Hello Fred, Have a look at this wiki page: http://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Koha_on_a_Raspberry_Pi
Cheers, Jonathan 2015-08-25 13:04 GMT+01:00 King, Fred <fred.k...@medstar.net>: > I posted this to MEDLIB-L, the medical librarians' listserv, last Friday, and > I'm reposting it to the Koha list in hopes that some of you may find it > interesting. I thought about taking out some of the medical-library-related > material and US references, but that would mean redoing most of the > footnotes. Too complicated. > > Does anyone here use a Raspberry Pi as a Koha production server? It seems > possible for a small library, but it looks so improbable. However, it's as > much RAM and hard drive space as you'd get on one of Digital Ocean's > lower-priced options. Is my mostly-pulled-out-of-the-air estimate of $75USD > for an entire Koha system (just the hardware and software--technical > expertise not included) accurate? Does everybody else already know about this > and I'm doing the equivalent of exclaiming over the invention of the wheel? > Comments invited. > > Cheers, > > Fred King > Medical Librarian, MedStar Washington Hospital Center > fred.k...@medstar.net<mailto:fred.k...@medstar.net> > 202-877-6221 > ORCID 0000-0001-5266-0279 > > Sometimes research is mostly documenting the obvious. > --Frazz > > > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > Disclaimer: I'm about to mention a few computer-related products, so I should > probably say that I have no financial interest in any of them--I just think > they're interesting. I do have an interest in seeing more libraries use Koha: > the more users, the more people and money available to improve the system. > And it should go without saying, though I will anyway, that I'm speaking only > for myself, not my employer. > > Upon re-reading this, it does sound rather like an infomercial. Sorry--it > didn't start out to be. If the idea offends you, please accept my apologies > and hit the delete key. > > Furthermore: we've had about two weeks' share of off-topic banter in the past > few days, and I've contributed more than my share. However, I wanted to write > about this before it melts out of my aging brain like an ice cream cone on a > hot day. Besides, as the rapper Tupat Zobutta said, "I'm on a roll this > week." (1) > > On with the show: > > Has anyone here heard of/used the Raspberry Pi? I was at the Koha North > America Users' Group meeting a couple of weeks ago, and someone passed one > around for us to look at. It's a 900MHz quad-core computer with 1GB RAM, 4 > usb ports, HDMI port, 100 MBS ethernet port, 3.5mm audio/composite video > jack, Micro SD slot, and a few other features. > > Cost: $35.00. > > Naturally, me being a computer geek and all (2) I ordered one from a Large > Online Retailer as soon as the session was over. I splurged and got the > computer, a case, and a power supply (micro USB; it won't run off a standard > computer USB port--not enough power) for $50.00. I also got a 32GB Micro SD > card for a few dollars more. It supports a variety of Linux operating > systems; I installed the one designed for the card (Raspbian). (You can also > buy a card with the operating system already installed.) > > All of this comes from the Raspberry Pi Foundation (4), a UK-based > educational charity. From their web site: "It is a capable little device that > enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program > in languages like Scratch and Python. It's capable of doing everything you'd > expect a desktop computer to do, from browsing the internet and playing > high-definition video, to making spreadsheets, word-processing, and playing > games." > > If you want to see a picture of mine, go to http://www.philobiblios.net/pi. I > persuaded my cat to pose with it to give an idea of how big it is. (5) > > So, how does this fit in with medical libraries? Well, there may be some > libraries here who are so flush with money that they don't need an > inexpensive computer, but for the rest of us, I have some ideas. > > Presentations > > Anybody here give presentations, or lend out computers for > doctors/nurses/teachers to do them? We have computers and projectors, but > sometimes we run out. I installed Libre Office (6) on my Raspberry Pi and > tried running my library orientation PowerPoint show on it. Libre Office can > read pptx files, and it worked well. My presentation had full-screen photos, > which displayed perfectly. The cockroach crawling across the screen didn't > work perfectly, but I think that would be easy to fix. I haven't tried more > complicated videos such as 4D ultrasound yet, but for simple files, it does > the job. > > Or, if you want to set up a rotating slide show for an exhibit, a small > computer is a lot easier to carry around--you can roll it up in your t-shirt > sleeve. And if you drop it or it gets stolen, it's a lot cheaper to replace > than a laptop. (Though unlike most laptops, it can't be fitted with a > security cable.) > > Internet Demos > > You can get a wireless USB connector for around $10. Then plug in all the > stuff and you're ready to go. > > ILS > > How about a complete library system--server and software--for under $75? (7) > This sounds far-fetched even to me, but I've been assured that Koha will run > on a Raspberry Pi. After all, I heard about it at a Koha conference. Koha is > a free open-source ILS (8) that has been around since 1999, so it's > well-established. We migrated our library to Koha two years ago and we're > very happy with it. (8) We also like the price. (9) I'm not sure how an ILS > running on a Raspberry Pi would work for a huge library with dozens of > transactions every minute; I think it could handle the minimal requirements > we put on our system. Our old system ran on a Pentium II with 256MB RAM, > after all. > > It's not the best computer for everything, of course. For one thing, I don't > think our IT staff would ever allow one on our hospital network, and it > couldn't run some of the proprietary software we use. The box itself is > minuscule, but you do have to attach a keyboard, HDMI cable (10), mouse, > network cable, etc. Also, if you disconnect the power at an inopportune time, > you risk the chance of corrupting data. If I were doing anything critical, > I'd want LOTS of backups. (11) > > So what do you all think? Does something like this have a place to supplement > computers in libraries, or did I have too much barbecued pork for dinner last > night? > > Happy Friday, > > Fred > > > (1) If you think I'm going to apologize for that, you are sadly mistaken. > (2) You can tell because some of my teeth are chipped. That comes from biting > the heads off disk drives. (3) > (3) Speaking of jokes one has to be a certain age to understand, and > sometimes not even then. > (4) http://www.raspberrypi.org > (5) Computers and cats. Talk about librarian click-bait! I hope my bandwidth > can handle it. > (6) Free open-source office software, including word processor, presentation > maker, and spreadsheet. http://www.libreoffice.org > (7) This is assuming you do all the setup and migration yourself. There are > also companies that will do that for you. > (8) http://www.koha-community.org > (9) It's optional, but you are expected to give something back to the project > if you can. That's why I bring up Koha at any opportunity. > (10) Also works with other video connectors with the right adaptors. > (11) You can download software that will make an exact clone of the SD card, > so if one comes back from a field trip and it won't boot, just swap out cards > and you're ready to go. > > > > > MedStar Health is a not-for-profit, integrated healthcare delivery system, > the largest in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region. Nationally > recognized for clinical quality in heart, orthopaedics, cancer and GI. > IMPORTANT: This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain information > that is private, confidential, or protected by attorney-client or other > privilege. If you received this e-mail in error, please delete it from your > system without copying it and notify sender by reply e-mail, so that our > records can be corrected. Thank you. Help conserve valuable resources - only > print this email if necessary. > _______________________________________________ > Koha mailing list http://koha-community.org > Koha@lists.katipo.co.nz > https://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha _______________________________________________ Koha mailing list http://koha-community.org Koha@lists.katipo.co.nz https://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha
