions or to accept them as part of the community. Traditionally I believe that SE ...

discussion

Alex Chamberlain

They will be organised, rather than we need to organise

dunsmoreb

Okay then.

Alex Chamberlain

VTCd

dunsmoreb

Sometimes I feel sad because I live on a completely different time zone than everybody else...

Alex Chamberlain

Nevada?

dunsmoreb

19:07

No. CDT.

Alex Chamberlain

Wait... you're American

Try be British

Every decent site is talking about $ this and $ that and then you realise the stuff is unavailable here or the same price in £.

dunsmoreb

USA! USA! USA! =P

Shane Hudson

19:32

I'm English :D

Alex Chamberlain

Are you at all bitter that they didn't release in the UK first?

finnw

We did get a small head start in joining the waiting list (just by being closer to the foundation webserver) :-)

dunsmoreb

Dell tech support is horrible.

dunsmoreb

19:56

Hope nobody minds, I retagged power to power-supply.

Alex Chamberlain

I was about to do it

I wish it was tomorrow!

dunsmoreb

Why?

Alex Chamberlain

Rep

0

Q: How long should I use one SD Card for reliable storage before switching?

With or without using techniques to extend the life of the SD card, how long should one depend on an SD card in the device for reliable storage?

sd-card

Not constructive?

dunsmoreb

Agreed.

Not constructive because it depends on the SD card.

Alex Chamberlain

There is no definitive answer

dunsmoreb

19:59

@AlexChamberlain Si.

Alex Chamberlain

Though it would be interesting to know if one can monitor the read/write metrics

dunsmoreb

That would be a good question.

Alex Chamberlain

Shotgun

dunsmoreb

K. =P

Should we merge teaching into education?

Alex Chamberlain

Oooo

Let's see the examples

dunsmoreb

20:01

3

Q: Is there a collection of teaching materials?

Is there anywhere that I can find a collection of teaching materials for the Raspberry Pi? I would hope this could include details such as: Flashing the SD card. Installing the basic OS. Programming the GPIO. Software recommendations for teaching programming skills. Lesson plans or anything...

teaching lesson-plan

I would also want to merge lesson-plan into education then also.

Alex Chamberlain

In that case, I would ditch [tag: lesson-plan]

dunsmoreb

K.

Alex Chamberlain

7

Q: Is there a Linux From Scratch (LFS) ARM equivalent

I'd like to demonstrate how it's possible to 'bootstrap' up from a near-bare installation of Linux to something useful and productive. The Tiny Core and LFS projects demonstrate this well. However they are specific images for x86 based systems Is there a similar project based around ARM based sy...

operating-systems build education

dunsmoreb

We'll see how teaching goes.

Alex Chamberlain

Education?

dunsmoreb

20:03

I wouldn't think so...

It is more like a "manual."

What do they mean by build though?

Alex Chamberlain

I've got a suggestion...

dunsmoreb

What?

Alex Chamberlain

7

Q: Is there a Linux From Scratch (LFS) ARM equivalent

I'd like to demonstrate how it's possible to 'bootstrap' up from a near-bare installation of Linux to something useful and productive. The Tiny Core and LFS projects demonstrate this well. However they are specific images for x86 based systems Is there a similar project based around ARM based sy...

operating-systems cross-compilation tutorial

dunsmoreb

Like it.

Then maybe tag the teaching one tutorial?

Alex Chamberlain

It's different though, right? The question is specifically teaching advice

Rather than wishing to be taught

dunsmoreb

20:06

Would a tutorial constitute a teaching material?

Should this question stand?

6

Q: How to set up swap space?

Raspberry Pi has only 256 MB of RAM, so I would like to use swap space (either on SD card or attached USB storage). How do I set it up?

operating-systems memory swap

Alex Chamberlain

Well, a tutorial teaches the reader something, whereas teaching material teaches the reader how to teach something

Subtle difference

dunsmoreb

Let's just leave it as is.

Should we retag csi as csi-connector?

finnw

I don't think it is really off-topic, because "you shouldn't do it at all" is a good answer for the Pi but a bad answer for unix/linux

Alex Chamberlain

Agreed

dunsmoreb

Okay.

Alex Chamberlain

20:10

Whilst it has 4 VTCs, I actually think it is just ontopic enough to stay

dunsmoreb

It seems like the consensus on meta is to allow these types of questions to stand.

So.

csi to csi-connector?

Alex Chamberlain

It looks like we're going to be reasonably layed back about whether a post is on topic, giving the benefit of the doubt to beginners

I reckon they'll get a better reception here and it allows use to give specific answers

@dunsmoreb Not worth it yet

Wait to see what other questions come up

dunsmoreb

K.

I'm retagging components as peripherals though.

Shane Hudson

LOL I got downvoted on the hdmi to dvi question... strange, I answered based on the exact lead. ah wel :)

*Ah well

dunsmoreb

That one seemed to raise some strong emotions... =P

I'm retagging swap as swap-space. Amirite?

Amirite guys? D=>

Shane Hudson

20:20

I don't think it matters, but if you reckon so I don't see why not

finnw

@ShaneHudson, I expect it is because the question is about VGA which your answer does not cover

(I did not downvote you BTW)

dunsmoreb

I think swap is just to ambiguous to be useful. swap-space is clearer.

This isn't bad for our first day in private beta.

1

Raspberry Pi – raspberrypi.stackexchange.com

Beta Q&A site for users and developers of hardware and software for Raspberry Pi.

Currently in private beta.

finnw

@Alex, an advantage of being stricter on questions is that we are less likely to be seen as competing with the official forum

dunsmoreb

@finnw Who cares if we compete with them.

Shane Hudson

Well the Foundation won't mind at all. This is a better way to get good answers. I usually prefer forums but for something like this, SE is better.

finnw

20:26

Well it could make some foundation members more hostile towards the SE site

And it would obviously be nice to have some of their engineers on our site

dunsmoreb

@ShaneHudson I prefer forums for discussion and SE for questions.

Shane Hudson

Yeah, I am far more active on Dream In Code and tend to just read SE.. but I like it here in the raspberry pi site and chat :)

dunsmoreb

I'm actually surprised how active our chat is.

Shane Hudson

It is nice :) I have always thought of SE as having no community

dunsmoreb

Haha.

finnw

20:35

I lost count of how many SE sites I am a member of. Just checked and it's 30, though I almost never visit any of them anymore.

Shane Hudson

Wow, I usually just go to Overflow and Webmasters.. occasionally Wordpress (since that is primarily the work I do)

dunsmoreb

Haha.

dunsmoreb

20:48

What should we do about the software-development and programming tags?

Shane Hudson

Well no one has used programming yet

So I suppose that could be dropped?

dunsmoreb

Someone just did.

0

Q: How to program a USB device with Debian/Python

The Raspi is being promoted as an educational device that primarily uses Python. Inline with this, there are already some great examples online of people accessing the GPIO from Python. However, most off-the-shelf (rather than home brew) peripherals have USB interfaces. How does one go about acce...

debian usb python programming

Shane Hudson

Well both makes sense, but since software dev is used more.. makes sense I think to change that one to software dev

dunsmoreb

Retagged.

winwaed

21:01

:-) Definitely a situation for a synonym. I suspect software-development is the kind of tag we'd use, but the young hacker types that Raspi is aimed at are more likely to use programming as they are "programming" - I know that's the terminology used when I was a kid!

dunsmoreb

I still use that terminology. =P

finnw

Neither tag is very useful anyway, as they are too broad - if you click or subscribe to them you will probably only be interested in less than 10% of the questions

dunsmoreb

Should we merge power-supply and alternative-power?

finnw

There's only one question atm, but I would expect alternative-power to mean powering the device using anything but a micro-USB charger

(BTW how do you make those tag buttons in chat?)

dunsmoreb

@finnw That is what I thought.

@finnw [tag: name ]

There is a discussion on meta though.

0

Q: Merging power tags

The following tags should be merged: power power-supply alternative-power

discussion tags

Shane Hudson

21:11

Yeah I added the alternative power tag, have now removed.

dunsmoreb

I don't think alternative-power should be merged.

Let me post my answer on the question real quick...

finnw

Have added that as an answer on the meta question

dunsmoreb

Oh.

Well anyways.

0

A: Merging power tags

The tags power and power-supply have been merged. I don't think that alternative-power and power-supply should be merged though. I think power-supply should be used when talking about powering the Raspberry Pi or its peripherals using the standard micro-USB charger. While alternative-power shou...

@ShaneHudson You were the person who added alternative-power... Lol.

Shane Hudson

Yeah I was, I wasn't sure if people would like it but made sense at the time. Have removed for now but I support bringing it back. There is a lot of alternative energy solutions which could be an interesting branch of interest for raspberry pi.

dunsmoreb

@ShaneHudson So you support rolling back your edit?

Shane Hudson

21:20

I do, I will post to meta

dunsmoreb

Okay. I edited the tag back in. =P

Shane Hudson

:)

dunsmoreb

New question!!!! =D

Seems like a duplicate.

He is basically asking is, "Is this touchscreen compatible?"

Shane Hudson

I read it more of how to connect it etc

dunsmoreb

> Has anyone tried connecting one of these panels to the Pi yet?

I take that as, "Does this touchscreen work with the Pi?"

Shane Hudson

21:25

Yeah true

Think it should be closed then?

dunsmoreb

@finnw Yo dawg. Can you come here?

Let's ask @finnw.

I don't know. I feel like this should be a meta question...

finnw

what is it a duplicate of?

dunsmoreb

16

Q: How can I determine if a given touchscreen is compatible?

I want to attach a touchscreen to my Raspberry Pi. While doing some internet search about this, I found out that this is not trivial, because not all touchscreens are compatible. How do I find out, whether a touchscreen is compatible to the Raspberry Pi? I am not looking for recommendations or ...

peripherals display input touchscreen

I'm asking a meta question to get the community consensus.

Asked.

0

Q: Should compatibility questions be allowed?

Somebody recently asked a question, Connecting a touch panel display to the Raspberry Pi?. The asker is asking if a touchscreen is compatible with the Raspberry Pi. Has anyone tried connecting one of these panels to the Pi yet? Should these types of questions be allowed?

discussion questions

finnw

I agree it's a dupe

dunsmoreb

@finnw Okay. I'm VTC but I think we should still debate whether these questions should be allowed.

finnw

21:31

though I don't much like the original question - its a bit vague

dunsmoreb

Seems like something that would go in the FAQ.

finnw

Yes, at least it can be answered with a reference to the FAQ or a wiki page

Shane Hudson

Yeah I think "Can touchscreens work" is wrong for here... instead it should be about how the best way to connect and run them instead of if it is possible.

dunsmoreb

It should probably be that users try the touchscreen and then ask why it isn't working.

With an error, of course. =P

@finnw I like your suggestion of a master list.

Here is an example of a question that fits that compatibility list type thing.

11

Q: Which SD cards are compatible?

The site http://www.raspberrypi.org/quick-start-guide says: You will need an SD card with an operating system preloaded before you can boot the Raspberry Pi. A brand-name (not generic) Class 4 card of 4GB or more is recommended. To obtain an SD card image, and for instructions on how to...

sd-card compatibility

finnw

There is no way to contact a specific SE user is there? I would like to get jandjorgensen on this chat room, but I'm not sure a comment is a good way to do that

dunsmoreb

21:40

@finnw I do not think so.

You can try to email him if he published his email.

Shane Hudson

plus.google.com/u/0/115540309451468063882/posts You should be able to email him through his google Plus

(which I found through Twitter)

dunsmoreb

@ShaneHudson It's on his profile...

The GPlus.

Shane Hudson

Ah :)

dunsmoreb

I feel like a spy...

Dunh dunh dunh dunh dunh dunh dunh dunh... (Add tones.)

I found one of his emails.

[email protected]

Shane Hudson

ha I felt like a spy once... my dad and his wife were trying to buy a dog (and get it flown in), but turned out to be a scam. I managed to trace his ip through email and surprisingly got the actual house he lived in! Unfortunately it was in a tiny village in Nigeria... so we could not do anything, but I was on the phone to the police at the same time... felt like I was in 24!

dunsmoreb

21:47

Haha.

finnw

just emailed him through G+

dunsmoreb

@finnw Coolio. I hate being on different timezones than other people...

finnw

Didn't know about that kind of scam. My sister bought a dog that way (but it was real)

jandjorgensen

Howdy

dunsmoreb

@jandjorgensen Yo dawg. Get our email?

jandjorgensen

21:50

Yup. The internet sure is nifty.

dunsmoreb

@finnw @jandjorgensen Is here.

@jandjorgensen Discussion.

1

Q: Should compatibility questions be allowed?

Somebody recently asked a question, Connecting a touch panel display to the Raspberry Pi?. The asker is asking if a touchscreen is compatible with the Raspberry Pi. Has anyone tried connecting one of these panels to the Pi yet? Should these types of questions be allowed?

discussion questions

finnw

Hi Jan

jandjorgensen

Hello

finnw

can't actually remember what questions I wanted to talk about now :-/

dunsmoreb

@finnw Wow...

=P

Shane Hudson

21:52

lol!!

jandjorgensen

Was it:
http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/q/251/20

finnw

Oh there was that SD card one...

That reminds me of some questions from the early days of stackoverflow...

dunsmoreb

This one?

1

Q: Connecting a touch panel display to the Raspberry Pi?

I have two choices of touch panel display to connect to my Raspberry Pi: Reach Technologies SLCD43 Amulet Technologies MK-480272C I've worked with both of them in my Real Job(tm), and so I'm familiar with both of them. Programming them from a PC is not difficult (Win/Mac/Linux/whatever). Both...

display input driver touchscreen

finnw

that too

dunsmoreb

Look at all the people! =D

jandjorgensen

21:54

Ah didn't give it its own chat but he meant this one

0

Q: How long should I use one SD Card for reliable storage before switching?

With or without using techniques to extend the life of the SD card, how long should one depend on an SD card in the device for reliable storage?

sd-card

dunsmoreb

@jandjorgensen That is a bad question though...

jandjorgensen

Why?

dunsmoreb

Because it depends on the SD card.

finnw

Yes, that kind of question used to get vague, bullet-list type answers that would get loads of upvotes...

jandjorgensen

It would depend on the SD card's read/write rating, yes, but a good answer wouldn't just be a list of SD cards

finnw

21:56

But would not answer the question (from the point of view of someone who just found the question on google)

dunsmoreb

Basically the question is not comparative enough.

It is wildly subjective

finnw

And I think it would be harmful to the area51 stats (% of questions answered etc.) which would hurt our chances of going from beta to full launch

jandjorgensen

^That's a bad reason

finnw

(assuming people waited until there was real research before answering, which is unlikely)

dunsmoreb

@jandjorgensen That is a bad reason. But the other reasons still stand.

jandjorgensen

21:58

trying to change the question to fix the way it was asked

dunsmoreb

Basically there is no truly correct answer.

The only way it could be recovered is if you asked: "How long does X SD Card last?"

And then it would be off topic and migrated to Super User

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