<div dir="ltr">Hi Jesse,<div><br></div><div>Thanks for your ideas! I am replying in line below. Please scroll down for my replies...</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Sep 25, 2016 at 5:34 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jesse@boldandbusted.com" target="_blank">jesse@boldandbusted.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Hey Christian & Partimus folks,<br><br>
You have a lot of giant old computers stored at various spots. </blockquote><div><br></div><div>Why do you think that we have machines stored at various spots. As far as I know, we currently are storing stuff only in the basement of the Crosby. Did you think we had another location?</div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><br>
I propose that we put a bit of money on the table, and replace all the<br>
computers, and their power-hungry motherboards, with Raspberry Pi 3s,<br>
and have a steady reserve of 3 or 4 to replace the Pis taken out for<br>
maintenance, or stolen, or otherwise destroyed. There are some issues to<br>
consider, however.<br>
<br>
* How do we secure computers that are as small as two decks of cards?<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>That is a key issue, given that we are in shelters where theft is a concern. It is much easier to conceal a Raspberry Pi than a desktop. In our current deployments, a bit of size is actually an advantage.</div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
* How do we keep them up-to-date?<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>I manually go to each location and update them. This is actually a bit of an issue, give that we are at 6 locations with 12 machines.</div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
* Do these offer more or less flexibility for future projects than the<br>
'traditional' desktop PCs we've used?<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>I think that every FOSS fan loves the idea of Raspberry Pi machines. They are small, innovative, and both the hardware and the software is open source. But I am struggling to see a use case for our current deployments with ECS. In the future, we might be able to discuss with the ECS management about getting Raspberry Pi machines in the rooms. But my concern with Raspberry Pis is that they could be perceived as muffin stumps:</div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Muffin_Tops#Top_of_the_Muffin_to_You.21">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Muffin_Tops#Top_of_the_Muffin_to_You.21</a><br></div><div><br></div><div>Essentially, the poor are actually very brand conscious, and they don't like to be given low power stuff. I have been giving away FOSS machines since 2004, and in my experience, one of the challenges with free software and is that people in our society have been brainwashed to think that if it is free, it must be crap, and so they reject and feel insulted that you tried to give them what they perceive as muffin stumps. My concern with Raspberry PIs is that they are low power machines that would be viewed as muffin stumps. Innovator and hacker like us on this list see the value in Raspberry PIs, but I am concerned that the residents of the low income shelters would see them as muffin stumps.</div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><br>
There is a monetary cost involved (unless we score a donation of<br>
equipment). While the Pis are about $35, the case is another $12-25. An<br>
outlet-sized usb-equipped surge suppressor is another $8-$12. Any<br>
monitor will have to support HDMI inputs, or be compatible with an HDMI<br>
converter of some sort.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>You have touched on an important issue here. I am concerned that given our limited resources, spending on Raspberry PIs are farther down the priority at this time. We still need to look at D & O insurance, for example.</div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<br>
I think that the drastically reduced space used, the lack of fans, and<br>
easy swap-in replacement (without carting giant PCs across some of the<br>
most dangerous intersections and streets of the City), seems like a good<br>
idea.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>This is a good point.</div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<br>
Also, Lubuntu is apparently available specifically for the R Pi 3,<br>
should we want to stick with that for the "guest" lockdown features:<br>
<br>
<a href="https://ubuntu-pi-flavour-maker.org/blog/ubuntu-pi-flavours-for-raspberry-pi-3/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://ubuntu-pi-flavour-<wbr>maker.org/blog/ubuntu-pi-<wbr>flavours-for-raspberry-pi-3/</a><br>
<br>
I believe it will be easier to roll out upgrades via the microSD cards<br>
the Pi 3 uses, rather than having to custom partition random drives in<br>
random branded computers. Standardization can help us knock out problems<br>
across the fleet more quickly and with greater assurance of the<br>
'stickyness' of the fixes. Since I would need to do a new rollout of a<br>
"base image" with the logging, alerting, and configuration management<br>
setup, I figured this would be a good time to make this sort of move.<br>
<br>
I'm travelling to Mexico City for two weeks starting Monday. I'd like to<br>
know what you-all think! :) Is this feasible? Are there dealbreakers? Is<br>
this appropriate for the environments we're in?<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Issues are discussed above.</div><div><br></div><div>I hope you enjoy your time in Mexico City! I will be leaving for Europe about the time that you come back, with limited access to the Internet. </div><div><br></div><div>Thanks for the ideas, Jesse! <br></div></div>
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