Raspberry Pi, Banana Pi, Apple Pie!

"Let the dollar be your employee...they work 365 days a year, never ask for a sick day, and will do the task you ask of them without complaint.." is a phrase I have latched onto from years ago during some of my financial studies...though I cannot remember where I found this piece of wisdom.  Now a dollar is really just a unit of energy/work/talent that is exchangeable... ...50 dollars is not as capable as 50 human employees and I don't believe this phrase is supposed to imply that.  What it does do on the other hand is make you consider the dollar in hand and what that dollar can do for you!  If you start down the path of investing in your self/company/enterprise, those dollars begin to make a difference assuming you put those "employees" to work in the right areas.

One area of investment that I can say has my business working in the right direction is the computer.  My laptop is really like a silent partner in this journey.  This guy does the work of sorting my information, scheduling tasks, and the many other tasks I ask it to do (currently playing music, burning Blu-Ray backup discs, word processing).  And it took over 1000 "employees" to bring me the support at this level, but they are still at work to this day!  So with this in mind, let's move on to the subject in the title:

So what do Raspberry Pi, Banana Pi, and Apple Pie have in common?  That's right they all sound like food but the first two are actually tiny computers!  If you're not familiar with the Raspberry Pi or Banana Pi, I hope to bring some light to the subject today.  I've been thinking a lot on the subject of automation in the past years and these little guys are a bit of a look into what the future can hold.

First let's go further back in my findings of these micro boards and talk about the "Arduino", a micro-controller.  The Arduino is a very simple design, it's low cost ~$25 on Amazon right now makes it very obtainable, and it's modular so think of it as a lego piece in the larger lego puzzle.  You would use this little guy to control motors, servos, sensors, lights, and even home automation.  What makes this guy even better is the huge community out there that supports/generates/distributes this product and its accessories!  There isn't an operating system, just a simple shell for "c" code and execution of that code.  Needless to say, this tool will make it to my workshop soon!

Next, the "Raspberry Pi"!  This is where things start to get even more exciting.  This tiny board can fit within the an Altoids container and is micro linux/Android computer!  The operating system fits on a Mirco SD card now (Rev B+), and it has many of the same features of the Arduino, just with a few changes.  The cost is about the same, ~$25-$50 depending on model and distributor.  The I/O pins are about the same in number, but this is where they differ a bit as well.  The Arduino is a micro-controller with more muscle than brains where as the Raspberry Pi is a micro-processor able to crunch data but weaker on onboard power to move motors.  As you know, I'm a huge fan of Python, which is built into Linux directly, so if you throw together some quick scripts, or download them from the web from other contributors, you can get this guy off the ground and working for you!  This makes the Raspberry Pi awesome as a stand-alone computer which can be networked and duplicated throughout a project.  Imagine if you tie Arduino and Raspberry Pi together!

Let's talk about "Banana Pi", the latest powerhouse and alternative to Raspberry Pi.  Banana was released several months back and departs from the Raspberry direction slightly giving more features!  This guy runs both Linux/Android ...*cough* Python *cough*... as well and now allows you to use a SATA port for a hard-drive now too...what???  Banana's micro-processor is a Dual Core 1Ghz+ chip with 1Gb DDR3 ram in comparison to the older 700MHZ and 512MB ram on Raspberry.  This guy has more power and more ability at a slighly higher expense ~$50-60.  For the cost and ability this is probably the best of the 3 in terms of all around package!  It really boils down to application...

This is all great, but what application do you have in mind?  That's a great question, and I'm glad you asked!  Have you considered that one of the highest expenses you may experience is your energy usage cost?  Or perhaps your food bill?  Or even your cable/DVR rental?  Whether your micro-processor is running as a home automation system, Aeroponics controller, or simply entertainment media center, if you have a need to put some delegation into action consider a Pi!  If you think about it, those "employees" are way more capable when they are put to use than just sitting around anyway right?

Do you currently delegate tasks to your computer?  Automate your thermostat in your house?  Have your coffee prepared for you when you walk into the kitchen?  Have fun thinking about this, I know I have!

Stay thoughtful! FFAP