Get a Glimpse At the Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Get a Glimpse At the Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix

Posted by timothy on Tuesday February 21, 2012 @01:26AM from the what-if-one-came-with-every-display dept.

TheNextCorner writes "What software runs on the Raspberry Pi $25 computer? This video shows some of the preparation of the software package, run from a SD card using the open source Fedora OS."

31 of 50 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by willaien · 2012-02-21 01:45 · Score: 4, Insightful

I see some potential issues here.
Fedora isn't exactly known for being lightweight in the memory area. Nor are some of the programs they're demonstrating - firefox, etc.
I don't feel like a full blown desktop OS like Fedora is a good fit for the Pi. Maybe one of the more lightweight UIs like Xfce or Lxde, but definitely not Gnome or KDE.
I am looking, and don't see much indication from the article on exactly how stripped down Fedora is in order to work with it. If you take out most things that aren't necessary, recompile the kernel w/o unnecessary stuff (PCMCIA drivers on an ARM board without expansion options?), it could work well. Just don't expect Gnome or KDE. Think more like puppylinux or damnsmalllinux.
1. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by Nursie · 2012-02-21 01:57 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  You know we have modules for that these days, right?
  Stuff like pcmcia drivers only get loaded when needed.
  Also it's not as if the Pi is the first linux ARM board out there. Some of us have been running debian on ARM for years.
  Hell, I was able to run GNOME 2 over VNC from my Sheevaplug about 3 years ago. Configurable distros like fedora, debian, ubuntu and the other big names should be fine on Pi.
2. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by mitashki · 2012-02-21 02:01 · Score: 1
  
  I don't feel like a full blown desktop OS like Fedora is a good fit for the Pi. Maybe one of the more lightweight UIs like Xfce or Lxde, but definitely not Gnome or KDE.
  There is variety of desktop choices out there... all up to your liking. You can run only a window manager as well. Linux = freedom of choice.
  
  --
  "When all you have is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail."
3. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by supremebob · 2012-02-21 02:52 · Score: 1
  
  Using Fedora for this kind of scares me as well, since it's only supported for 2 releases. By the time you finish customizing the distribution to meet your particular application's needs, you probably have six months of OS support left. That's fine for garage tinkerers, but lousy if you're thinking of building a commercial product out of these boards.
  Is anyone trying to use an alternate distribution for these boards like an Ubuntu LTS release?
4. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by Eggbloke · 2012-02-21 03:23 · Score: 1
  
  I though the original plan was to run Debian and it probably still will be one of the man distros on the Pi. Debian releases should be supported for a lot longer.
  
  --
  I care not for your karma and your mod points.
5. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by DrXym · 2012-02-21 03:31 · Score: 1
  
  YDL (basically Fedora / Redhat for the PPC) on the PS3 was hardly a speed demon. In fact it downright sucked at times. I see no reason to believe that another device with an lower powered CPU, and 128MB and 256MB RAM plus severely constrained I/O is going to produce a useful desktop. It might be okay at a pinch, coupled with a lightweight X11 client to serve a simple desktop but not much more.
  To me the Pi would be more useful for apps like XBMC running over a command prompt where much of the work can be offloaded to dedicated hardware and the need for swap is eliminated or minimized.
6. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by Korin43 · 2012-02-21 03:35 · Score: 1
  
  I see some potential issues here.
  Fedora isn't exactly known for being lightweight in the memory area. Nor are some of the programs they're demonstrating - firefox, etc.
  I don't feel like a full blown desktop OS like Fedora is a good fit for the Pi. Maybe one of the more lightweight UIs like Xfce or Lxde, but definitely not Gnome or KDE.
  Gnome itself isn't particularly memory-hungry (oh no, a couple MB wasted on PulseAudio and DBUS!), and Firefox is getting much better. I bet it would be usable on the 256 MB version -- at least, with a small number of tabs open.
7. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by sensei+moreh · 2012-02-21 03:47 · Score: 2
  
  Look again at the video - it's LXDE!
  
  --
  Geology - it's not rocket science; it's rock science
8. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by ArsonSmith · 2012-02-21 03:56 · Score: 1
  
  screw that girly fedora crap huh?
  
  --
  Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
9. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by DrXym · 2012-02-21 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  The only thing that suffered in YDL was video performance and that could not be blamed for the fact that the experience paged to a grinding halt when you loaded more than a few apps. 256MB simply isn't enough to run a modern desktop on and once you hit swap you are constrained by IO performance.
  I think Raspberry Pi will be great running standalone apps, possibly even a port of Android. It will stink as a desktop whether it has accelerated graphics or not on top.
10. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by AdamWill · 2012-02-21 05:57 · Score: 2
  
  Fedora has implementations of just about every major desktop / WM, certainly including Xfce and LXDE. It's not GNOME or KDE-only.
  Note that this is a Fedora Remix, which is a term with a specific meaning:
  https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Remix
  Basically a 'remix' is a very liberal conception of 'based on Fedora' - it allows the inclusion of third-party packages, the modification of Fedora packages, and so on. Really, you can do whatever you like and call it a 'Fedora Remix'.
  So in this case, they can certainly tweak things extensively to target a low-resource system. Note that Fedora has a very active ARM port and community, and we've had Fedora running on many low-resource ARM devices for quite some time. Fedora is not 'just' a resource-heavy desktop distro.
11. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by jp10558 · 2012-02-21 06:42 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe someone can port RHEL / CENTOS /Scientific Linux to this?
  
  --
  Opera, Proxomitron-Grypen,GPG 0x0A1C6EE3
12. Re:Potential issues, regarding memory/cpu usage by JohnBailey · 2012-02-21 09:12 · Score: 1
  
  Real embedded systems engineers talk about you behind your back if you waste a couple of KB. They will laugh at your face if you waste a couple of MB.
  And real embedded systems engineers will not be using this board. So they are quite possibly laughing even more at the tit who can't tell a Micro controller from a computer.
  
  --
  It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.
Not surprised by mitashki · 2012-02-21 01:47 · Score: 1

Works fine on HP netbook: Fedora16 on HP Mini 210 - Atom 1.66 GHz - 1 GB Ram 6-7 hours of battery time.

--
"When all you have is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail."
1. Re:Not surprised by mitashki · 2012-02-21 02:04 · Score: 1
  
  I guess the full blown, full-featured desktop enviornment won't work that well with 128/256 megs. Will have to choose something lightweight like fluxbox/xfce. Haven't tested myself as I'm happy with the HP mini as it is.
  
  --
  "When all you have is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail."
2. Re:Not surprised by Daemonik · 2012-02-21 02:07 · Score: 1
  
  Here at Orange forums, we're always happy to hear about your experiences and love of Apples.
3. Re:Not surprised by petermgreen · 2012-02-21 02:44 · Score: 1
  
  Worse it's not 128/256 for the arm. The memory is split between arm and GPU and the minimum GPU allocation is 32MB with more apparently required for full GPU functionality. So on a model 8 you are talking a maximum of 96MB available for the arm and more likely 64MB
  The pi will be great for some things but don't expect to be able to have tens of firefox tabs open like you can on a desktop.
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
4. Re:Not surprised by Oliver+Wendell+Jones · 2012-02-21 03:31 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not trying to dispute your claims, or belittle you in any way, but... how many people buy a $35 computer and expect to be able to have 10 tabs open in Firefox?
  
  When you get to the point that the USB mouse and keyboard you have to provide probably cost more than the computer itself, you can't be too particular about how many tabs you can have open on your HD widescreen display...
  
  --
  A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
5. Re:Not surprised by chmod+a+x+mojo · 2012-02-21 05:27 · Score: 1
  
  Well, you can boot a full Ubuntu ARM image alongside the Android kernel on a rooted (CM7) Nook Color ( 800Mhz base ARMv7, low 200MB or less RAM once Android is running ) and get acceptable ( barely... it is slow, think back to the P133 days or so... ) performance out of it. Some of the slowness is VNC overhead, but most of it is just plain lack of RAM and running 2 kernels.
  TLDR: Linux on ARM can run fast enough for day to day crap, just don't expect it to be a speed demon unless it has specs like your average gaming rig.
  
  --
  To err is human; effective mayhem requires the root password!
6. Re:Not surprised by petermgreen · 2012-02-21 05:46 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not trying to dispute your claims, or belittle you in any way, but... how many people buy a $35 computer and expect to be able to have 10 tabs open in Firefox?
  I'm guessing the answer will be "too many", i'm betting the support forums will be hell for quite a while until it's documented just what the two pi models can and can't do
  BTW "model 8" in my post should have said "model A", there is no such thing as a "model 8" pi
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
Oh look... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-21 01:50 · Score: 1

Raspberry Pi made another blog post. If only there was some way to find out about these outside of /. :(
Raspbery Pi? I thought.. by Daemonik · 2012-02-21 01:55 · Score: 1

Wait, this wasn't a commercial for GlobalScale GuruPlugs? But but, so much camera time!!
This has huge potential by Enigma23 · 2012-02-21 02:14 · Score: 1

Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these!

--
Ceci n'est pas une .sig
1. Re:This has huge potential by psergiu · 2012-02-21 04:15 · Score: 1
  
  Yep - the official name for a [Beowulf] cluster of Raspberries is a Bramble.
  
  --
  1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
Up next by Yvan256 · 2012-02-21 02:53 · Score: 1

How to make a be Beowulf cluster of Arduinos controlled by a Raspberry Pi!
Re:And can I *buy* one yet? by ctid · 2012-02-21 04:41 · Score: 2

Slashdot isn't here for your specific requirements. Raspberry Pi is an interesting project and some people like to read about it. Therefore, why don't you just ignore articles about it, just as other people ignore articles that they are not interested in?

--
Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
Re:And can I *buy* one yet? by Animats · 2012-02-21 05:21 · Score: 1

Kindly please shut up about it forever, or until it's available retail
Yes.
Re:And can I *buy* one yet? by Foxhoundz · 2012-02-21 06:48 · Score: 1

The first batch is set to arrive from the factory two days from now. There's no need to whine and moan about it.
Re:And can I *buy* one yet? by Capt.DrumkenBum · 2012-02-21 07:12 · Score: 1

Therefore, why don't you just ignore articles about it, just as other people ignore articles that they are not interested in?
Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

--
If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
Re:And can I *buy* one yet? by ooshna · 2012-02-21 08:46 · Score: 1

You must be new here. Don't you remember Duke Nukem: Forever? Quite frankly I'm just glad its not another Apple/Google/Microsoft lawsuit bonanza.
Re:Altoids Tin Feature by Osgeld · 2012-02-21 13:25 · Score: 1

so? Altoids tins are some of the worst boxes to work with
metal and electronics dont mix, so now you gotta half ass some insulation, and its shit metal which is a pain in the ass to even drill a simple hole that does not look like a rat chewed though it