CHAPTER
10

Building a Useable PC

In This Chapter

The Raspberry Pi isn’t the fastest nor the most powerful computer, but that shouldn’t stop you from using it as your personal computer. It’s not going to rival the newest machine from Dell or Apple, but it’ll certainly be powerful enough to run word processors, video players, email, and everything else you actually need.

A Raspbian-powered computer is handy for all kinds of things. If you have kids, it makes a great little kids-only computer they can use to do homework and safely browse the web. It also makes a great addition to a guestroom if you want to provide guests access to the internet without handing over your own computer.

A Raspberry Pi PC also is handy if you need help focusing. Trying to write a report but keep getting distracted by all the great stuff on your full-size PC? The Raspberry Pi, outfitted with an office suite, makes an ideal little writing machine running just a word processor. The Raspberry Pi is super for any other single-purpose tasks you might need to do.

In this chapter, you learn to set up your Raspberry Pi as a useable PC and install different software. You also discover how to make Raspbian a bit more of a familiar place to work by giving it some Windows-like traits.

Making Raspbian More Windows-Like

Most people probably aren’t familiar with Linux, and Raspbian (a Linux variant) feels a bit harder to use because of that. It doesn’t look familiar to what many people see when they sit down to their computers, and it takes a little bit of getting used to before you can really do anything productive with it.

You can change the Raspbian interface in subtle ways to make it a little more similar to what you’re comfortable with by using Windows skins.

If you’re not a regular Raspbian user, the interface might feel a bit foreign to you. You can fix that.

Simple Adjustments

The easiest thing you can do is adjust the user interface to make it more your style. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Click the menu button in the bottom-left corner of the Raspbian screen.
  2. Select Preferences > Openbox Configuration Manager.

This loads the Openbox Configuration Manager. Here, you can change the theme (colors), appearance (window outlines and fonts), windows (changes how windows act), and more. You can change these settings to suit your needs and style.

Raspbian’s Openbox Configuration Manager enables you to adjust Raspbian to be more user friendly.

PI POINTER

It’s natural to want to make Raspbian look a little more familiar to you, but don’t discount it right away. Give the interface a few days to see if you like it before switching over to something else. Not only will this familiarize you with how Raspbian works, but it’ll also enable you to find a theme that really suits your style. Of course, if you like Windows, there’s nothing wrong with loading a solid Windows theme, either.

Windows 7 or 8

If simple user interface adjustments aren’t enough for you to feel comfortable with Raspbian, you can change things even more, including the taskbar and dock.

With a theme called WinAte, you can make Raspbian look and act like Windows 7 or 8. This changes the windows, the fonts, and even the icons to look more like Windows.

WinAte makes your Raspbian screen mimic a Windows setup.

The installation process takes just a few steps:

  1. Open LXTerminal.
  2. Type in the following:
    git clone https://github.com/nhermosilla14/WinAte.git
    This downloads the WinAte files you need to install the theme.
  3. When the theme has finished downloading, type in this:
    cd WinAte
  4. Then, to install the files, type this:
    bash install.sh -force
  5. Press Enter when prompted.
  6. Type 2 for English, and press Enter.
  7. When asked for your distribution, type Debian and press Enter.
  8. Type 7 or 8 for the version of Windows you want Raspbian to mimic, and press Enter.
  9. When asked if you want transparent windows, type N and press Enter.
  10. When asked if you want to change the wallpaper, type N and press Enter. (You do that manually in the next section.)
  11. When it’s finished running, exit out of LXTerminal.
  12. Click the power button in the bottom-right corner of the Raspbian screen, and select Reboot.

Your system needs to reboot so the changes can take effect. After it reboots, it should look like the version of Windows you selected. You can change this at any time by clicking the menu button in the bottom-left corner and selecting Preferences > Openbox Configuration Manager. For now, you’ve got a version of Raspbian that looks a lot like Windows and should be less intimidating to use.

If Windows isn’t your thing, you have other options. Using Openbox themes, you can customize the look of Raspbian in any number of combinations. To take a look at other people’s themes available for download, head to openbox.org/download-themes.php.

Changing the Wallpaper

Changing your screen’s wallpaper is a quick and easy way to make your desktop feel like your own. It’s also very easy to do. Here’s how:

  1. Right-click anywhere on your desktop.
  2. Select Desktop Preferences.
  3. Click the box marked Wallpaper, and select the image file you’d like to use.

    Raspbian makes it simple for you to change your desktop image.

  4. Click Open to use that wallpaper as your desktop images.

You can use any wallpaper you like that’s already included with Raspbian (or the WinAte theme), or you can download wallpapers from websites to use here. It’s really up to you, so customize your wallpaper as you see fit.

PI POINTER

If you’re hunting for a new wallpaper, countless options are available online. If you’re not sure where to start, try InterfaceLIFT (interfacelift.com), Simple Desktops (simpledesktops.com), or DeviantArt (deviantart.com) for high-resolution images that make attractive wallpaper.

Popular Software You Need

Of course, an operating system isn’t just about looks. It’s mostly about software. You’ll need to download a lot of programs to get your Raspberry Pi up and running with something akin to Windows.

In this section, I share some recommended software, a bit about what it does, and the command to type into LXTerminal to download it. Remember, these commands have to be typed exactly as they’re printed here, so pay close attention as you type. When the programs are finished downloading, you can launch them from the menu button in the bottom-left corner of your Raspbian screen.

Web Browsers

The default web browsers included with Raspbian work great in Raspbian, but new users aren’t very familiar with them. Both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have browsers that work in Linux, and they both work on the Raspberry Pi, so they’re best bets for many users.

Google Chrome: Google Chrome’s Linux web browser is called Chromium, and it works just like Google Chrome on Windows or OS X. To download it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install google-chromium

Mozilla Firefox: Firefox doesn’t exist on Linux, but a web browser called Iceweasel is based on Firefox and works exactly the same. To download it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install iceweasel

Other browsers are available for Linux, but Chromium and Iceweasel are the most popular and familiar for Windows and OS X users.

Office Productivity Tools

No computer is complete without some good productivity tools, and you have a few fantastic options for Raspbian. This is the software you need to use your Raspberry Pi like a full computer, such as an office suite, mail client, and more.

LibreOffice: LibreOffice is the premier office suite on Linux, and it’s a terrific replacement for software like Microsoft Office. With it, you’ll get a word processor, spreadsheet program, presentation tool, a drawing application, and database software. If you want to use your Raspberry Pi to just get some work done, LibreOffice is required. To download it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install libreoffice

It’s a big file, so it’ll take a few minutes to download.

Claws: If you need an email client, Claws is fast and easy to use. It doesn’t have a ton of features, but it’s simple and it works really well on the Raspberry Pi. To download it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install claws-mail

Once it’s installed, follow the setup instructions to get it working with your email provider.

Dropbox: If you use Dropbox on your home computers to synchronize your files, you’ll also want to get it onto your Raspberry Pi. If you’re not familiar with it, Dropbox is a service that stores your files online so you can access them from any computer or device with an internet connection. For example, Dropbox makes it easy to write a paper on one computer and finish it on another. To install it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install dropbox

When it’s installed, follow the setup directions to get it working on your Raspberry Pi.

GIMP: GIMP is a free, open-source photo-editing tool similar to Photoshop. It’s a pretty powerful program, and the Raspberry Pi isn’t quite powerful enough to run it at full speed, but if you need to do some photo editing now and then, it’s nice to have. Just be sure you’re not running any other apps at the same time. To install it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install gimp

It’s a big file, so give it lots of time to download.

Pidgin: Pidgin is an instant-message (IM) client. With it, you can message friends on a variety of services, including Google Hangouts, AIM, and others. If you chat over IM, it’s nice to have Pidgin on your Raspberry Pi. To install it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install pidgin

SOFTWARE SOLUTION

Almost any software that runs on Linux can run on your Raspberry Pi, but it might be incredibly slow. It’s still worth trying though. You might be surprised at how many Windows and OS X programs are available on Linux or have Linux equivalents. Search around online, and give some new software a try.

These apps give you a good starting point to begin your work with your Raspberry Pi, but don’t be afraid to try out new programs you hear about or find online. Some won’t work really well on the Raspberry Pi, but it’s always worth a try to check.

Video and Music Players

Raspbian doesn’t have much in the way of software for playing music or videos, so you need to track these down yourself. With the following, you can watch and listen to just about anything.

VLC: VLC is a popular video player on both Windows and OS X. It’s also one of the best video players for Linux, and it works great on the Raspberry Pi. With it, you can play videos in about any format on your Raspberry Pi. For example, if you have camcorder home videos on a USB drive, you can plug it into your Raspberry Pi and play the movies saved there with VLC. To install it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install vlc

Spotify: Spotify is a streaming music service with software available for Windows, OS X, iPhone, and Android. You also can install it on your Raspberry Pi. When you do, you’ll have access to thousands of songs and albums. To install it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install spotify-client

Clementine: Clementine is a music player similar to iTunes. If you plan on playing MP3 files on your Raspberry Pi, Clementine is a must have. To install it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install clementine

That’s enough to get you started. You should be able to play just about any kind of media you could possibly imagine when you have these programs on your Raspberry Pi.

Antivirus Tools

Antivirus tools are not nearly as important on Raspbian as they are on Windows because Linux is less susceptible to viruses, but if you’re going to use your Raspberry Pi as a full-time computer, it’s a good idea to set up some kind of protection for it. For the Raspberry Pi, ClamAV is a solid antivirus option.

To install it, type the following into LXTerminal:

sudo apt-get install clamav

When it’s finished installing, type in the following:

sudo freshclam

This updates all the virus databases to ensure ClamAV is up to date and ready to tackle any problems.

Once you get all that software installed, you can start using it just like you would any other computer. With the Raspberry Pi, you don’t want to have a lot of software running at once, but it can handle everything you downloaded nearly as well as a more expensive computer.

The Least You Need to Know