RaspEX especially for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ – based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS – with OpenCPN 4.99.0 pre-installed ::: Build 180331

Posted on March 31, 2018 by exton

raspex-16.04-opencpn-4.4.0-touchscreen-20160702-smallRaspEX – Build 180331 based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS – with OpenCPN 4.99.0 (latest version) – especially made for the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, but it can of course also be used on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and Raspberry Pi 2 Model B.

OpenCPN is a free software (GPLv2) project to create a concise chart plotter and navigation software, for use underway or as a planning tool. OpenCPN is developed by a team of active sailors using real world conditions for program testing and refinement.

Replacement
This build (180331) replaces build 160703. Ubuntu has been upgraded to version 18.04 LTS and OpenCPN to version 4.99.0 – latest. Build 180331 is made especially for the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, but can of course also be used on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and Raspberry Pi 2 Model B.

The Desktop environment LXDE is used. The “Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment” is an extremely fast-performing and energy-saving desktop environment. LXDE uses less CPU and less RAM than other environments. It is especially designed for cloud computers with low hardware specifications, such as netbooks, mobile devices (e.g. MIDs) or older computers.

ABOUT RaspEX Build 180331
RaspEX is a Linux ARM system for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, Model B+ and Pi 2 model B. It is based on Debian Stretch (Debian 9), Bionic Beaver (Ubuntu 18.04 LTS) and Linaro (Open Source software for ARM SoCs). In this new version (180331) I’ve installed OpenCPN 4.99.0 from source. (You can’t yet find OpenCPN 4.99.0 in any software repositories).

Read this OpenCPN Review….

How do I install RaspEX with OpenCPN?
Just like any other Raspberry Pi system. I.e.: Unpack the downloaded ZIP file (raspex-ubuntu-18.04-LTS-opencpn-lxde-1430mb-180331.zip) and transfer the IMAGE file (raspex-ubuntu-18.04-LTS-opencpn-lxde-4400mb-180331.img) to your Micro SD card of at least 8GB. For that you shall use Win32DiskImager in Windows. When running it it will look like this.



Watch a YouTube video that shows the performance of OpenCPN on a Raspberry Pi…
NOTE: Please don’t ask me technical questions about how to use OpenCPN. I’m no expert on OpenCPN. You can search the Internet for answers. There is a lot written about OpenCPN and Raspberry Pi. The Cruisers Forum (World Cruising and Sailing Wiki) is a good starting point.

Kernel
Kernel 4.14.30-v7 is used.

Raspberry Pi 3 Model 3 B+: How much better is it than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B? The tiny computer is supposed to be faster and better in every way, including upgraded processor speed, wireless internet, and Ethernet connections.

How do I use RaspEX?
When you start up your Raspberry Pi Mini computer with RaspEX you will (after a few seconds) end up in X and LXDE as the ordinary user raspex. The password for raspex is raspex. When logged in as raspex you can use Sudo to become root. Example: sudo su and sudo pcmanfm. The password for root (superuser) is root. You can log out from LXDE and log in again as root (if you want). This is how it looks at SLiM‘s login page.

You can log in as root with password root. You can of course also create a new ordinary user if you want. Command: sudo /usr/sbin/adduser MyNewUser. If you don’t want to be automatically logged in as raspex you shall edit /etc/slim.conf.

Wireless connections
The new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and Model B+ computer has “built in” 802.11n Wireless LAN. Using Raspberry Pi 2 you have to have a Wireless USB Adapter. The only one which works for Raspberry Pi 2 is Edimax EW-7811Un (as far as I know).

About SSH, PuTTY, Samba, VNC4Server and VNC Viewer
SSH, Samba and VNC4Server are pre-installed in RaspEX Build 180331. You need to install PuTTy and and VNC Viewer in your Windows system if you want to connect to RaspEX/Raspberry Pi 3/2 from Windows. (Please read the developers information about how to configure PuTTy and VNC Viewer).

The 7″ Touchscreen Monitor for Raspberry Pi
To my great joy also this version of RaspEX work together with the 7″ Touchscreen Monitor for Raspberry Pi “out of the box”. Some fixes to be done:
#####################
Adding a virtual keyboard – Matchbox
Install it with sudo apt-get install matchbox-keyboard
Screenshot when Matchbox Keyboard is running

How do I enable right click?
Paste in the following lines in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.

Section “InputClass”
Identifier “calibration”
Driver “evdev”
MatchProduct “FT5406 memory based driver”

Option “EmulateThirdButton” “1”
Option “EmulateThirdButtonTimeout” “750”
Option “EmulateThirdButtonMoveThreshold” “30”
EndSection

Rotate the touch screen
Depending on your display stand you might find that the LCD display defaults to being upside-down, you can fix this by rotating it in /boot/config.txt.
Add: lcd_rotate=2

Scrolling with a finger in Firefox and/or Chromium Browser
Can’t be fixed. It is also not working in Raspbian.
#############################

Advanced configuration with raspi-config
Run the command sudo raspi-config and you will get a menu with different configuration alternatives. You can for example expand the filesystem on the SD card. You can also enable an experimental GL driver for the Desktop. Perhaps useful if you have a big screen/monitor. You can also enable overscan. Useful if you use the 7″ touchscreen. See under Advanced Options.

Expand the filesystem on the SD card
If you install many new big programs and/or download large files (for example videos) you may run out of space on the SD card. That is best fixed by running the following command: sudo sh /root/resize_rootfs.sh
NOTE: That’s all you have to do. Just wait for the script to fix everything. If you use a SD card of 64 GB all the space on it will be used afterwards.

Installed packages
Besides from LXDE and OpenCPN a lot of ordinary Debian/Ubuntu packages are pre-installed. I can mention Firefox, Chromium Web Browser, Midori Private Browser, SMTube (YouTube browser which allows to browse, search and play YouTube videos), PulseAudio for better sound in YouTube, Synaptic Package Manager and Gimp. Study the full package list of 180331…

Error no_pubkey when trying to upgrade the system
When you run the command sudo apt-get update it can happen that you can’t update the sources due to missing pub_keys. The solution is to run the following commands.
$ cd /var/lib/apt
$ sudo mv lists lists.old
$ sudo mkdir -p lists/partial
$ sudo apt-get update

After that you can run apt-get update with success even though you still will get the same “no_pubkey” errors.

Why shall I use RaspEX?
Eight Operating Systems are recommended by Raspberrypi.org. Among them Noobs, Raspbian (Debian Stretch) and Snappy Ubuntu Core. RaspEX is faster (“fast as lightning”), more useful and more fun to use. (In my opinion). One member at this site thought that running RaspEX (for Raspberry Pi 2 Model B) was like running Raspberry Pi on “steroids“. RaspEX Build 180328 and 180331 (current with OpenCPN) are of course even faster, especially if you run the systems on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer.

SCREENSHOTS
1. RaspEX version 180331 running OpenCPN as the ordinary user raspex
2. RaspEX version 180331 running OpenCPN as root
3. OpenCPN 4.4.0 running on the 7″ Touchscreen Monitor for Raspberry Pi (old version OpenCPN)
4. OpenCPN 4.4.0 – Boston (old version OpenCPN)
5. OpenCPN World Map (old version of OpenCPN)
6. OpenCPN Florida – Cape Canaveral (old version of OpenCPN)
7. OpenCPN New York – Approaches to New York (old version of OpenCPN)
8. OpenCPN Stockholm Archipelago (old version of OpenCPN)

Compatibility :: November 2018
Unfortunately not all systems made for Raspberry Pi 3 and 2 will run on the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer. They need to be upgraded with a new kernel. I therefore have to upgrade the systems I distribute. I.e. RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, RaspEX BunsenLabs, RaspAnd Marshmallow, RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2, RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 and RaspArch. I have until now (181120) upgraded RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, RaspArch and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1. Read about the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+…

DOWNLOAD
This build has been replaced by Build 181120.

Raspberry Pi is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Foundation

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at

andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX Oreo 8.1!

and about my Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se – latest is RaspAnd Oreo 8.1!
Posted in Exton Linux, Linux, RaspEX | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

RaspEX based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS with LXDE and kernel 4.14.30 especially made for the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ ::: Build 180328

Posted on March 27, 2018 by exton

NEWS 181010
I’ve made a new extra version of RaspEX with BunsenLabs Helium Desktop. BunsenLabs Linux is a distribution offering a light-weight and easily customizable Openbox desktop. The project is a community continuation of CrunchBang Linux. The current release is Helium, derived from Debian 9 (Stretch). READ More…

NEWS 180330 about Firefox and RaspEX
As all of you who have downloaded RaspEX Build 180328 may have noticed YouTube doesn’t work very well in Chromium or Midori. Furthermore the newest versions of Firefox doesn’t work on a Raspberry Pi computer. The solution is to download and install Firefox 52.7.3 ESR. Unzip raspex-firefox.zip and install Firefox ESR with the command sudo dpkg -i libevent-2.1-6_2.1.8-stable-4_armhf.deb firefox-esr_52.7.3esr-1_armhf.deb. After that you can really enjoy YouTube in Firefox/RaspEX! Note: For some unknown reason the sound works better when logged in as root.

NEWS 180328 about RaspEX for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, 3 Model B+ and Raspberry Pi 2
I have upgraded the whole system and replaced the old kernel 4.9.41 with kernel 4.14.30-v7+. RaspEX Build 180328 is a Linux ARM system for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, 3 Model B+ and Raspberry Pi 2. It is based on Debian 9 Stretch, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and Linaro (Open Source software for ARM SoCs). In this new version (180328) I’ve installed Wicd Network Manager and replaced Firefox with the Chromium Web Browser. I have also installed Samba and VNC4Server so you can connect to your Windows computers in your Home Network and/or control RaspEX on your Raspberry Pi 3 or Pi 2 from your Windows computers with VNC Viewer and/or PuTTY (Telnet and SSH client). Furthermore some extra Network Tools, Midori Private Browser, SMTube (YouTube browser which allows to browse, search and play YouTube videos) and PulseAudio for better sound in YouTube. Study all installed packages in RaspEX Build 180328.

Replacement
This version (180328) replaces version 170810 of RaspEX. Version 170810 can’t run on the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+.

Raspberry Pi 3 Model 3 B: How much better is it than the Raspberry Pi 2? Raspberry Pi 3 is performing 10 times faster than that of the Pi 1 and around 50 percent better than that of the Pi 2 according to testers.

Raspberry Pi 3 Model 3 B+: How much better is it than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B? The tiny computer is supposed to be faster and better in every way, including upgraded processor speed, wireless internet, and Ethernet connections.

Compatibility :: October 2018
Unfortunately not all systems made for Raspberry Pi 3 and 2 will run on the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer. They need to be upgraded with a new kernel. I therefore have to upgrade the systems I distribute. I.e. RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, RaspEX BunsenLabs, RaspAnd Marshmallow, RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2, RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 and RaspArch. I have until now (181010) upgraded RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, RaspArch and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1. Read about the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+…

Softpedia review
RaspEX version 160331 was reviewed by Softpedia 160331.

What is Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. 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.
Read more about Raspberry Pi…

RASPBERRY_PI_2-small
The Raspberry Pi 3 model B made in February 2016. It has a 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU and 1GB RAM. The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ was out on the market March 14, 2018. The Pi 3 Model B+ packs a 1.4GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex A53 CPU made by Broadcom, dual-band 802.11ac wireless LAN support, Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, and Gigabit Ethernet support over USB 2.0 connectivity (that’s up to 300Mbps).

More about RaspEX
RaspEX is a full Linux Desktop system with LXDE (an extremely fast-performing and energy-saving desktop environment) with many other useful programs pre-installed. Chromium is used as Web Browser and Synaptic as Package Manager. You can use Samba and VNC4Server to connect to your Windows computers in your Home Network and/or control RaspEX on your Raspberry Pi 3, Pi 3 Model B+ or Raspberry Pi 2 from your Windows computers with VNC Viewer and/or PuTTY (Telnet and SSH client). You can use Synaptic to install any extra packages you may need. For example LibreOffice. RaspEX uses Ubuntu’s software repositories so you can install thousands of extra packages if you want.

Kernel
Kernel 4.14.30-v7+ is used.

Why shall I use RaspEX?
Eight Operating Systems are recommended by Raspberrypi.org. Among them Noobs, Raspbian (Debian Stretch) and Snappy Ubuntu Core. RaspEX is faster (“fast as lightning”), more useful and more fun to use. (In my opinion). One member at this site thought that running RaspEX (for Raspberry Pi 2 Model B) was like running Raspberry Pi on “steroids“. If you use the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ it will be even faster!

How do I install RaspEX in Windows?
Just like any other Raspberry Pi system. I.e.: Unpack the downloaded ZIP file (raspex-ubuntu-18.04-LTS-lxde-1480mb-180328.zip) and transfer the IMAGE file (raspex-ubuntu-18.04-LTS-lxde-4400mb-180328.img) to your Micro SD card of at least 8GB. For that you shall use Win32DiskImager in Windows. When running it it will look like this.

How do I install RaspEX in Linux?
You can of course also install RaspEX in any Linux system using the dd command. Just open up at terminal and run the following command (as root):
dd if=raspex-ubuntu-18.04-LTS-lxde-4400mb-180328.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
Note: Change /dev/sdX to for example /dev/sdc, /dev/sde or…
(Check it carefully before you run the above command so you won’t lose important data).

Different Micro SD Cards
For best performance you should use SD Cards of good quality. I can recommend Samsung MicroSD Pro Plus 32GB Class 10. Write speed up to 95 MB/s. Also Samsung MicroSD EVO 16GB Class 10. Write speed up to 48 MB/s. Price 47 $ respectively 10 $ (in Sweden).

How do I use RaspEX?
When you start up your Raspberry Mini computer with RaspEX you will (after a few seconds) end up in X and LXDE as the ordinary user raspex. The password for raspex is raspex. When logged in as raspex you can use Sudo to become root. Example: sudo su and sudo pcmanfm. The password for root (superuser) is root. You can log out from LXDE and log in again as root (if you want). This is how it looks at SLiM‘s login page.

You can log in as root with password root. You can of course also create a new ordinary user if you want. Command: /usr/sbin/adduser MyNewUser. If you don’t want to be automatically logged in as raspex you shall edit /etc/slim.conf.

When logged in as the ordinary user raspex your Desktop will look like this.


Click to view a larger picture

Error no_pubkey when trying to upgrade the system
When you run the command sudo apt-get update it can happen that you can’t update the sources due to missing pub_keys. The solution is to run the following commands.
$ cd /var/lib/apt
$ sudo mv lists lists.old
$ sudo mkdir -p lists/partial
$ sudo apt update

After that you can run apt-get update with success even though you still will get the same “no_pubkey” errors. Don’t worry. This error won’t prevent you from upgrading the system regularly with the command sudo apt upgrade.

Wireless connections
The new Raspberry Pi 3 and 3 Model B+ computer has “built in” 802.11n Wireless LAN. Using Raspberry Pi 2 you have to have a Wireless USB Adapter. The only one which works for Raspberry Pi 2 is Edimax EW-7811Un (as far as I know).

Expand the filesystem on the SD card
If you install many new big programs and/or download large files (for example videos) you may run out of space on the SD card. That is best fixed by running the following command: sudo sh /root/resize_rootfs.sh
NOTE: That’s all you have to do. Just wait for the script to fix everything. If you use a SD card of 64 GB all the space on it will be used afterwards.

About SSH, PuTTY, Samba, VNC4Server and VNC Viewer
SSH, Samba and VNC4Server are pre-installed in RaspEX Build 180328. You need to install PuTTy and and VNC Viewer in your Windows system if you want to connect to RaspEX/Raspberry Pi 3/2 from Windows the way the below slideshow shows. (Please read the developers information about how to configure PuTTy and VNC Viewer).

Watch this slideshow re. connections between RaspEX and Windows.

Bluetooth connections – working in Build 180328
It seems difficult (maybe impossible) to use the “built in” Bluetooth adapter running RaspEX on Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. Using a Bluetooth dongle for example Asus USB-BT400 dongle on Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and Raspberry Pi 2 you should have no trouble using Bluetooth in RaspEX. Watch these two screenshots when Blueman (Graphical Bluetooth Manager) is running. Using the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ it should be easier to use Bluetooth.
1. Showing “paring” with my Android phone
2. Showing the sending process of a file from RaspEX/Raspberry Pi 3 Model B to my Android phone

View all installed packages in RaspEX – Build 180328

SCREENSHOTS

Screenshot 1 – root’s Desktop 180328

Screenshot 2 – raspex’s Desktop 180328

Screenshot 3 – RaspEX connected to Windows via Samba

Screenshot 4 – RaspEX connected to Windows via PuTTy

Screenshot 5 – RaspEX “running on” Windows with VNC-viewer

Screenshot 6 – RaspEX running Midori Private Browser

Screenshot 7 – RaspEX using Pavucontrol (for sound)

Screenshot 8 – RaspEX running SMTube (search and watch YouTube videos)

Screenshot 9 – RaspEX running the Bluetooth Manager

DOWNLOAD – raspex-ubuntu-18.04-LTS-lxde-1480mb-180328.zip from SourceForge.net

md5sum

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at

andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX Oreo 8.1!

and about my Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se – latest is RaspAnd Oreo 8.1!

READ also about my RaspEX Build 180331 (for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, Model B+ and 2 Model B) with OpenCPN pre-installed
OpenCPN is a free software (GPLv2) project to create a concise chart plotter and navigation software, for use underway or as a planning tool. OpenCPN is developed by a team of active sailors using real world conditions for program testing and refinement.

Compatibility :: October 2018
Unfortunately not all systems made for Raspberry Pi 3 and 2 will run on the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer. They need to be upgraded with a new kernel. I therefore have to upgrade the systems I distribute. I.e. RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, RaspEX BunsenLabs, RaspAnd Marshmallow, RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2, RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 and RaspArch. I have until now (181010) upgraded RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, RaspArch and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1. Read about the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+…

Posted in Exton Linux, Linux, RaspEX | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

RaspAnd 7.1.2 Build 171220, which can be used with the official Raspberry Pi 7 inch touchscreen and Big TV Screens

Posted on December 20, 2017 by exton

NEWS about RaspAnd 7.1.2 Build 171220/171215
Thanks to a member on this site who asked for support for the Raspberry Pi official 7 inch touchscreen I started to experiment with different configurations. Success! The changes are so good that I’ve decided to uploaded a new version of RaspAnd today. Note: The display size have changed from 1280×720 to 1920×1080, which means that RaspAnd will look better also when using Big TV screens. Screenshot when a Samsung 55 inch TV is used as monitor. In Build 171220 I’ve also included the app Quick Reboot Pro (so you don’t have to use the power switch).

Build 171220 of RaspAnd can be downloaded by those who have purchased Build 171215 (and previous versions of RaspAnd 7.1.2).

SCREENSHOTS
Screenshot 1 – The Desktop when the Raspberry Pi official 7 inch touchscreen is used (RaspAnd Build 171220)
Screenshot 2 – Running YouTube in the Jelly Browser when the touchscreen is used (RaspAnd Build 171220)
Screenshot 3 – The Desktop when a Samsung 55″ TV is used as monitor (RaspAnd Build 171220)

READ MORE…

Posted in Android, Exton Linux, Linux, RaspAnd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 for Raspberry Pi 3 – Build 171220/171215 – with Google Play Store, Kodi 17.6, Aptoide TV, Bluetooth and TeamViewer working very well

Posted on December 15, 2017 by exton

NEWS 171220: RaspAnd 7.1.2 Build 171220 can be used with the official Raspberry Pi 7 inch touchscreen and Big TV Screens
Thanks to a member on this site who asked for support for the Raspberry Pi official 7 inch touchscreen I started to experiment with different configurations. Success! The changes are so good that I’ve decided to uploaded a new version of RaspAnd today. I’ve also included the app Quick Reboot Pro (so you don’t have to use the power switch).

Build 171220 of RaspAnd can be downloaded by those who have purchased Build 171215 (and previous versions of RaspAnd 7.1.2).

NEWS 171220/171215 ABOUT RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 with Google Play Store (and everything else!) working
RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 Build 171220/171215 has GAPPS installed and Google Play Store working. Bluetooth works and you can use TeamViewer to control other computers from your Rpi3. RaspAnd can be installed in Windows using Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher. The video performance is generally much better than in previous versions. Your Wifi connection is stable and it will reconnect after every reboot of your Rpi3.

Slideshow – showing RaspAnd’s boot procedure…

Download RaspAnd Build 171220/171215…

MORE NEWS 171220/171215 ABOUT RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2
RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 with GAPPS can be installed to a Micro SD card (preferable a class 10 card) in Windows 10 using Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher. You can alternatively (of course) use the dd-command in a Linux system. Unzip the downloaded file raspand-nougat-7.1.2-lineage-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-664mb-171220.zip. Then open a terminal and run the command dd if=raspand-nougat-7.1.2-lineage-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-4300mb-171220.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
(Change X to b, d or…).

What’s the point with Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher?
Well, until recently you had to have some basic knowledge about Linux to be able to install RaspAnd 7.1.2. Now you don’t need any special knowledge at all! (Just some basic computer knowledge). When you use Etcher it will look like this.

Using GParted to increase the data partition
As I said above RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 Build 171220/171215 can be installed in Windows using Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher. This method has one disadvantage. Only about about 3GB can be used as data storage no matter which card you use. Now say, for example, that you use Micro SD card (preferable a class 10 card) of 32GB about 26GB will be “wasted”. You can, however, change that with the help of GParted. See below how to do it.

How to get rid of the 3GB limit after Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher has been used:
– write the image with Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher
– start up Ubuntu or another Linux system – you can also use a Linux Live CD/USB stick
– start GParted – screenshot before resizing
– resize the DATA partition – screenshot after resizing
– done!

MORE ABOUT RaspAnd
RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 Build 171220/171215 is an Android 7.1.2 Nougat system which can run on Raspberry Pi 3. I have included the following apps:
1) GAPPS (Google Play Services with Google Play Store)
2) Kodi 17.6 (latest version which allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the Internet. YouTube is enabled and working very well!)
3) Spotify TV 1.6.3 (working very very well)
4) Google Play Games (needed for Clash of Clans to run)
5) Clash of Clans 9.256.19 – very popular!
6) TeamViewer 1.3.0.7991 – control other computers from your Rpi3!
7) Jelly Browser 7.1.2 – use it to watch YouTube etc.
8) Aptoide TV 3.2.5 (for installing new apps which can’t be found on Google Play Store – many many apps can be installed!)
9) ES File Explorer 4.1.6.7.5 working very well
10) Chess 2.3.6
11) AIDA64 1.47
12) Termux – a very special terminal. (Use the APT package manager!)
13) Quick Reboot Pro 1.6.1 (in Build 171220)

ABOUT Android 7.1.2
Version 7.1.2 is the second latest Android system by now. Released on April 8, 2017. The system is used in very few mobile phones (as far as I know).

What is Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. 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.
Read more about Raspberry Pi…

RASPBERRY_PI_2-small
Raspberry Pi 3 model B made in February 2016. It has a 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU and 1GB RAM. Read more…

About running RaspAnd 7.1.2 Build 171220/171215 on Raspberry Pi 2
You can run RaspAnd 7.1.2 also on a Raspberry Pi 2 computer, but the system will be awfully slow. The Raspberry Pi 3 is much faster. Overview of the differences…

My sources
My work/build is the outcome of the Community Open Source Project and The LineageOS project.

ABOUT KODI
Kodi (an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media center for playing videos, music, pictures, games, and more) works very well in RaspAnd. You can enable a lot of Addons. Most important is that the YouTube Addon is enabled by default and that it works very well. I.e. both the sound and the video performance when running YouTube in Kodi is satisfying. Here’s a link to the best Kodi addons! You can also read a more informative article about Kodi in general.

Kernel
Kernel 4.4.104-exton-v7+ is used in RaspAnd Nougat Build 171220/171215.

Wifi support
The new versions of RaspAnd has support for Wifi (on Raspberry Pi 3). RaspAnd 7.1.2 runs very well on the new Raspberry Pi 3 computer. Previous problems with the Wifi connection are gone in RaspAnd Build 171220/171215. I.e. the Wifi connection will automatically be re-established after every reboot. Thanks to Lineage and Google.

How do I install RaspAnd in Linux
Use the dd-command. Unzip the downloaded file raspand-nougat-7.1.2-lineage-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-664mb-171220.zip. Then open a terminal and run the command dd if=raspand-nougat-7.1.2-lineage-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-4300mb-171220.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
(Change X to b, d or…).

Win32 Disk Imager – RaspAnd 7.1.2 Build 171220/171215
RaspAnd 7.1.2 version 171220/171215 can be installed in Windows Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher – see above.

Different Micro SD Cards
For best performance you should use SD Cards of good quality. I can recommend Samsung MicroSD Pro Plus 32GB Class 10. Write speed up to 95 MB/s. Also Samsung MicroSD EVO 16GB Class 10. Write speed up to 48 MB/s. Price 47 $ respectively 10 $ (in Sweden).

Different boot parameters in boot/config.txt
As you can see there is a file called config.txt in the folder boot. Check out this overview explaining the different parameters in config.txt. Some changes to config.txt could (possibly) help if you have screen problems (which I don’t think you will have when running RaspAnd Nougat Build 171220).

Startup of RaspAnd Nougat
The first thing you will see on the screen is the Lineage Boot Animation. If you do not see this green ring moving you haven’t installed RaspAnd correctly on the SD card. Try again and do EXACTLY as I write above. After about five minutes (the first time you startup RaspAnd) you will see the Welcome first screen. Watch a Slideshow – showing RaspAnd’s boot procedure and what you should do after you’ve seen the first screen. NOTE: When you see the first screen, you’ll have a chance to copy everything from your Android mobile phone to Rpi3/RaspAnd. I.e. choose the alternative Copy your data instead of Set up as new. If you do that you must be very patient. The whole process will take some time and you should also reboot your Rpi3 a couple of times. Be aware of the fact that installing/running many apps in RaspAnd will slow down the system considerably. You can, however, uninstall apps which you don’t need or apps which doesn’t run in RaspAnd. Watch a screenshot of RaspAnd’s Desktop when I have copied everything from my mobile phone to RaspAnd.

Navigation in RaspAnd Nougat
Normally you use the Esc key to get back or end an app running. To end some apps you may have to use the Ctrl Alt F1 or F2 keys simultaneously. Note 1: You’ll also have a Back and Home key. Note 2: You can also install the Quick Reboot Pro app (so you can reboot and power off your Rpi3 without using the power switch – screenshot). Go to Settings/Developer options and enable Root access. To be able to do that you’ll have to enable Developer options first. Go to Settings/About table and click on “Build number” about six times. Note: Quick Reboot Pro is pre-installed in Build 171220.

Change the system language
You can change the default English language to your preferred language. Just open Settings and go to Languages & input. See an example below, when I’m changing to French.
1. Choose your language
2. I’ve changed to French
3. The keyboard changes automatically to French layout
4. Everything in Settings (and everywhere else) will be in French
5. Also Google Play Store!

Bluetooth and TeamViewer
Bluetooth works in RaspAnd Build 171220/171215. As an alternative you can use the TeamViewer app, which is pre-installed. Screenshot when the TeamViewer app is running on my Rpi3 and controlling my PC.

Video & TV cast
You can use your Rpi3 with RaspAnd Build 171220/171215 for Video & TV cast. You can find a lot of apps to download for this purpose – screenshot 1, screenshot 2. You can test download them via Google Play Store and keep the one which suits you and your TV. I used an app called PlayTo Samsung TV – screenshot. The costs of a television set and how they’ve changed over time – Research.

Clash of Clans and other popular games
Clash of Clans 9.256.19 (a very popular epic strategy game) works very very well. Perfect video quality and audio. Many other games will run. Install and test them!

Spotify
Spotify works very well in RaspAnd Nougat. Just log in and play your favorite music!

NOTE/WARNING – 1
Running Android Nougat on a Raspberry Pi 3 can sometimes be perceived as a bit sluggish. If you find it so, I recommend that you restart the system a couple of times, then everything will run faster! I.e. not really super fast, but faster.

SCREENSHOTS
Slideshow – showing RaspAnd’s boot procedure
Screenshot 2 – RaspAnd’s Desktop
Screenshot 3 – Google Play Store running
Screenshot 4 – Spotify running
Screenshot 5 – YouTube running in Jelly Browser with perfect video quality
Screenshot 6 – Aptoide TV running
Screenshot 7 – TeamViewer running and controlling my PC
Screenshot 8 – Kodi running
Screenshot 9 – Rpi3 connected to mobile phone by Bluetooth
Screenshot 10 – Developer options
Screenshot 11 – The Desktop when the Raspberry Pi official 7″ touchscreen is used (RaspAnd Build 171220)
Screenshot 12 – Running YouTube in the Jelly Browser when the touchscreen is used (RaspAnd Build 171220)
Screenshot 13 – The Desktop when a Samsung 55″ TV is used as monitor (RaspAnd Build 171220)

KNOWN ISSUES re. RaspAnd Build 171220/171215
1. The screen can flicker sometimes on certain monitors when running Kodi 17.6. (The flickering is minimal though).
2. You can’t use the YouTube app. You will have perfect sound, but no video. Watch YouTube videos in Kodi 17.6 instead. The very best alternative is to use the Jelly Browser. Perfect video quality (if you don’t use the whole screen).
3. Not all apps will run in RaspAnd Nougat. You can for example run the popular (?) Clash of Clans very well, but not Angry Birds. Many many apps will run without problems though.
4. You can’t run Netflix.

NOTE/WARNING – 2
PLEASE NOTE that you must be aware of the fact that the Raspberry Pi 3 computer has its limitations and that Android 7.1.2 is a very advanced Linux system. Having said that I must also say that the apps I have included in this Build (see above) work very well. Most important changes in Build 171215: Your Wifi connection will be stable and Bluetooth works for the very first time in my RaspAnd 7.1.2 builds. NOTE also: Build 171220/171215 is (almost) perfect in every aspect considering that the Rpi3 computer has its limitations. Running RaspAnd Build 171220 you can use the Raspberry Pi official 7 inch touchscreen and very Big TV screens.

DOWNLOAD
This build of RaspAnd has been replaced by Build 180529…

Android is a trademark of Google Inc.
Raspberry Pi is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Foundation

Posted in Android, Exton Linux, Linux, RaspAnd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 71 Comments

Spam posting

Posted on November 21, 2017 by exton

Due to spam posting I had to delete all users. (About 3000). All “real” users/subscribers therefore have to register again to be able to ask questions etc.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

RaspArch Build 171102 :: Run Arch Linux on your Raspberry Pi 3 or Pi 2 computer :: Install using Win32 Disk Imager!

Posted on November 2, 2017 by exton

rasparch-logoThis version (171102) is my fifth build of RaspArch
The first version is from 150414. The second is from 151107. The third is from 160312 specially made for the new Raspberry Pi 3. The fourth version is from 161205. This version (171102) and version 161205 of RaspArch can of course also run on the “old” Raspberry Pi 2. RaspArch is a “remaster” of Arch Linux ARM. The original compressed system is of 231 MB. After I have added the LXDE Desktop environment, PulseAudio, Firefox, Yaourt and Gimp the system increased a lot. RaspArch is a “ready-to-go” ARM system. It must be installed on a Raspberry Pi 3 model B or Pi 2 computer.

Most important change in version 171102: use Win32 Disk Imager
This version can be installed in Windows using Win32 Disk Imager. Previous versions could only be installed when running a Linux system. Using Win32 Disk Imager has one disadvantage though. Only about 1GB can be used as data storage no matter which card you use. The system is of 3GB and the system partition of 4GB. If you use a card of 32GB about 28GB will be unused. Yesterday a member on this site wrote about how to get rid of the 1GB limit after Win32 Disk Imager has been used:
– write the image with Win32 Disk Imager
– start up Ubuntu or another Linux system – you can also use a Linux Live CD/USB stick
– start GParted – screenshot before resizing
– resize the DATA partition – screenshot after resizing
– done!
This screenshot shows that RaspArch now has about 25GB free storage.

Writing the image using Win32 Disk Imager. See the screenshot below.

UPGRADE RaspArch
If you have downloaded and installed my previous version of RaspArch from 161205 you can still use the Micro SD Card with RaspArch on the new Raspberry Pi 3 after a full upgrade of the system. Commands: pacman -Sy followed by pacman -Syu. Most important the old kernel will automatically be replaced by kernel 4.9.59-1-ARCH.

NEWS in RaspArch Build 171102
A new kernel – 4.9.59-1-ARCH. All included packages have been updated to the latest version as of 171102. I have added support for Yaourt – a Pacman Fronted. I have also installed PulseAudio. Finally the sound works alright in RaspArch. Nice if you like YouTube. Note: To be able to install Yaourt I had to install a lot of development tools.

What is Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. 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.
Read more about Raspberry Pi…

RASPBERRY_PI_2-small
Raspberry Pi 3 model B made in February 2016. It has a 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU and 1GB RAM. Read more…

More about RaspArch
When you have installed RaspArch to your Micro SD Card you can use the system like any other Arch Linux system. I.e. install new programs etc. Arch motto is KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). RaspArch uses kernel 4.9.59-1-ARCH and the LXDE Desktop environment.

Login and passwords
Login as root with password root. Run the command startx to enter the LXDE Desktop.

Program Management in Arch Linux
Arch Linux uses a proprietary system called Pacman. It is similar to that found in CRUX Linux. Read about Pacman.
You can also read all the documentation on Arch Linux. Four commands are basically the only ones you need to use:
1) pacman -Sy (update the packages database)
2) pacman -Syu (upgrading the whole system)
3) pacman -S MyUsefulProgram (the package installation command)
4) pacman -R UnnecessaryProgram (uninstall a package).
Very simple!
Note: You can also use Yaourt – see below.

Using Yaourt – a Pacman Frontend
Yaourt is also very simple to use. Yaourt is a command line interface program which complete pacman for installing software on Archlinux. You should normally use Pacman as described above. If, however, you want to install a special program which can’t be found using Pacman you can try Yaourt. The command is yaourt MySpecialProgram. Normally you will get a lot of alternatives. Install the one you want. Watch this screenshot when I wanted to install Geany using Yaourt. In the first place I installed Yaourt to be able to install Google Chrome (only to learn that Google Chrome isn’t available for the ARM architecture).

How do I install RaspArch?
Use Win32 Disk Imager – see above. Unzip the downloaded file rasparch-exton-1310mb-171102.zip. You will get the image file rasparch-exton-171102.img of 4GB, which is the file you shall install to your micro SD card.

Different Micro SD Cards
For best performance you should use SD Cards of good quality. I can recommend Samsung MicroSD Pro Plus 32GB Class 10. Write speed up to 95 MB/s. Also Samsung MicroSD EVO 16GB Class 10. Write speed up to 48 MB/s. Price 47 $ respectively 10 $ (in Sweden).

Internet connections with Wicd
When you start up RaspArch for the first time you will get a error message re. Wicd Network Manager. Just open up a terminal and run the command wicd followed by systemctl enable wicd.service (to avoid further error messages from Wicd). You probably also have to edit /etc/resolv.conf in order to get a stable Internet connection. I.e. add the IP number of your router (Gateway). Example:
nameserver 192.168.1.1

Wireless connections
Just change Wicd’s preferences and connect.

Installing Samba
A way to reach your Windows computers in your home network is to install Samba. Command: pacman -S samba gvfs gvfs-smb gamin sshfs
Then start Samba with the command systemctl start smbd nmbd
After that you can connect to your Windows computers via PCManFM – watch this screenshot. (My Raspberry Pi 3 running RaspArch is connected to two of my computers in my home network).

Sound in RaspArch
In Build 171102 I’ve installed alsa-utils, PulseAudio and Pavucontrol. The sound works alright now. From Arch Linux for Raspberry Pi Wiki I learned this. If you want/need sound in RaspArch you should follow the instruction below.

Run the following command: amixer cset numid=3 X
Where X corresponds to:
0 for Auto
1 for Analog out
2 for HDMI

Add the following lines to /boot/config.txt

dtparam=audio=on

and

audio_pwm_mode=2 (if you use the 3.5mm analogue output)

WHO should run Arch Linux/RaspArch?
My answer: The system fits the “advanced” Linux user/enthusiast, who would be willing to run an occasional command from time to time.

BENEFITS of Arch Linux/RaspArch
“Cutting Edge”-software and speed. A member on this site recently wrote this about RaspArch: I’ve used Slackware, Debian, Gentoo, Ubuntu & Arch. I prefer Arch. Ubuntu is easier to install, Arch is easier to keep up to date. You do not go through big, painful, changes every year instead you just update, once in a while, make changes if instructed. Arch has most of the benefits of Gentoo without the pain of recompiling _everything_. When you do need to build a package in Arch its painless especially if you use one of the tools that support Aur (I like yaourt). Arch avoids the politics of Debian and Ubuntu and delivers a great Linux distribution. RaspArch now brings these advantages to the PI 2.

Study all installed packages in RaspArch

Screenshot 1 of RaspArch’s Desktop – YouTube and PulseAudio Control running
Screenshot 2 of RaspArch’s Desktop – YouTube running
Screenshot 3 – Yaourt running (while installing Geany)

DOWNLOAD
This build has been replaced by Build 180402 with support for the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

Android-x86 Custom

android-logo
Read about my Android-x86 Systems – Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX Oreo 8.1!

and about my Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se – latest is RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2!

Posted in Exton Linux, Linux, RaspArch | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 for Raspberry Pi 3 – Build 171019/170805 – with GAPPS, Aptoide TV and Kodi 18.0-ALPHA1 to be installed in Linux

Posted on October 19, 2017 by exton

NEWS 171019 about RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 for Raspberry Pi 3
RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 Build 170805 can be installed in Windows using Win32 Disk Imager. This method has one disadvantage. Only about about 5GB can be used as data storage no matter which card you use. I have therefore today uploaded a new version, which can be (must be) installed using a Linux system. The new system from 171019 is basically the same system as the RaspAnd system from 170805. I have only added AIDA 1.47 and replaced Google Chrome with Firefox 56.0. Kodi has been upgraded from version 17.3 to version 18.0-ALPHA1. Now say, for example, that you use Micro SD card (preferable a class 10 card) of 64GB about 56GB can be used as data storage. This is of course a big advantage. NEWS 171102: Yesterday a member on this site wrote about how to get rid of the 5GB limit after Win32 Disk Imager has been used:
– write the image with Win32 Disk Imager
– start up Ubuntu or another Linux system – you can also use a Linux Live CD/USB stick
– start GParted – screenshot before resizing
– resize the DATA partition – screenshot after resizing
– done!

How do I install RaspAnd 7.1.2 Nougat version 171019?
Almost like any other Raspberry Pi system. As I say above the installation has to take place in Linux though. (From hard drive or while running a live Linux system from a CD or a USB stick). Follow my instruction below. The whole thing has to be done as root and exactly like this.
1. Unpack the downloaded zip-file (raspand-nougat-7.1.2-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-linux-install-599mb-171019.zip). You will get the folder raspand-nougat-7.1.2-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-linux-install-171019 with the folder boot and the system file system.img
2. Create four partitions of/on your Micro SD Card with Fdisk or GParted.
a) Part 1 for BOOT of 512 MB ; format as fat32 ; flag as boot
b) Part 2 for /system of 1024 MB; any filesystem
c) Part 3 for /cache of 512 MB ; format as ext4
d) Part 4 for /data; size the remain; format as ext4
When you are done with partitioning it shall look like the screenshot below shows. The needed partitions for RaspAnd are created with GParted in Linux.


3. Now open up a terminal as root and run the command below. Make sure which name your SD card was given when you inserted it. I.e. /dev/sdb2 or /dev/sdc2 or as in the example here /dev/sdd2. Unmount /dev/sde2 first with umount /dev/sde2. Then:
dd if=system.img of=/dev/sde2 bs=1M
(Note: When you run the above command you’ll have to stand in the folder raspand-nougat-7.1.2-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-linux-install-171019).
4. Then just copy every file in raspand-nougat-7.1.2-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-linux-install-171019/boot (11 files) to /dev/sde1. If not mounted already you can mount it with mkdir /mnt/sde1 followed by mount /dev/sde1 /mnt/sdd1

Note: You shall not do anything with /dev/sde3 and /dev/sde4. I. e.: Do not create folder /cache or /data. Watch this screenshot of the file structure on all four partitions when the installation is done.

This RaspAnd build has been replaced by Build 171215

READ MORE about RaspAnd 7.1.2 Nougat version 171215…

Android is a trademark of Google Inc.
Raspberry Pi is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Foundation

Posted in Exton Linux, Linux, RaspAnd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 43 Comments

How to watch Netflix in RaspEX Build 170810 based on Ubuntu 17.04

Posted on August 15, 2017 by exton

After my latest build of RaspEX (from 170810) was ready and released I stumbled over an article about How to watch Netflix on the Raspberry Pi. If you use Raspbian or Raspberry Pi systems based on Raspbian you can just follow the instructions in said article to be able to watch Netflix. If you use (or want to use) RaspEX Build 170810 you’ll have to install two extra packages before you can install a special version of the Chromium Browser. Follow my instruction for RaspEX below.

INSTRUCTION
1. Download raspex-chromium-netflix.zip
2. Unzip with unzip raspex-chromium-netflix.zip
In the folder raspex-chromium-netflix you’ll find three deb-files: 56.0.2924.84-0ubuntu0.14.04.1.1011.deb, raspberrypi-bootloader-nokernel_1.20170427-1~nokernel1_armhf.deb and
libraspberrypi0_1.20170427-1~nokernel1_armhf.deb
3. cd raspex-chromium-netflix
4. Install the packages in the following order:
sudo dpkg -i raspberrypi-bootloader-nokernel_1.20170427-1~nokernel1_armhf.deb
sudo dpkg -i libraspberrypi0_1.20170427-1~nokernel1_armhf.deb
sudo dpkg -i chromium-browser_56.0.2924.84-0ubuntu0.14.04.1.1011.deb
5. Start up Chromium and follow the instruction in the article How to watch Netflix on the Raspberry Pi Step 3 and Step 4. I.e. install a Chrome extension called “User-Agent Switcher for Chrome” and do exactly as written in Step 4. I.e. create a new user-agent string like this:
New user-agent name:
Netflix

New user-agent string:
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; CrOS armv7l 6946.63.0) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/47.0.2526.106 Safari/537.36

Group:
Chrome

Append?
Replace

Indicator flag:
IE

Then click the extension’s icon and select Chrome >>> Netflix.

Ready! Now you can enjoy Netflix while running RaspEX.

exton/ 170815

Posted in Exton Linux, Linux, RaspEX | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

RaspEX for Raspberry Pi 3/2 – Build 170810 – based on Ubuntu 17.04 with LXDE and kernel 4.9.41-exton-v7+

Posted on August 10, 2017 by exton

NEWS 170810 about RaspEX for Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2
I have upgraded the whole system and replaced the old kernel 4.4.49 with “my own” compiled kernel 4.9.41-exton-v7+. RaspEX Build 170810 is a Linux ARM system for Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2. It is based on Debian 9, Ubuntu 17.04 and Linaro (Open Source software for ARM SoCs). In this new version (170810) I’ve installed Wicd Network Manager and replaced Chromium with Firefox with better support for YouTube. I have also installed Samba and VNC4Server so you can connect to your Windows computers in your Home Network and/or control RaspEX on your Raspberry Pi 3 or Pi 2 from your Windows computers with VNC Viewer and/or PuTTY (Telnet and SSH client). Furthermore some extra Network Tools, Midori Private Browser, SMTube (YouTube browser which allows to browse, search and play YouTube videos) and PulseAudio for better sound in YouTube. Study all installed packages in RaspEX Build 170810.

NEWS 170815: How to watch Netflix in RaspEX Build 170810
Please read my INSTRUCTION…

The Raspberry Pi 3 is the third generation Raspberry Pi. It replaced the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B in February 2016.

Compared to the Raspberry Pi 2 it has:
A 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU
802.11n Wireless LAN
Bluetooth 4.1
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

Raspberry Pi 3: How much better is it than the Raspberry Pi 2? Raspberry Pi 3 is performing 10 times faster than that of the Pi 1 and around 50 percent better than that of the Pi 2 according to testers.

Compatibility :: August 2017
Unfortunately not all systems made for Raspberry Pi 2 will run on the new Pi 3. They need to be upgraded with a new kernel. I therefore have to upgrade the systems I distribute. I.e. RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, RaspAnd Lollipop, RaspAnd Marshmallow, RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.1, RaspAnd 7.1.2 and RaspArch. I have now (170810) upgraded all systems. Read about the new Raspberry Pi 3…

Screenshot 1 – RaspEX connected to Windows via Samba

Screenshot 2 – RaspEX connected to Windows via PuTTy

Screenshot 3 – RaspEX “running on” Windows with VNC Viewer

Screenshot 4 – RaspEX running Blueman (Bluetooth Manager)

Softpedia review
RaspEX version 160331 was reviewed by Softpedia 160331.

What is Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. 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.
Read more about Raspberry Pi…

RASPBERRY_PI_2-small
Raspberry Pi 3 model B made in February 2016. It has a 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU and 1GB RAM. Read more…

More about RaspEX
RaspEX is a full Linux Desktop system with LXDE (an extremely fast-performing and energy-saving desktop environment) with many other useful programs pre-installed. Firefox is used as Web Browser and Synaptic as Package Manager. You can use Samba and VNC4Server to connect to your Windows computers in your Home Network and/or control RaspEX on your Raspberry Pi 3 or Raspberry Pi 2 from your Windows computers with VNC Viewer and/or PuTTY (Telnet and SSH client). You can use Synaptic to install any extra packages you may need. For example LibreOffice. RaspEX uses Ubuntu’s software repositories so you can install thousands of extra packages if you want. NOTE: Kodi is installed only in Build 160426.

Kernel
Kernel 4.9.41-exton-v7 is used.

Why shall I use RaspEX?
Eight Operating Systems are recommended by Raspberrypi.org. Among them Noobs, Raspbian (Debian Jessie) and Snappy Ubuntu Core. RaspEX is faster (“fast as lightning”), more useful and more fun to use. (In my opinion). One member at this site thought that running RaspEX (for Raspberry Pi 2) was like running Raspberry Pi on “steroids“. RaspEX Build 170810 and 160426 are (of course) even faster, especially if you run the systems on a Raspberry Pi 3 computer.

How do I install RaspEX in Windows?
Just like any other Raspberry Pi system. I.e.: Unpack the downloaded ZIP file (raspex-ubuntu-17.04-lxde-1190mb-170810.zip) and transfer the IMAGE file (raspex-ubuntu-17.04-lxde-3050mb-170810.img) to your Micro SD card of at least 8GB. For that you shall use Win32DiskImager in Windows. When running it it will look like this.

How do I install RaspEX in Linux?
You can of course also install RaspEX in any Linux system using the dd command. Just open up at terminal and run the following command (as root):
dd if=raspex-ubuntu-17.04-lxde-3050mb-170810.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
Note: Change /dev/sdX to for example /dev/sdc, /dev/sde or…
(Check it carefully before you run the above command so you won’t lose important data).

Different Micro SD Cards
For best performance you should use SD Cards of good quality. I can recommend Samsung MicroSD Pro Plus 32GB Class 10. Write speed up to 95 MB/s. Also Samsung MicroSD EVO 16GB Class 10. Write speed up to 48 MB/s. Price 47 $ respectively 10 $ (in Sweden).

How do I use RaspEX?
When you start up your Raspberry Mini computer with RaspEX you will (after a few seconds) end up in X and LXDE as the ordinary user raspex. The password for raspex is raspex. When logged in as raspex you can use Sudo to become root. Example: sudo su and sudo pcmanfm. The password for root (superuser) is root. You can log out from LXDE and log in again as root (if you want). This is how it looks at SLiM‘s login page.

You can log in as root with password root. You can of course also create a new ordinary user if you want. Command: /usr/sbin/adduser MyNewUser. If you don’t want to be automatically logged in as raspex you shall edit /etc/slim.conf.

First things to do
Run this command:
sudo apt-get upgrade or sudo apt-get install wicd (for Wicd to be properly installed).

When logged in as the ordinary user raspex your Desktop will look like this.

raspex-desktop-161019-small
Click to view a larger picture

Error no_pubkey when trying to upgrade the system
When you run the command sudo apt-get update it can happen that you can’t update the sources due to missing pub_keys. The solution is to run the following commands.
$ cd /var/lib/apt
$ sudo mv lists lists.old
$ sudo mkdir -p lists/partial
$ sudo apt-get update

After that you can run apt-get update with success even though you still will get the same “no_pubkey” errors.

Watch this screenshot – apt-get update running 160907.

As you can see there are no updates. A RaspEX/Ubuntu system for Raspberry Pi can’t be compared with “normal” Ubuntu systems. I.e. the sources are not changed/upgraded that often.

Wireless connections
The new Raspberry Pi 3 computer has “built in” 802.11n Wireless LAN.
Using Raspberry Pi 2 you have to have a Wireless USB Adapter. The only one which works for Raspberry Pi 2 is Edimax EW-7811Un (as far as I know). I both cases you must configure Wicd Network Manager (apt-get upgrade) before you can use it. (You don’t need a wired connection for that). I.e. Wicd is already installed by me, but as I just said Wicd has to be configured before you can use it. Then change Wicd’s preferences to suit your wireless connection. IMPORTANT: You’ll also have to add your router’s IP address to /etc/resolv.conf to be sure to get a permanent stable Internet connection.
NOTE also: You’ll have to edit /etc/resolv.conf even if you use a wired connection.

File system and storage
If you use a 64GB SD card you will have about 56GB left for downloads and installation of new applications etc. Watch this screenshot when I run the command df after a new installation of RaspEX. (Only 5 % of the storage is used).

About SSH, PuTTY, Samba, VNC4Server and VNC Viewer
SSH, Samba and VNC4Server are pre-installed in RaspEX Build 170810. You need to install PuTTy and and VNC Viewer in your Windows system if you want to connect to RaspEX/Raspberry Pi 3/2 from Windows the way the below slideshow shows. (Please read the developers information about how to configure PuTTy and VNC Viewer).

Watch this slideshow re. connections between RaspEX and Windows.

Bluetooth connections – working in Build 170810
It seems difficult (maybe impossible) to use the “built in” Bluetooth adapter running RaspEX on Raspberry Pi 3. Using a Bluetooth dongle for example Asus USB-BT400 dongle on Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspberry Pi 2 you should have no trouble using Bluetooth in RaspEX. Watch these two screenshots when Blueman (Graphical Bluetooth Manager) is running.
1. Showing “paring” with my Android phone
2. Showing the sending process of a file from RaspEX/Raspberry Pi 3 to my Android phone

How to watch Netflix in RaspEX Build 170810
Please read my INSTRUCTION…

View all installed packages in RaspEX – Build 170810

Screenshot of RaspEX’s Desktop while Wicd is running (for configuration of a wireless connection)

Screenshot 1 – RaspEX connected to Windows via Samba

Screenshot 2 – RaspEX connected to Windows via PuTTy

Screenshot 3 – RaspEX “running on” Windows with VNC-viewer

Screenshot 4 – RaspEX running Midori Private Browser

Screenshot 5 – RaspEX using Pavucontrol (for sound)

Screenshot 6 – RaspEX running SMTube (search and watch YouTube videos)

Screenshot 7 – RaspEX running the Bluetooth Manager

Screenshot 8 –  The Desktop 170810

DOWNLOAD
This build has been replaced by Build 180328 based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

READ also about my RaspEX Build 160703 (also for Raspberry Pi 3 and 2) with OpenCPN pre-installed
OpenCPN is a free software (GPLv2) project to create a concise chart plotter and navigation software, for use underway or as a planning tool. OpenCPN is developed by a team of active sailors using real world conditions for program testing and refinement.

Compatibility :: August 2017
Unfortunately not all systems made for Raspberry Pi 2 will run on the new Pi 3. They need to be upgraded with a new kernel. I therefore have to upgrade the systems I distribute. I.e. RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, RaspAnd Lollipop, RaspAnd Marshmallow, RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.1, RaspAnd 7.1.2 and RaspArch. I have now (170810) upgraded all systems. Read about the new Raspberry Pi 3…

Posted in Exton Linux, Linux, RaspEX | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 for Raspberry Pi 3 – Build 170805 – with Google Play Store, Aptoide TV, Kodi 17.3 and Google Chrome

Posted on August 5, 2017 by exton

NEWS 171019 about RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 for Raspberry Pi 3
RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 Build 170805 can be installed in Windows using Win32 Disk Imager. This method has one disadvantage. Only about about 5GB can be used as data storage no matter which card you use. I have therefore today uploaded a new version, which can be (must be) installed using a Linux system. The new system from 171019 is basically the same system as the RaspAnd system from 170805. I have only added AIDA 1.47 and replaced Google Chrome with Firefox 56.0. Kodi has been upgraded from version 17.3 to version 18.0-ALPHA1. Now say, for example, that you use Micro SD card (preferable a class 10 card) of 64GB about 56GB can be used as data storage. This is of course a big advantage.

NEWS 171102: Yesterday a member on this site wrote about how to get rid of the 5GB limit after Win32 Disk Imager has been used:
– write the image with Win32 Disk Imager
– start up Ubuntu or another Linux system – you can also use a Linux Live CD/USB stick
– start GParted – screenshot before resizing
– resize the DATA partition – screenshot after resizing
– done!

Read about how to install RaspAnd 7.1.2 Nougat version 171019 in Linux…

NEWS 170805 ABOUT RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 with Google Play Store working
I have finally managed to make a version of RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 (for Raspberry Pi 3), which has GAPPS installed and Google Play Store working. This version of RaspAnd can be installed in Windows using Win32 Disk Imager. The video performance is generally much better than in previous versions and the screen flickering is (almost) gone.

Download RaspAnd Build 170805/171019…

MORE NEWS 170805 ABOUT RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2
I have finally managed to make a version of RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 with GAPPS, which can be installed to a Micro SD card (preferable a class 10 card) in Windows 10 using Win32 Disk Imager. You can alternatively (of course) use the dd-command in a Linux system. Unzip the downloaded file raspand-nougat-7.1.2-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-chrome-681mb-170805.zip. Then open a terminal and run the command dd if=raspand-nougat-7.1.2-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-chrome-7400mb-170805.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
(Change X to b, d or…).

What’s the point with Win32 Disk Imager?
Well, until now you had to have some basic knowledge about Linux to be able to install RaspAnd 7.1.2. Now you don’t need any special knowledge at all! (Just some basic computer knowledge). When you use Win32 Disk Imager it will look like this.

NEWS 171102: Yesterday a member on this site wrote about how to get rid of the 5GB limit after Win32 Disk Imager has been used:
– write the image with Win32 Disk Imager
– start up Ubuntu or another Linux system – you can also use a Linux Live CD/USB stick
– start GParted – screenshot before resizing
– resize the DATA partition – screenshot after resizing
– done!

MORE ABOUT RaspAnd
RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 Build 170805 is an Android 7.1.2 Nougat system which can run on Raspberry Pi 3. I have included the following apps:
1) GAPPS (Google Play Services with Google Play Store)
2) Kodi 17.3 (latest version which “allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the Internet”. YouTube is enabled and working very well!)
3) Spotify TV 1.4.0 (working very very well)
4) Google Play Games 5.2.25 (needed for Clash of Clans to run)
5) Clash of Clans is not included, but you can install it through Aptoide TV
6) Gmail 7.4.23
8) Aptoide TV 3.2.3 (for installing new apps which can’t be found on Google Play Store – many many apps can be installed!)
9) ES File Explorer 4.1.6.7.4 working very well
10) Google Chrome 59.0.3071 (latest version – working very well)
11) YouTube 1.3.11 with almost perfect video quality. Please don’t update YouTube to version 2.00.18 even though Google Play Store wants you to do it. If you do you will loose video quality. If you do it by accident just uninstall the update. (I.e. go back to the “Factory version”).

Gmail and Google Play Store
You’ll have to sign in to your Gmail account before you can use Google Play Store. So the first thing to do is to go to Settings >> Apps >> Gmail. When you start Gmail an error message will pop up – screenshot. Just ignore the message (close it) and go on to fill in your credentials – screenshot. When you are ready reboot your Raspberry Pi. After that you can enjoy Google Play Store without problems!
NOTE 170823 about Google Play Store
A few members on this site have reported problems when trying to run Google Play Store. I therefore checked it once again today. My experiences:
1) When I started up my Rpi3 Google Play Store was installed in version 7.9.34.Q-xhdpi, which was working alright – screenshot.
2) As you can see I had an uninstall option, which I used for testing purposes. I was asked if I wanted to replace said version with the “Factory” version (which is 7.8.15.P-all) – screenshot.
3) Then I started Google Play Store again (also without problems). When I ended my Google Play Store session after a few minutes and went back to Settings >>> Apps >>> Google Play Store it was automatically updated to version 8.0.28.R.xhdpi, which also worked alright – screenshot.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT GOOGLE PLAY STORE: You may have to reboot your Rpi3 a couple of times before you can use (start) Google Play Store.

ABOUT Android 7.1.2
Version 7.1.2 is the latest Android system by now. Released on April 8, 2017. The system is used in very few mobile phones (as far as I know).

What is Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. 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.
Read more about Raspberry Pi…

RASPBERRY_PI_2-small
Raspberry Pi 3 model B made in February 2016. It has a 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU and 1GB RAM. Read more…

My sources
My work/build is the outcome of the Community Open Source Project.

ABOUT KODI
Kodi (an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media center for playing videos, music, pictures, games, and more) works very well in RaspAnd. You can enable a lot of Addons. Most important is that the YouTube Addon is enabled by default and that it works very well. I.e. both the sound and the video performance when running YouTube in Kodi is satisfying. Here’s a link to the best Kodi addons!

Kernel
Kernel 4.4.50-exton-v7+ is used in RaspAnd Nougat Build 170805.

Wifi support
The new versions of RaspAnd has support for Wifi (on Raspberry Pi 3). RaspAnd 7.1.2 runs very well on the new Raspberry Pi 3 computer.

How do I install RaspAnd in Linux
Use the dd-command. Unzip the downloaded file raspand-nougat-7.1.2-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-chrome-681mb-170805.zip. Then open a terminal and run the command dd if=raspand-nougat-7.1.2-gapps-aptoide-tv-kodi-chrome-7400mb-170805.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
(Change X to b, d or…).

Win32 Disk Imager – RaspAnd 7.1.2 Build 170805
RaspAnd 7.1.2 version 170805 can be installed in Windows using Win32 Disk Imager – see above.

Different Micro SD Cards
For best performance you should use SD Cards of good quality. I can recommend Samsung MicroSD Pro Plus 32GB Class 10. Write speed up to 95 MB/s. Also Samsung MicroSD EVO 16GB Class 10. Write speed up to 48 MB/s. Price 47 $ respectively 10 $ (in Sweden).

Different boot parameters in boot/config.txt
As you can see there is a file called config.txt in the folder boot. Check out this overview explaining the different parameters in config.txt. Some changes to config.txt could (possibly) help if you have screen problems (which I don’t think you will have when running RaspAnd Nougat Build 170805).

Startup of RaspAnd Nougat
The first thing you will see on the screen is the Nougat Boot Animation. If you do not see this colorful ring you haven’t installed RaspAnd correctly on the SD card. Try again and do EXACTLY as I write above. After several minutes (the first time you startup RaspAnd) you will see the first screen (i.e. the Desktop). The first thing you should do is to enable Wifi and connect to your Network. For Aptoide TV to work properly you also have to allow downloads from unknown sources. Note: You must also uncheck Verify apps. Then go to Settings >> Apps and try out some of the pre-installed apps or click on the icons shown on the Desktop. IMPORTANT: For Google Play Store to run you’ll first have to start the Gmail app and set up your Gmail account. Then reboot. After that you can start Google Play Store and install new apps. Aptoide TV can of course also be used to install many new apps. Preferably apps you can’t find on Google Play Store, for example Clash of Clans and Google Drive. NOTE: Google Play Services also works very well (so you can install new GAPPS using Google Play Store or Aptoide TV).

Gmail and Google Play Store
As I say above you’ll have to sign in to your Gmail account before you can use Google Play Store. So the first thing to do is to go to Settings >> Apps >> Gmail. When you start Gmail an error message will pop up – screenshot. Just ignore the message (close it) and go on to fill in your credentials – screenshot. When you are ready reboot your Raspberry Pi. After that you can enjoy Google Play Store without problems!

Navigation in RaspAnd Nougat
Normally you use the Esc key to get back or end an app running. To end some apps you may have to use the Ctrl Alt F1 or F2 keys simultaneously.

Google Text-to speech Engine
You should immediately disable Google Text-to speech Engine in Settings/Apps. No need for it and a bit annoying to have it running.

Bluetooth and Teamviewer
Bluetooth won’t work in RaspAnd Nougat. As an alternative – at least for transferring files between a computer and your Rpi3 – you can install and use the Teamviewer app.
1. Screenshot of my computer desktop when I’m connected to my Rpi3 with Teamviewer
2. Screenshot when the Teamviewer app is running on my Rpi3

Clash of Clans and other popular games
Clash of Clans 9.24.9 (a very popular epic strategy game) works very very well. Perfect video quality and audio. Install it very quickly using the Aptoide TV app.

Spotify
Spotify works very well in RaspAnd Nougat. Just log in and play your favorite music!

Netflix/HBO and other video/movie apps
Netflix 4.16.1 build200147 can be installed via Aptoide TV. You can log in to your account and start to play any movie with very good video and sound quality. Unfortunately Netflix will will crash after about 30 seconds. Or the movie playing will stop or get distorted colors. Nothing to do about it right now. As regards HBO version 2.1.3 you can install it and log in, but you can’t play any movie. Something is missing. (I don’t know what). Other video apps (for example SVT Play and TV4 Play) work without problems in RaspAnd Nougat Build 170805. SVT Play works especially good. Almost perfect video quality!
Screenshot – Netflix installation
Screenshot – Netflix running
Screenshot – HBO installation
Screenshot – HBO running

Screen rotation
Use Rotation Control Pro to set the screen to always be in Landscape mode. Maybe you’ll have to change this to suite your needs depending on which app you are running. Note: Normally you don’t need to use this app. That’s why it’s not included in RaspAnd Build 170805.

NOTE/WARNING – 1
Running Android Nougat on a Raspberry Pi 3 can sometimes be perceived as a bit sluggish. If you find it so, I recommend that you restart the system a couple of times, then everything will run faster! I.e. not really fast, but faster.

NOTE/WARNING – 2
You cannot use Raspberry Pi’s official 7 ” touchscreen monitor. RaspEX can use the touchscreen, but not RaspAnd. It’s a kernel matter.

SCREENSHOTS
Screenshot 1 – Nougat boot animation (which you must see during the boot. If not, the installation was unsuccessful)
Screenshot 2 – RaspAnd’s Desktop
Screenshot 3 – Google Play Store running
Screenshot 4 – Kodi running Popcornflix
Screenshot 5 – Google Play Store running
Screenshot 6 – YouTube running
Screenshot 7 – YouTube running with perfect video quality
Screenshot 8 – Aptoide TV running (installing Google Drive)
Screenshot 9 – Spotify running
Screenshot 10 – Clash of Clans installs in Aptoide TV

KNOWN ISSUES
1. The screen can flicker sometimes on certain monitors. Fix: Click on the screen or wait a moment. That can happen the first time you start up RaspAnd and after every reboot.
2. IMPORTANT: For Google Play Store to run you’ll first have to start the Gmail app and set up your Gmail account. Then reboot. After that you can start Google Play Store and install new apps.
3. Not all apps will run in RaspAnd Nougat. You can for example run the popular (?) Clash of Clans very well (can be installed with Aptoide TV), but not Angry Birds. Many many apps will run without problems though.
4. You may have to reconnect to your Wifi Network after every reboot of RaspAnd. Sort of a “bug”.

NOTE/WARNING – 3
You shall not buy RaspAnd 7.1.2 if you expect that everything will work flawlessly. I.e. you must be aware of the fact that the Raspberry Pi 3 computer has its limitations and that Android 7.1.2 is a very advanced Linux system. Having said that I must also say that the apps I have included in this Build (see above) work very well most of the time.  Most important change: Google Play Store works very well. So does YouTube! Almost perfect video quality. See this screenshot.

DOWNLOAD

This RaspAnd build has been replaced by Build 171215

READ MORE about RaspAnd 7.1.2 Nougat version 171215…

Android is a trademark of Google Inc.
Raspberry Pi is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Foundation

Posted in Android, Exton Linux, Linux, RaspAnd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 77 Comments