Pico is a bit advanced for beginners, even WiFi version requires some custom code to connect to the network, and running anything complicated like a web server dumps you into hyper-optimized embedded software development.

Raspberry Pi Zero runs the same Linux as your desktop PC and comes with WiFi, you simply run Python on it and you can make a web server with all bird feeder controls you need, and you can install VPN if you're paranoid, it will handle most tasks except AI.

NanoPi Neo comes with Ethernet connector but no WiFi for pretty much the same money and very similar specs, plus faster CPU.

OrangePi Zero has both Ethernet and WiFi but a few cents more expensive.

All three have tons of manuals and sample code on the net, and most code working on Raspberry Pi will work on OrangePi or NanoPi with some minor change to load a differerent GPIO library (the interface is compatible, so your code stays the same)

So you pick the peripherals and the connectivity you need.

If your just need to wiggle gpio pins then you can get a Pico. The Pi is way too overpowered for most embedded things.

If you don't need all 40 GPIO pins or HDMI, you can buy NanoPi Neo for half the price.

Looking forward to the days where Raspberries are affordable again.

Clearly the way to solve that is to "just" (load-bearing word to be sure) include a signed hw manifest attesting which chips were present at manufacturig time and then printing a warning - not refusing to boot.

Surely the problem lying about selling authentic unmodified boards, not the act of modifying them.

"200$ for my custom-hacked Pi. ymmv." 👍.

"200$ for authentic 1TB ram pi, trust me bro" 👎.

No.

I was thinking of buying a RaspPi 3Bplus and installing Mint on it, because I’m new at this whole Linux game. Reasoning is twofold.. ONE, i am getting into Ham radio, and once I’m licensed, I’d like to get a RIG and run it through it with the software for the HT radio… second, I’d like to put all my iPhone photos on the Raspberry Pi and remove them from my phone because I’m out of iCloud storage and I’m not purchasing any cloud from Apple. So, since I’m new to raspPI and Linux, do I just hook up a cable and transfer it over.. can anyone give me some tips if I need some additional software for this. I won’t be doing any editing, i just want to hold the 200ish photos of my kids that I can’t delete off my phone and never see again. Like I said, I’d be installing MINT, I’m not versed in LINUX, and I’m new at this, so “learning curve here” but I can catch on and I can figure things out. But I’d love some input from those that have done this before! I haven’t purchased one yet… oh, why am I buying a 3BPlus? The Ham community likes that model, it’s one that’s “in the middle price wise, does the job for HAM programs, runs clean for FLDigi, RTTY, RT-8 WSJT-X.. etc. works great with some budget choice transceivers I’m looking at… and with a powercord it runs about 60ish$… thanks for any input in advance!

I would agree a used Intel 8th Gen (or newer) with vPro mini pc will be cheap, reliable, low power, silent, and easy to support.

I use a RPI 5 for this purpose but it's hard to recommend it at this point. Some videos play just fine but others struggle and drop frames. Seems totally random at times. I can promise though that 4k will not play watchably. 1080p is the max you can do and like I said, even that can be iffy. It was mostly a fun project to setup but also annoying at times due to concerns with ARM compatibility, but I really wish the performance was better. If I could smoothly watch 4k without being tracked all of it would've been worth it and then some.

Edit: if anyone has a good recc for a power efficient and budget friendly mini pc, I'd love that myself.

An older orange pi for sure, you'd want to find one that has a working decoder with Armbian, but then you're off

ahh okay gotcha thanks

for media streaming, pi's turn out to be quite weak and expensive. most people tend to go with a mini pc or thin client, as they are cheaper and better performing.

Yeah, I want something in a more svelte package, more like a “normal” tablet, like an iPad.

I’m thinking maybe CM5, there are some low profile IO boards out there that can get the whole package down to 10mm thick, not including the screen. Though they are quite expensive.

Also looking into other options like a lattepanda Mu or OrangePi zero 3w, and some radxa sbc’s. Might be blasphemy to say that around here, but they are interesting options. But I cant find a low profile io board for the Mu, and the 3W might be a little underpowered. And it doesn’t seem like there are any good ways to get display out of the OPi or radxa boards besides hdmi.

If only raspberry pi just made a low profile 5. That would be great. Maybe I could cut off the usb-A and Ethernet ports, but that seems high risk considering how expensive pi’s are these days.

there's also the Raspad 3 which does have the downside of not offering official support for Pi5 (so you should probably at least try to limit power draw if you do use it with one).

Sweet! I’ve been kind of interested in building a pi-based tablet. That would be perfect. (Yes I know about the CutiePi, I’m not really into it for several reasons)

crimeflare strikes again

The only tricky bit is forcing the Pi's USB port into host mode by default. I thought the hub was defective but it worked when I put an OTG adapter into the micro USB port. The default auto detect behavior doesn't work with this since it doesn't connect to the OTG pin.

I had to edit /boot/firmware/config.txt and add under the [all] section:

[all]
dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host

Thank you. That looks perfect. I'll give it a shot.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K9IVUYM

I bought that earlier this year. Works great. Have two RTL-SDRs hooked into it along with a Meshtastic node. It mounts under the Pi Zero so you still have your headers available for other stuff.

It says the bot they use to check stock is increasingly blocked, possibly by sites trying to avoid overload by AI scrapers. Shame.

Fuck em. They launched using hobbyists then just pivoted completely to commercial markets while calling themselves an education charity. $100 mini PC does more now, and you don’t have to buy $50 of dongles

I am not so sure since they are a for profit company now..

Price went up along with the hardware power though. RPi 1 had 700 Mhz and 512 MB of ram, versus rpi5 at 2.4 Ghz quad core modern arm, 800 MHz GPU, and from 1 to 16 GB of ram lol.

It went from "oh cool I can run a small web server easy! A full Linux computer can fit in my pocket and I can bring it anywhere!" to basically gaming laptop specs of that early era.

You can basically get a pi zero 2w for less today than the rpi 1, and it's smaller and more powerful than the rpi1. I would say the price is damn reasonable.

And the microcontroller options these days... You can get a TON for cheap.

Go for a mini pc. They have better performance for the price comparing to raspberry pi nowadays.