[VicPiMakers SG] Pi Basics

Sun May 3 18:50:15 EDT 2020

Hi Deid,

Well, the Pi Camp is full of good stuff, I think it was aimed more at a
hands on audience who (ostensibly) wanted to use the Pi. I doubt this group
is interested in Ohm's Law, for example.

As I remember OPCUG from my Ottawa days, they were mostly Windows folks. So
I think:

   1. some chat about the Pi4 would be useful (something the VicPiMakers
   would also be interested in, BTW)
   2. the basics of the GUI
   3. The lack of compatibility with Windows anything (can't run Windows
   apps, although there may be work-alikes), has a different processor
   4. The Basic Setup - keyboard, mouse, HDMI display, or run Headless
   (then use VNC or RDP?)
   5. Some Cool Apps: Flight Aware, Motion Eye, Linux Containers (Ottawa is
   the High Tech centre of Canada)
   6. A few pointers to other things that can be done with the Pi: NodeRed,
   GPIO, Python Programming

BTW, being a Linux and Mac guy, I don't think I ever attended the OPCUG,
but did attend the Mac and Linux groups in Ottawa.

Craig...
-- 
IPv6 is the future!
http://ipv6-net.blogspot.ca/

On Sun, May 3, 2020 at 3:10 PM Deid Reimer <deid at drsol.com> wrote:

> Do you think parts of the pi camp that never happened would be useful?
> Or, are these folks likely past that level?
>
> Deid  VA7REI
> On May 3, 2020, at 12:38 PM, "Mark G." <vpm at palaceofretention.ca> wrote:
>>
>>
>> -------- Forwarded Message --------
>> Subject:  Re: Re: [VicPiMakers SG] Fwd: Re: Pi Basics
>> Date:  Sun, 3 May 2020 15:25:05 -0400
>> From:  Alan German
>>
>>
>>      A couple of replies below.
>>      Deid would like to know a bit more about what you'd like
>>      covered.  Also, how much time is available?
>>
>>
>> Mark:
>>
>> Thanks for your assistance and especially for the prompt replies from
>> your colleagues.
>>
>> Normally, we would have a lot of relevant information for speakers on
>> our web site (https://opcug.ca/speakers-info/) but, with the current
>> concerns relating to Covid-19, very little of it remains so.
>> Consequently, the following notes may assist:
>>
>> The Ottawa PC Users' Group (OPCUG) has been serving our local community
>> for close to 40 years.  Our main activities for members are a
>> monthly meeting to which we normally invite an external speaker on some
>> computer-related topic, Q&A sessions that immediately follow the
>> speaker's talk, our monthly newsletter (Ottawa PC News), web site, and a
>> members-only, on-line discussion forum.  Guests (non-members) are always
>> welcome to attend our meetings.  In addition, we have other
>> outreach programmes such as workshops held in the spring and fall, and
>> presentations to members of the public at library branches across the
>> city.  Currently, because of the limitations imposed by the pandemic, we
>> are offering brief, weekly Q&A sessions over video-conferencing.
>>
>> The Raspberry Pi computer has been suggested as a topic for our regular
>> monthly meetings on a number of occasions and, while we have the BuyaPi
>> store and a number of Pi enthusiasts in the city, we have been unable to
>> find a local speaker for this topic.  Jeff had mentioned to me your work
>> on Jitsi as OPCUG has commenced using video-conferencing due to our
>> current inability to hold face-to-face meetings.  I noted that this
>> effort was linked, in part, to Victoria PiMakers and saw from the web
>> site that this group was very active with the Pi and, in particular, had
>> recently given an introductory course on the Pi.  Hence my interest and
>> inquiry.
>>
>> I suspect that most members of OPCUG will know that the Pi exists, and
>> have a basic idea of what it is, but that is almost certainly as far as
>> it goes.  But, it is a fascinating device and I am sure that everyone
>> would love to learn more about it and what they could do with it.  Our
>> scheduled talks are usually 90 minutes in duration, including questions,
>> so clearly the presentation would have to be fairly concise.  But, it
>> should be considered just as an introduction to the topic so a lot of
>> detail is likely not required.  My thoughts were along the lines of:
>>
>> (1) a brief history of the Pi
>> (2) an overview of the latest model
>> (3) the "accessories" required (e.g. power supply, SDcard, video cable,
>> etc.)
>> (4) a couple of examples of "shovel-ready" applications (i.e.
>> off-the-shelf software for specific tasks)
>> (5) a brief indication of some of the capabilities of the Pi for someone
>> willing to roll up their sleeves (e.g. programming the I/O system)
>>
>> Obviously, not knowing all that much about the Pi myself, the above are
>> simply suggestions.  We would, of course, be guided by whoever would
>> be willing to provide a presentation to our group.
>>
>> As I indicated, our meetings are currently being held by (Zoom)
>> video-conference so a remote presentation is obviously the route to take
>> for a talk by one of your group if such can be arranged.  We are limited
>> to our regular meeting schedule, i.e. on the second Wednesday of the
>> month (e.g. June 10 is currently available), commencing at 7:30 pm EST,
>> although I would think that we could switch the main presentation and
>> the Q&A session around if a later starting time would be preferred for
>> the west coast.  And, while there is always the possibility of regular
>> meetings re-commencing at the church in the fall, we do have Wi-Fi
>> available at this venue so, if this timing would be more appropriate, no
>> doubt a remote presentation could be accommodated by simply running the
>> AV feed into the video projector.
>>
>> Anyway, all that to say that our group is very interested in the
>> capabilities of the Pi, is extremely flexible on the logistics, and
>> would be most grateful for any assistance that any member of your
>> organization could provide.
>>
>> My very best regards
>>
>> Alan
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
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