Raspberry Pi has no on/off switch, so when you connect the power, it starts working. To turn it off again, you disconnect the power. To avoid losing data, you should shut down first (see Chapters 4 and 5) and wait for that process to finish. Sean plugs his USB hub and Raspberry Pi into power sockets on an extension lead, so he can switch them both on simultaneously by switching on the power to that extension lead. It’s less clumsy than removing or inserting the plug in the wall socket or the power lead in the Raspberry Pi all the time. It can also help to prevent backpowering, where the USB hub feeds power back into the Raspberry Pi with the possible risk of causing damage to your Pi if there is a power surge.
When you switch on your Raspberry Pi, the screen shows a rainbow of color briefly and then starts to run the NOOBS software on the SD or MicroSD card, as shown in Figure 3-12. The software gives you a choice of operating systems to install, and language and keyboard options at the bottom of the screen.
FIGURE 3-12: Your operating system choices in NOOBS.
To select an operating system, select the box beside it. The options in NOOBS Lite include:
❯❯ Raspbian: The distribution that the Raspberry Pi Foundation recommends is called Raspbian. It’s a version of a Linux distribution called Debian that has been optimized for the Raspberry Pi. It includes graphical desktop software (see Chapter 4), a web browser (see Chapter 4), and various development and programming tools. This is the quickest way to get up and running with your Raspberry Pi, and for most users, this is the one you’ll want to use. For the rest of this book, except where noted otherwise, we assume you’re using Raspbian. There are two versions available: one with the PIXEL desktop and one that is a more minimal installation (called Raspbian Lite). We recommend that you choose the one with the desktop unless you need the other one for a particular project.
❯❯ LibreELEC and OSMC: These are versions of the Kodi media center for playing music and video. See Chapter 8 for a guide to using this.
❯❯ RISC OS: Most people run Linux on the Raspberry Pi, but you can also use an alternative operating system called RISC OS, which has a graphical user interface. RISC OS dates back to 1987, when Acorn Computers created it for use with the upmarket Archimedes home computer. Today it’s maintained and managed by RISC OS Open Limited. At the time of writing, RISC OS is not available in NOOBS if you are using a Raspberry Pi 3, but you can download it and prepare your own SD or MicroSD card (see the section on flashing a card in Chapter 2). See Appendix B on this book’s companion website for some tips on getting started with RISC OS.
❯❯ Data partition: This option adds a data partition you can use for storing data that can be accessed by different Linux distributions.
❯❯ Lakka: This retrogaming system includes emulators for a range of vintage home computers (including the Commodore 64 and Amiga, Amstrad CPC, various Atari machines, and the ZX Spectrum), as well as game consoles (including a number of Nintendo machines and the Sony PlayStation). The Multi Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME) option can be used to play games from classic coin-operated arcade machines, too. To use Lakka, you'll need to get the games separately, unless you want to play the 2048 and Bomberman clones that are included (among the game system cores). A number of games have been released by their creators for free distribution online (including games for MAME at http://mamedev.org/roms, and Sean's Amstrad games at www.sean.co.uk/books/amstrad/index.shtm).
The easiest way to get games into Lakka is to plug in a USB key with the game files on it. In the menu system, you use the cursor keys to move, Enter to select, and the Backspace (Delete) key to go back. In the Lakka jargon, a game system is called a core, and a game is called content, so start by choosing Load Content from the main menu. Choose Start Directory, and then choose your USB key to see the games on it. You'll be given a choice of which core you want to use your chosen game in. If you're using MAME, press 5, 6, 7, or 8 to insert a coin (for player 1, 2, 3, or 4), and then press Enter or a number from 1 to 4 (for the number of players) to start. Cursor keys move, and the Fire keys can vary by game (try Z, X, space and the Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys for Player 1). You can quit your game and return to the main menu by pressing the Esc key. If you’re using keyboard controls, you may find that your game doesn't work correctly, because Lakka uses many keys to control factors like the emulator speed. To reconfigure the keys that Lakka uses, return to the main menu, tap the right arrow to get to the settings, choose Input, and then choose Input Hotkey Binds.
❯❯ Recalbox: This is another games system, with emulators for the SNES, NES, Game Boy Advance, Sega Master System, and PC Engine. It also includes the shareware version of the famous run-and-gun game Doom. All of the emulators include demonstration games, so an afternoon's arcade action is built in. In the menu system, use the cursor keys to move through the options; press S to confirm and A to go back. Check the bottom of the screen for hints on the controls, and tap the Windows Start key (if your keyboard has one) to enter the settings. In the games, press Enter to start. Controls may vary, but generally you can use the cursor keys to move and Z or X to fire and/or jump. Press Esc to quit. Both Lakka and Recalbox are compatible with the USB gamepad created by The Pi Hut, similar to the classic SNES controller (direction keys on the left thumb; A, B, X, and Y buttons on the right thumb).
❯❯ Screenly Open Source Edition (OSE): This is a digital signage system that enables you to use a Raspberry Pi and connected HD screen as a digital sign. It enables videos, images and web pages to be displayed on the screen, and is suitable for showing information and advertisements in public areas such as shops, offices, and schools.
❯❯ Windows 10 IoT Core: This isn't the Microsoft Windows desktop experience you're probably familiar with. It’s a version of Windows designed to support the Internet of Things (IoT), or devices that connect to the Internet. When we installed this, we had the option of an RTM (release to manufacturing) or pre-release version. The RTM version of software is generally the more stable version, so we would recommend it. The Raspberry Pi took a long time to start up when we tried Windows IoT Core on it, and at times it looked like it had crashed, so don't reach to power-off too soon. You'll need to use Microsoft Visual Studio on a Windows PC to write your programs and then copy them to your Raspberry Pi using Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or Internet Connection Sharing. The software on your Raspberry Pi includes a tutorial to help you get started, and you can find out more at www.windowsondevices.com.
❯❯ TLXOS: This is a trial version of ThinLinX's thin client software, which enables a Raspberry Pi to work as a virtual desktop, interacting with software that is running on a different computer. The ThinLinX Management Software also enables one or more Raspberry Pis
