Just curious--why do you think a low level desktop would be better than a single board computer? My first thought is that there are more parts to go wrong on a desktop--hard drives fail, power supplies die, etc. The Raspberry Pi seems a lot less complicated, as long as you keep it away from the puppy. I don't know how long it's expected to last, but I think it would be at least as long as an inexpensive desktop.
As for cloud, yes, that's a good alternative as well. Digital Ocean's least expensive option is $5USD/month, which is pretty good. And it's a lot more secure than a Micro SD card that's easy to swallow by mistake. (Not likely, but stranger things have happened.) The downside is that you need constant, reliable Internet access, which isn't always a sure thing. --Fred Fred King Medical Librarian, MedStar Washington Hospital Center [email protected] 202-877-6670 ORCID 0000-0001-5266-0279 It makes sense that children, whose brains are rapidly developing, should not be hitting their heads over and over again. Julie Stamm (www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_154239.html) Sometimes research is mostly documenting the obvious. --Frazz -----Original Message----- From: Anthony Mao [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2015 8:59 AM To: King, Fred Cc: Koha Subject: Re: [Koha] Raspberry Pi Hello Fred and friends, For a production site of Koha, there are choices among single board computers including Raspberry Pi 2 Model B(February 2015). In terms of financial consideration, I do not agree that single board computer is better than low level desktop computer. In fact, install on the cloud might even more cheaper and faster. As Fred mentioned, technical expertise is the most expensive part of Koha. I use Live DVD/USB for teaching purpose in the last 3 years. 2015-08-25 20:04 GMT+08:00 King, Fred <[email protected]>: > 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 > [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> > 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 > [email protected] > https://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha -- Wishing you all the best. . . . Anthony Mao 毛慶禎 ＋886 2 29052334 (voice) + 886 2 29017405 (FAX) 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 [email protected] https://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha
