I've posted this stuff before, but hopefully you'll find some of it useful. Also avoid EIG hosting providers like the plague. If you need more help, feel free to DM me!

First, get a domain:

• I use Google Domains.
  
• Namecheap is also super great.
  
• If you use shared hosting (see below), they often offer included domain names with your purchase.
  
  Second, find hosting:
  
  
• Github Pages offers great static site hosting. Free.
  
• Shared hosting like DreamHost is great if you aren't comfortable managing your own server but want access to databases (they also give you email addresses with webmail access). Costs a monthly fee.
  
• Use a combination of PaaS like Heroku and Firebase. Free (can pay for more features/performance).
  
• Your own VPS (virtual private server) like Digital Ocean lets you configure just about everything if you're okay with system administration. Costs a monthly fee.
  
• Buy a Raspberry Pi and hook it up to your router (assuming your ISP gives you a public IP address). This is essentially setting up your own server. One time cost.
  
  Third, figure out how you want to make the site:
  
  
• Use a CMS like WordPress, BoltCMS, Grav, DjangoCMS, etc...
  
• Use a static site generator like Hugo or Hexo.
  
• Write everything yourself (too many options out there to link, depends on your language/technology preference).
  
  Other stuff:
  
  
• You can get free SSL certs for your site (especially important if people are going to be entering information) from Let's Encrypt.
  
• CloudFlare acts as a CDN and IPS/IDS to help protect and optimize your site (they have a free plan).
  
• A good option for students is to grab the Github Student Developer Pack, which includes a bunch of free goodies.
  
  A few more things you can play with:
  
  
• C9 is cool for prototyping and playing around in a VPS playground with a nice built-in editor. It has a free plan, but last I checked it still requires a payment card for verification.
  
• HyperDev is another cool Node-specific playground.
  
• Forestry.io is a new service that gives you CMS-like functionality with Github Pages. I have not used it.
  
• Prose is an editor application for managing Github content.

I'd say stop focusing on certifications and start focusing on learning how to do things.

How extensive is your Home Lab?

Have you built out any VM's yet?
Have you built a Windows domain yet?

Have you built a Squid proxy on Linux yet? (Not that Squid is super-useful anymore, but its a decent project with clear results.)

Have you built a pfSense firewall yet?

Have you bought a Raspberry Pi yet (the cheapest Linux Server on the planet)?

When you apply for that next-level job you have in mind, in the interview I am not going to ask you questions that might appear on a certification exam. I am going to ask you questions related to real-world scenarios of problems I think you are likely to encounter in the job under discussion. And I need to see how well you are ready to deal with them.

-----

"I can't afford any of those things..."

If you are trying to learn everything on just one computer or laptop, that's certainly a problem.
But if you have a second PC, just a $300-500 clunker, it changes everything.

CentOS Linux is free.
KVM Virtual Machine manager is free.

Linux Foundation - Intro to Linux for Free
Linux Foundation - Online Course Catalog - some free some paid
DigitalOcean Linux Tutorials
Docker Self-Paced Training


Windows Server 2012R2 Evaluation is free.
Windows 10 Professional Evaluation is free.

Microsoft Virtual Academy
Microsoft MSDN Product Evaluation Center -- Free Downloads
Microsoft TechNet Product Evaluation Center -- More Free Downloads


If you only have a single computer, and cannot afford a second computer, you still have options:

Amazon Web Services has a free offering for you to build virtual machines to play with:

https://aws.amazon.com/free/

If you want something a little more permanent, Amazon Light Sail now lets you build low-end virtual servers for as low as $5/month:

https://amazonlightsail.com/pricing/

Microsoft also has some free offerings for virtual servers:

Microsoft Azure Cloud Services Free Trial Center
Microsoft Training Info Center
Microsoft Ignite Training Convention Video Center
Microsoft MSDN Video Training Portal

-----

In my opinion:

If you think you are likely to apply for some Government or Contractor positions that require security clearances, go ahead and complete the Security+.

But I think you might want to focus a little more time on combining technologies into scenarios where you learn how to perform business operations tasks, rather than add another narrow-focused skillset.

I also encourage you to make yourself gain comfort with Linux.
YES: you will need to learn a whole new world of syntax and terminology, and learn to do more with syntax and less with icons.
But the benefits are real, and significant.

Buy one of these:

Amazon: Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Kit $75

That's a complete Linux Server. Just add a USB keyboard, mouse & HDMI monitor.


Watch two or three of these videos, and observe that all of the biggest players working on the sexiest of technology projects are all doing it on Linux:

USENIX Site Reliability Enginering Convention 2014 Presentations - Free
USENIX Site Reliability Enginering Convention 2015 Presentations - Free
USENIX Large Installation System Administration Conference 2014 Presentations - Free
USENIX Large Installation System Administration Conference 2015 Presentations - Free


-----

> [MCSA]... But again, how far can I really go trying to learn this with home equipment? I'm sure I could install a Server OS, but I don't know if I can play with the inner workings on a home network enough to familiarize myself with the content.

If you have a small home server, you can install Windows Server 2012 R2 evaluation on it, and add the Hyper-V service, and run at least 2 virtual machines on it.

The Server could become a domain controller. Then you add a guest server and a guest client using Windows 10 evaluation and another Windows server eval license.

Now you join them to a domain together and start writing GPO policies and playing in the Forest...

That can also be done in Azure cloud with virtual machines. The challenge is the short duration of the free period in Azure cloud.

Something like this might be a good xmas present for him. It's Arduino but it's similar. Relatively cheap for what you get, I got it for one of my nephews and he loved it, was trying to automate everything once he got the knack of it. It's got everything you need, CD of the setups for the components, drawings of pin layouts, it's fantastic.

Honestly I think that is the best route, is to show them a bunch of different options to get the gears in their head going of how to apply it to what they're interested in. There are so many things to do with the raspberry pi it's difficult to pinpoint where to find the best tutorials. Best thing to do is show him some of the most popular components and see what path that takes them down from there. Like "Oh so that's what a stepper motor does...I wonder if I can open the blinds with it...Holy crap it works!! I can probably make something to scare the cats with this" lol.

In my experience, my nephew had the most fun with home automation though. I think it's because they can see a direct and practical result to what they've created and provides a huge sense of accomplishment. Even something simple like turning lights on and off is amazing since he can annoy his siblings with it. He likes the Bruh Automation guy. Generally though, Youtube, Stackexchange, Rpi forums and the like is the best bet for turorials. But yeah, just pinpoint the interests and find how the Rpi can be incorporated into that. I'm sure if you edit/elaborate on them this sub would be happy to help.

Well if you have no experience with programming I would recommend the Gentoomen library to get some free books to help you learn. The Gentoomen library is the biggest compilation of computer books I've ever seen. Thousands of individual books totaling almost 40 gigs and totally legal (I think... its been around for six years and its still up so...). Everything you'll ever need to start programming from electrical engineering to calculus to c++ to networking is on there. You can find more books on google using filetype:pdf, or on torrent sites (if you're serious about hacking you cant be expected to buy your own ebooks.) Unless you want to end up being a script kiddie then you're gonna want to have a very solid grip on how computers work and how to program one. After that you can learn techniques on sql injection or DDOS or whatever you want to use.

I would start learning C languages first. C languages are the basis of computer languages, every programmer has to have some experience with them. C languages are what you called 'compiled', which means they get put into binary instead of being saved as a text file and decoded by the computer. Not to mention C++ is probably the most powerful language there is even though some may disagree with me. Its height was in the 80s and 90s, but its still a crucial part of understanding software and how it works. Once you've familiarized yourself with C languages you'll want to learn other crucial languages like Java, Javascript, PHP, SQL, maybe python.

Once you've learned to swing a sword you can learn some tactics. You can write 17-line keyloggers, build ghetto phiser websites, 'lulz' viruses that just bug people; built mainly to see how many computers you can infect. You can learn how to evade antiviruses, replicate and distribute your virus, and transfer it through emails or LAN. Don't try anything stupid until you've gotten familiar. The important thing here is to use your VPN to secure your anonymity and not get fined (chances are pretty slim you'll actually get imprisoned) which I'll explain later

Two things you're gonna NEED; Linux, and a VPN. Linux is what you call 'open source' meaning it has no corporate ties, and you can mold the software in any way you want. It also has no monotized executable like windows' 'exe' file. You can run any script you want as long as its marked as executable in the preferences in linux. Ideally you'd want to get familiar with Kali which was built for 'pentesting' or hacking, but more realistically, if you've never used linux before, you'll want to start with Ubuntu or Mint which are more beginner type OSs. You can read books on linux or watch videos. The important thing here is to not get discouraged by its foreign nature. When I started using linux I had no idea what was even going on, but now I'm a liscenced terminal ninja, I have to liscence my keyboard as a legal weapon. You don't need a bulky computer to learn linux either. You can just buy a $25 raspberry pi off of amazon. They're meant to familiarize people with programming with minimal costs. There are serveral models ranging from $15 to $35, I'll leave the choice up to you. You can also just install linux on a windows/mac machine for free. Some linux operating systems are corporate like redhat or suse, but you don't need to worry about those. For all intents and purposes in your case, linux is entirely free unless you want to donate. Windows 8 does this thing called 'secure boot' to try to disable deadly viruses that deploy before the operating system. So you have to do a bunch of things to run the live usb (a live usb is basically an install CD on a usb drive) before the operating system boots.

Now for a VPN. When you browse the web your computer sends requests to your router, the router then relays the signal to the hardline to your ISP, which requests data from the server and runs the process back until your webpage shows up on your screen. The problem with this lies within its transparency. You can get what's called a VPN or "Virtual Private Network." What happens when you're connected to a VPN is your computer sends an encrypted information through your ISP to the VPN server wherever that is. The servers then un-encrypt the information and get the data from the actual servers such as reddit.com. Once the VPN obtains all the necessary information for the webpage or download it encrypts the information and sends it back to your computer where its un-encrypted locally. This way anyone including government or your ISP has no idea what to make of the encrypted mess that they log on their comptuers. Now, you can get free VPNs, but they're not a good idea. They may log their traffic which counteracts the point, and they're known for infecting computers (not good). I use private internet access. You can get access to their network for 3.99 to 6.99 a month depending on if you pay month to month or yearly. The important thing with them is a; they're the cheapest (good) VPN and b; they don't log their traffic. They're also fast. Most VPNs will slow you down, but pia is very fast, I cant seem to notice a difference in internet speed between unencrypted connection and an opneVPN connection on my desktop.

Really you shouldn't need to spend much money much less $600. If all you buy is a raspberry pi and a few months of VPN services you'll only get run up about $40. If you have a computer you're pretty much good. You could learn to hack on a school supplied laptop. You don't need a water cooled, overclocked, 12 core, 3 GPU, lit up like a christmas tree PC in order to learn to program. Any computer made in this decade will be more than fast enough to process the kind of things you'll be executing, hell, you could run this stuff on your phone.

When you've learned to program, I would consider investing in a good computer. But if you have no experience with computers at all then you should really try to get around the stuff first and see if you even like it. Hacking isn't exactly typing green text at 300 wpm as I'm sure you know. It can get pretty boring in my experience albeit with rewarding outcomes at times. Oh, and don't go dicking around until you at least know how to not get caught. Once you've got a solid grip on this stuff there are various ways to reap the fruits of your labor. You can get email addresses and sell them in bulk (im talking millions at a time), harvest bank accounts and sell them on the dark web, make adware and get paid to put ads in your virus, there are even hire-a-hacker services on the deep web. The one thing you do NOT want to do is break into bank accounts unless you REALLY know how to a; hack and b; launder money and c; not get fucking caught. This is some pretty shady shit and this is one of the few things that can get you locked up.

tl;dr Download this, read it, get Linux,, and make sure you have a computer to run it on, secure your anonymity with a VPN, read the books and learn to program, after that you can experiment with small scale, harmless operations and work your way up to some pretty shady shit. I hope that was helpful it took me forever to type.

I have mild experience in this field (organized video game and tabletop game rooms for cons, well connect with local game center people, curated at a Board Game cafe for a bit)

First off the board game part is gonna be hard depending on your patrons. If its mostly people in their 20s then you have a chance at making the board games work. The "default" stuff is usually pretty bad and not good for bar environments. Monopoly? Wack and way too long. Scrabble? Wack as fuck. Of the "default" board games I would say the only one that really works here would be Uno or Jenga.

But I should stress right now its up to you to supply the board games, people aren't gonna bring their own. What the customers are paying for would be the table to play and the game selection. And if the selection is big enough you don't need to worry about queues, people will just play other games. I think the only time where queue's have been an issue for me was at a con when Dark Souls the Board game came out literally the week of and there was only one copy of the game in the game room. But it was never a big deal.

Monopoly is way too long and boring what you should pick up are the casual games for people that play board games if that makes sense. Gonna recommend a few here:

• Sheriff of Nottingham
  
• Skull
  
• Shadowhunters
  
• Werewolf
  
• Timeline
  
• Spyfall
  
• Cash N' Guns
  
• Monikers
  
  All of these games work perfectly in the bar kind of casual environment ESPECIALLY Skull cause it was designed to be played in bars. They're all short, very easy to learn, and mad fun. Could also pick up something good thats based on a licensed property like Game of Thrones or Bloodborne for people that want something familiar. Also most of these games allow for a fuck load of people to play so anyone can jump in
  
  Party games like Channel A, Exploding Kittens, or Cards Against Humanity also work well in a bar but Cards Against Humanity suffers greatly from the game being only as fun as how funny the players are (which they usually aren't).
  
  Ticket to Ride, Dominion, and Settlers of Catan are also probably the most well known "introductory" board games. I'm not too big on them but they are worth picking up since there was always someone asking to play any version of Catan. I mainly watch Shut up and Sit Down for info on new board games, definitely recommend their channel.
  
  As far as the video game stuff goes if fighting games are your target then you need to reach out to your local scene. Find out what days they play at other spots and shoot away from those spots. Advertise tournaments if you want but I would stress that you don't make them too serious. What you should do regardless though is advertise to your local FGC on facebook that you're having casual sessions open and whatever day that doesn't clash with their existing local events. I definitely wouldn't make just current fighting games the focus though if you're trying to be a barcade.
  
  What usually is a good idea is setting up a couple raspberry pi with RetroPie installed for emulation. One of em set to a familiar multiplayer game for everyone like Mario Kart, Mario Party, or whatever. The other Pi would just have bunch arcade games on em ranging from beat em ups like The Simpsons or Turtles in Time to fighting games like Super Turbo, Vampire Savior, whatever. Pi's are cheap as hell and not too hard to set up for emulation. A Pi 3 is about $40 and a Pi 2 is even cheaper. Unless you trying to emulate Dreamcast I think a Pi 2 would be fine. Cana Kits usually include everything you need. A Pi is a VERY good replacement for an multigame arcade cabinet if you're on a budget.
  
  At the very least I would try to setup something to play Turtles in Time, The Simpsons, X-Men, or the D&D beat em ups. Beat em ups tend to be good to just pick up and play while drinking and usually let you play with a fuck load of people. You don't really need to track people playing them too cause there's gonna be a lot of open player spots and people usually just stop playing a beat em up when they die or get board.
  
  For the gaming stuff keeping track of "turns" has never been a issue here, usually people just say they have next regardless if its a fighting game, Mario Party, or anything. Unless your customers are very shy you shouldn't have to worry too much about turns. The brackets idea you have just sounds very confusing for people. If you have enough people that they need to be rotated out that often then getting more setups for games should be a priority over something like a bracket. I definitely stress though having setups with games that have 4 or more players to get as many people in as possible especially if you have only one setup. Mario Party, Mario Kart (especially the newest one that lets you have a fuckload), X-Men Arcade, Overcooked 2, stuff like that. Hell even Smash Bros just cause it has 8 players, but I would enforce it as a casual setup.
  
  RPGs have a place in a board game bar but if you want people to join with randoms then thats a bit difficult. You'll have to reach out to GMs and have some kind of dry erase board where the GMs can advertise they want players and whatever other info they wanna put. If you can reserve an area specifically for RPGs then thats perfect. That area would also work with big box or longer board games like War of the Ring, Tales of Arabian Nights, Arkham Horror, Dark Souls etc. if you wanna have those.
  
  I rambled on for a bit there but in short you should be fine in terms of managing queues or anything. If there's more setups or more board games you definitely don't need to worry about turns. If you got any questions feel free to ask away

At first I was surprised as well, but the more I think about it, it makes sense.

The NES Classic is selling like hotcakes because of hype. When the hype dies, the sales fall off a cliff. I really don't know anything at all about their supply chain, but it seems that Nintendo has been increasingly reliant on "off-the-shelf" hardware ever since the Wii. For example, there was a little "ATI" logo stamped on the Wii because Nintendo used a regular graphics card for that console, and so ATI "owned" part of that device.

So I'm guessing they don't have a ton of vertical integration for hardware manufacturing. Compare that to Apple, which has been aggressively working to own as much of their hardware manufacturing process as possible, even going as far as to manufacture their own CPUs (iPhones have an "A9" chip or whatever, while other smartphones just buy hardware from companies like Samsung, AMD, nVidia, Qualcomm, etc).

The downside of 100% vertical integration is that if Nintendo wanted to make a new Zelda, they would have to control, manage, and pay for everything that Zelda runs on-- the silicon, the enclosure, the LCD screens, the joysticks, even the plastic game cases and printing of brochures. It's insane when you think about it. The upshot is that when you have complete control over everything, you can "stop the presses" at a moment's notice.

So Nintendo doesn't do vertical integration. Again, I have no insider info, but it's become increasingly clear simply by Googling around. For example here's a Polygon article that shows the NES classic is just a bunch of off-the-shelf hardware crammed into an offically trademarked plastic box. And this makes perfect sense. It's also notable that the Nintendo Switch is also completely outsourced, from the nVidia graphics to the USB-C port, microSD slot, Bluetooth, HDMI, etc.

It makes sense for them too-- they're a software company that happens to be in the advantageous position of being able to make such incredibly high quality software that people are willing to buy custom hardware just to play it. Imagine if EA Games tried to sell a console, and it was the only way to play games featuring their intellectual property. Holy shit, that would be their single biggest blunder.

But I digress: The NES Classic is "Nintendo" only in terms of IP. They're just buying electronics from various hardware manufacturers, gluing them together, installing an emulator, and slapping their logo on it. It's a fun product, but we all know it isn't going to last. And here's the thing: Nintendo surely gets a better deal on all this third-party hardware than you or I would, but only because they're placing massive bulk orders.

And that's the kicker, in my opinion. They might have sold a ton of NES Classic consoles, but the holiday season is over and the hype is sure to die soon. Say they placed an initial order for 500 million "Mali400MP2" GPUs to build all these cute little consoles, and they got a quote from the manufacturer saying it would cost 50 cents per unit. Good news: They recovered that 250 million cost by completely selling out! But they know the hype is going to die, and buying another 500 million seems like it might be overkill. Maybe they order 250 million. Except now that the order is smaller, the cost per unit has jumped up to 75 cents per unit (I am completely making these numbers up).

So it's a gamble that gets increasingly risky the longer you play. They already made a ton of money from the NES Classic, but as the hype dies, they'll have to make smaller orders and the cost per unit is going to increase. My guess is that they're still licking their wounds from what happened with the Wii. Those things sold shockingly well, until they woke up one morning and suddenly nobody wanted a Wii anymore. I bet that there was a very specific "oh shit" day at Nintendo HQ when they saw that Wii sales had plummeted while they had millions of optimistically-built units sitting in their warehouses.

To me, cancelling the NES Classic is a good example of "quit while you're ahead". I can't imagine how much the Wii is still burned into the memory of every executive at Nintendo. They built something so popular that it became a global social phenomenon, and then suddenly it just died, and they had their worst fiscal year in ages. Because they'd bought and assembled a bunch of Wiis that would never be sold.

I'll admit that this is way too long of a response to "WHY!?!?" but I do find it interesting. I'm only just starting to understand terms like "vertical integration" myself, but it does help to clarify why certain things are the way they are. Comparing Nintendo to Apple is very illuminating. Both companies have insane brand recognition, but they do business very differently. Ever since Steve Jobs died and Tim Cook became the CEO, people have been predicting the death of Apple. Instead, their stock price has more than doubled since the day he died. Jobs was the charismatic leader, but Cook is the king of the supply chain. He's pushed for vertical integration, and it's been working beautifully. Apple makes a crap product like the Watch? They just scale back production.

Because of vertical integration, Apple can fine-tune their manufacturing to such a precise degree that they'll keep selling Apple Watches right up until the last profitable watch is sold, even though it's clearly a failing product. On the other hand, Nintendo sells products that they don't build, so they have nowhere near the degree of granularity when it comes to predicting how their things will sell tomorrow. Neither company can predict the future, but Apple can change everything in a relative instant, while Nintendo has to make an educated guess about how the world is going to look 6 months down the line.

Also, I'm guessing the cancellation of the NES classic is going to conveniently correspond to a sudden influx of Classic NES games being sold for the Switch on the Nintendo eShop, along with various limited-edition consoles and themed peripherals. That being said, I fucking love Nintendo and hope I can die without seeing them go out of business. People who claim that the Switch is currently a $350 Zelda game are basically right, and I don't give a flying fuck. 100% worth it.

On a final note, if you wanted an NES Classic and couldn't get one or don't want to get price-gouged from a hoarder-reseller, I'd do this:

1. Buy a Raspberry Pi 3
   
2. Put it in an NES Case
   
3. You could buy 2 USB NES Controllers for the price of a fancy sandwich, but why not class it up a bit and get some Bluetooth SNES Controllers? Also, if you have unused PS3 controllers laying around and don't mind the lack of authenticity, skip this step.
   
4. Buy a microSD card (32 gb is massive overkill for NES ROMs, but if you bought nicer controllers then you'll probably find yourself wanting to try out some SNES/N64/Playstation games)
   
5. Download lakka.tv and follow the very simple installation instructions.
   
6. Get NES ROMs from the internet, they're almost easier to find than porn.
   
   Total cost (including the NES controllers and the microSD card) rounds up to $85. And a cheaper Pi will play NES games just fine, nor do you HAVE to buy the $20 NES-themed plastic case I just randomly found on Amazon. Plus you're not limited to the games that were included on the NES Classic, and once you get bored with playing 30 year-old games there are plenty of other things to do with a Pi... Like write unnecessarily long Reddit posts, which I've just finished doing!

Look up elegoo parts on Amazon. I know they sell a set with a (very good, EACTLY the same knockoff) Uno and a TON of parts. It's called the "Elegoo super starter kit". You end up with two unos, but that's not a bad thing in case you fry one. I think it's around $40 with shipping.

I'm sure they sell other parts too. Check them out on Amazon. IMO it is the best bang for your buck.

EDIT: it also contains a PDF with instructions on how to build projects with them. How to do the wiring and they explain the coding too. They do it in a way that they build off of what you learn.

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-EL-KIT-003-Project-Starter-Tutorial/dp/B01D8KOZF4

It's listed as the #1 seller for electronic kits. Its $35 and it has a 4.5 out of 5 stars.


Here is a kit with just boards.

https://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Raspberry-kuman-Projects-Tutorials/dp/B016D5L5KE/ref=sr_1_5_sspa?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1518807393&sr=1-5-spons&keywords=Elegoo+parts&psc=1

Elegoo also has these kits.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_gnr_aps?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AElegoo+kits&keywords=Elegoo+kits&ie=UTF8&qid=1518807370

There are a lot of them, so go through each and see which parts you like.

Buying with Elegoo is way way cheaper than through Arduino.

------------------------------------------

I also found this really cool car that you can make

Elegoo EL-KIT-012 UNO Project Smart Robot Car Kit V 3.0 with UNO R3, Line Tracking Module, Ultrasonic Sensor, Bluetooth Module https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0746DVP1J/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_goZHAb3MFJF93


.I would build the car first and have fun with it. Then I would take off the ultrasonic sensors and replace them with IR sensors. Then try to program it to solve a maze.

If you're interested I have a website that takes you through every step on how to make a maze solving robot car with Arduino.

It's really a good tutorial. He teaches you everything and explains everything. You build the basics of the car first and get it running then he tells you how to tweak and add things to the code to make it better at solving mazes.

I'm about your age and taking CS and Engineering courses. The only way to find out is by trying. One quick and inexpensive way of getting your feet wet is by learning some basic coding online (for example, Harvard's CS50) and doing the first few electronics projects with an Arduino kit (like this one).

Then, I recommend doing lower-division prerequisites at community college to get a taste of the engineering curriculum. Specifically, you should take at least one programming class, Calculus 1, Physics 1, and an engineering class or two (hopefully one that is project-based or has a hands-on component). With these, you should have a good introduction to the different directions you can take.

You should also think about why you want to take Computer Engineering. CpE is a good major, but if your interest/goal is to work in software, Computer Science will be a more flexible major and usually have fewer requirements (read: you can graduate sooner). Don't get into the major just because of the engineer moniker, get into CpE because you want to have more flexibility in your career in working with hardware, software, and electronics. CS will give you a better background for a broad career as a software engineer, with more elective options. There are something like 10x more software jobs than hardware jobs. You can work in software with CpE, but the major itself can be pretty focused on electrical engineering, circuits, and hardware. This depends on your school.

Once you've taken the classes I suggested, you should be able to better decide what you're most interested in and how much math and physics you want to take. If you don't mind taking more math and physics fundamentals, then CpE can be a good fit for you. Depending on how you feel about your programming courses and hands-on engineering courses, you will have more clarity on whether you want to have more focus in hardware, software, or neither.

I learned all on my own. Granted I don't do a whole lot of object-oriented programming on a day to day I do write scripts 75% of my time, mostly in PowerShell, some in VBS and even Python.

Python is HUGE in IT. If you look up any job at Google/Microsoft/Pixar/Rocksteady gaming/etc. right now, they prefer you know Python. There are a ton of free tutorials all over the web to browse through but I learned off Codecademy because you can code on screen as you learn.

The bad thing about graduate degrees for people like us that realize what we want to late is the prerequisites. Most graduate programs require you to have a certain amount of mathematics, entry level programming, or equivalent experience before you're accepted, if not a CS undergrad degree. You may have to take classes that don't count towards the degree just to get into the program which, to me, isn't worth the time/money.

I did find a MCIS (Masters of Computer Information Systems) program through Colorado State University (online) that looked slightly promising for me. It does require a certain undergrad GPA, and a GMAT test however but will consider those close. All that being said, I still don't have a Masters and I'm debating going for one like the above. I only really want one because I'm 29 and feel like I'll start losing brain power if I don't consume everything now, like a mid-early-life crisis for nerds I guess lol.

The biggest thing that I could tell you to do right now is to stay motivated. Maybe find an entry level position somewhere and while you're there start working on your programming skills. Don't limit yourself to strictly programming but learn electronics and how software, hardware, and electricity work together. Maybe invest in a Raspberry Pi (like this one) and build something neat using these tutorials. All the while you're gaining a ton of IT and IT Custom Service experience (which you'll never get out of, even as a programmer).

Please feel free to hit me up anytime for any help. :)

EDIT: Sorry so long o_O

Start small. It'll save you money, let you get your feet wet, and help you learn how to grow better, and then you can buy bigger.

My "starter package" is:

• A 2' x 2' x 3' grow tent - $55.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SWGYYWO
  
  
• A grow light ($90). I prefer COB's as they're easier to fix than blurples.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I4NY8KW
  
  
• A power strip zip-tied to a pole in the tent. Makes wiring prettier and easier. ($24) I chose a nice metal one, but you can use a cheaper one.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F8ZQYHA
  
  
• Hangers to hold the light ($8)
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0098R0600
  
  
• A fan and filter ($70), and variac ($90) to filter smell and move air to keep things cool. This combo is overkill for this tent, but I ended up using it on later tents so it's a good long-term investment. You can cobble something cheaper together with some work, but this "just works" out of the box.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Q2ER5C/
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006NGI8VS
  
  
• 5 gallon Smart Pot ($7) for growing, FoxFarm Ocean Forest Soil ($16.50), Plant saucer ($7) for growing. You can save some money here by shopping around. In particular, Amazon's price for FFOF is about double what I pay at the (very expensive) local "indoor gardening" center.
  https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Pots-5-Gallon-Soft-Sided-Container/dp/B002JUOWB2
  https://www.amazon.com/FoxFarm-FX14053-12-Quart-Organic-Potting/dp/B001I49Q98
  https://www.lowes.com/pd/Garden-Treasures-15-31-in-Rust-Plastic-Plant-Saucer/50445000
  
  
• Go Box Plant Nutrients. This should last you several grows.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PS4B08
  
  
• Seed of your choice (let's say $10).
  
  So for about $420 (heh), you can get your foot in the door and start growing. This is a nice setup too, you can probably save $100 by shopping around, buying used, or doing-it-yourself. I've left off a few odds and ends like dryer duct, Fiskers for trimming, weed fabric pins for low-stress training, pitcher for watering, Mason jars for storage, but you can likely find those or suitable replacements around the house without spending money.
  
  I also have a Raspberry Pi 3 ($43) with Sense Hat ($37) and metal case ($15) in each of my grow tents to log temperature/humidity and other things. I'm interested in eventually using the GPIO functionality to water my plants too. Not critical, but definitely a nice thing to have, especially if you're the hacker type. If you go this route, you might look at raspiviv.com too.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C6FFNY4
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014HDG74S
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0722L338Q
  
  I'm glad I bought a good intro setup because I still use it now that I've upgraded. I now have a 3' x 3' GG Shorty tent with HLG 300 LED for flower, a 2' x 2.5' GG Shorty tent with two 400W Roleadro COB's for veg, and my "intro package" is now my germination/cloning tent (and drying tent too since several people suggested that too). Being able to have three tents (germination -> veg -> flower) working simultaneously is increasing my output quite sharply. I'm doing this to help a relative with cancer, so you may not need to go quite as crazy as I did.
  
  You mentioned using 35+ gs (~1.25 oz) a month. You probably aren't going to be able to grow that much given the constraints of tent size and light wattage (plus being a first-time grower! You'll learn a lot!). So once you get used to it, you'll probably want to buy more stuff. Marijuana isn't addictive, but growing marijuana absolutely is.
  
  Once you've got your hardware, the variable cost is seed (~$10), soil (~$5), nutrients (~$20), and electricity (~$30). From that, I'm going to estimate you can grow ~1.5 ozs (you can do more as you learn more though). So you're looking at ~$40/oz after you've made the initial hardware investment.
  
  Hope this helps. Depression, cancer, and everything else can just go suck it.

I've started to get into electronics myself, and I can say that soldering is easy, but you need the right tools for the job.
You'll need an adjustable temperature soldering iron and 1/2 milimeter iron/lead solder as the bare minimum.

I suggest grabbing some tip tinner, solder wick & vacuum, and some cheap boards to practice soldering.

This video shows how to do the actual soldering, while this video covers the tools you'll need and explains their use. These videos are made by EEV Blog and explain soldering in GREAT detail, which is how I learned to do it.



As far as making actual circuits, you have to have an idea AND parts to fulfill your idea. The Arduino UNO is a great way to program and test circuits. It's essentially a small comptuer designed to repeat whatver task you give it over and over. Alternatively, there's the Raspberry Pi, which comes in a few different models. The difference between the Pi and the Arduino is that the Pi is essentially a mini computer. You can literally hook it up to a monitor via hdmi and slam an operating system into it.

Both boards typically come in kits like this one for the Ardunio, or this one for the Raspberry Pi. The Ardunio kits with come with a lot of peripherals, like sensors and LEDs that actually do things, while you'll have to invest more with a Raspberry Pi. These kits come with detailed instructions, code you can copy and paste, and are a great way to learn how circuitry works, and is exactly what I'm doing right now. I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, I've just done a decent amount of research to find out what's what.

There are two ways to hook up circuits - temporarily and (somewhat) permanently. Breadboards are used to prototype circuits without having to solder anything, typically using these wires to link different parts of the circuits together. Soldering components to those green boards I linked earlier is what you'd do when you have your circuit up and running and want to move it to something more permanent. I say "more" permanent because you can usually de-solder stuff if you needed a component for something.

Adafruit has a decently sized library of projects you can try. They often sell stuff in kits where you get everything you need to make something -- for example, this DIY MIDI controller.

Sparkfun has a great series of articles that explain the very basics of circuits and electricity

Hopefully I've explained everything enough so that you can venture off on your own. Feel free to ask questions!

If he's been talking about getting one, then you can't go wrong with a really basic kit. There are some kits with the micro-sd flash card but IMHO they charge too high of a premium for those. Here's a 32GB micro sd card I've used with no problems and very cost effective. From there, you will have to figure out what he wants to do with it. If he wants to run a media server for instance, you'll want to get a bigger micro sd card or get an external usb hdd. There are literally over 100 different sensors that can be used in Rpi projects so having some idea of what he wants to try would really help. Popular projects are things like pet feeders or light controllers or "magic mirrors". You can google and find detailed instructions and shopping lists for these types of projects. You can get him a starter set of common sensors like this or this for home automation. These kits are good if he doesn't know what he wants to do and just wants to tinker around but if he knows what project he wants to do, then it's better to get the basic kit and an amazon gift card so he can buy exactly what he needs.

A kit I always thought would be a cool gift for someone interested in Raspberry Pi is a retro gaming kit which will run old arcade games. The kit I linked has a usb drive with the game ROMs included but at a $10 premium. You can opt for the cheaper kit and download the ROMs from various sources online. This give him a something fun to start with and he can always pull the Rpi out and buy another flash and use it with sensors or other projects in the future.

Hiya,

ok so ive put together a bunch of amazon link of what you need (US amazon as im in the UK)

Raspberry PI B+:

http://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Model-512MB-Computer/dp/B00LPESRUK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167372&sr=8-3&keywords=raspberry+pi+b%2B


Case:

http://www.amazon.com/Mudder-Protective-Cover-Screw-Raspberry/dp/B01AVT9IWK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167372&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=raspberry+pi+b%2B&psc=1


Snes Style USB Controller:

http://www.amazon.com/Retro-Nintendo-Controller-Windows-Purple/dp/B016MEFRFU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167421&sr=8-4&keywords=usb+sneshttp://www.amazon.com/Retro-Nintendo-Controller-Windows-Purple/dp/B016MEFRFU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167421&sr=8-4&keywords=usb+snes


HDMI Cable:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00870ZHCQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


MicroUSB Power Supply:

http://www.amazon.com/NorthPada%C2%AE-Charger-Raspberry-Android-Samsung/dp/B00OY7HR1U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167495&sr=8-4&keywords=micro+usb+2a

8GB SD Card:

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Memory-SDSDUN-008G-G46-Newest-Version/dp/B00M55BS5O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167735&sr=8-2&keywords=8gb+sd

SDHC Card Reader:

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Information-Card-Reader-TS-RDF5K/dp/B009D79VH4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458167758&sr=8-1&keywords=sdhc+reader


All together that comes to $75 and will play games from the Atari, NES, SNES, Master System, Genesis, Gameboy etc. If you buy that SD card then I have an 8Gb image file already put together for it with over 4000 games that I could put up for you to download, you then just write it to the SD card, pop it in the Pi and plug it in, it will auto boot to a nice menu controlled by the control pad, select your game and play, then just press "Start + Select" to go back to the menu to select another game/system. It's very easy to use as all the hard work of aquiring the games and artwork has already been done.

You can get the more powerful Pi 2 or 3 and a bigger MicroSD to have more roms but that pushes the price up and will need more work to setup.

I have aspergers and my wife is type one so I understand some of the difficulties your son faces, I hope you can use this to help make him happy. My sister has an autistic son also and I put together one of these and he loves it, she got him to write a one sentence review and score out of 10 for each game. It became something they could do together and talk about, and also helped to convince him to do things liek help with cleaning his room etc so that he could do "one more review before bed" as she thinks it important to always push him that little bit to give him the best chances later on in life.

Anyway, here is a video showing the system in use so you can see what you think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDWebx6D2Zc

Also with the addition of another SD card, usb keyboard and mouse and it also works as a computer with web browsing and programming tools for kids (Scratch).

Hope this helps, let us know if you want the 8Gb SD card image uploaded for you to download (not to be re-distributed though)

Regards

DJH

Hey there! Just noticed you just joined the subreddit. Welcome, by the way. My name is Andrew, and I'm about to finish high school while being dual enrolled in a vocational school for Computer Networking. Afterward, I plan on getting my BS in Computer Science at a college near me. This is an item I've been wanting for a long time on my wish list, because I have a Raspberry Pi, but no case for it and that's not too safe for the little board. I'll be using it at school a lot to save work on, and I just can't afford a lot of these things. Here's a link to the case.

One thing I think you should get is a Raspberry Pi yourself. You can build retro gaming systems. If you love gaming, then you'd love to play the older games by simply turning a Raspberry Pi into a small retro gaming system. There are tons of free ROMs to download and play online, you just need to figure out how to set it up and it's a wonderful project to start. Here's a link to the Raspberry Pi, Model B+ (512MB).

Thank you very much for hosting this contest. It is very much appreciated!

People generally frown upon kits here but I think they were key to my development. Here is a VERY unofficial starter kit that has some typos and may have a defective part or two, but it is filled with parts and is very cheap. Here is a companion set full of sensors that may inspire you to start a project you are passionate about. Lastly, here is a cheap LCD screen that will be cheap enough to play around and get good with at least until you are ready for something bigger. You will definitely not make use of every part in these kits but they will each give you a different idea of how basic circuit components can come together to make cool projects. They come with sample code that needs a little debugging here and there (actually, this may be a good thing so you learn how to troubleshoot your projects!). I would also recommend buying another arduino uno at some point to learn about interfacing. Others may disagree and encourage you to start with a project or something, but everyone learns differently, and I have done well with these kits and found them to definitely be worth the money.

EDIT: Also, all of these products are available on Prime and will ship in 2 days, unlike most eBay products that take upwards of a month.

I'm trying to make a large LED grid (23x10 with 4inx4in squares), and I've been experimenting with what the cheapest way to do it is. I can make one of these for around 75 cents USD. The layers are:

1. Balsa square backplane: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MM185Q2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
2. Reflective aluminum tape (helps increase the brightness a bit)
   
3. Single WS2812B RBG LED: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014QKWJDU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
4. Soldered on connectors: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EV70C78/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
5. 4x4 housing square made from gluing together 3 4x1s from home depot
   
6. Tracing paper square
   
7. Nylon Silk cloth square: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XSBDWXX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   It's pretty easy to construct (the hardest part is soldering on the connectors), but I have several complaints I'd love cheap alternatives to.
   
   

• The frame is thicker than I'd like. I think I can fix this by just sawing off some of the edges - going to play with this later.
  
• I don't know for sure the tape is helping compared to light colored wood.
  
• I'm slightly concerned about heat, but I'm testing that now.
  
• I'd love to find a cheap 3-pin connector so I don't have to solder all of these.
  
• **The main problem I'm having is sufficiently diffusing the light over the square.** The camera makes it look more pronounced than it is, but there's a definite circle in the middle where the LED is. I've tried facing it the other way (towards the reflective tape), but then you get the shadow of the LED ribbon, which looks worse. I've also tried more/different layers of diffusion material. Materials I've tried (in many combinations and at many distances) include:
  
  • Tissues
    
  • Regular paper
    
  • Card stock drawing paper
    
  • Paper towel
    
  • Toilet paper
    
  • Nylon diffusion fabric
    
  • Tracing paper
    
    The ones that work the best are the tracing and nylon, but it's still not great.
    
    Happy to talk about the project, and would love advice if anyone has done something similar!
    
    ​
    
    Edit: I just tried making the housing thicker (from 0.5in to 1.5in) and it made it a LOT better. I think I'm happy with it now as long as I can find a way to clean up the edges.

That should keep you entertained for quite a while.

As for suggestions.. I think it just depends on what direction you're wanting to go. If you want to go deeper on processing, I really have enjoyed ben eater's make a computer from scratch series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyznrdDSSGM), but it's about 100-200$ to get everything for that to get up to about video 24. I have enjoyed playing with the sensor kits (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MG49ZQ5/ref=twister_B07F65Y7PS?_encoding=UTF8&th=1). I've enjoyed motors and automation.. We're currently building a copy of kosmo from look mum no computer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5qHMgZJ2w4).. This is surprisingly cheap.. A few sensors, a 10 pack of servos (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X7CJZWM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and a raspberry pi so it can be managed via wifi through python. It would work totally fine w/ arduino only, but they wanted to do a voice and it made more sense to use a google api on that so they didn't have to hand design audio circuitry..

Tools-wise. I'm loving the 100$ hakko soldering iron.. After almost 25 years with my weller wlc100, my life was turned upside down when I put a bit of cash into the hakko.. Soldering is actually enjoyable, now. Also, I treat prototype boards kind of like permanent project boards.. I rarely take them apart, so I tend to buy a 5 or 10 pack for super cheap on ebay.. Like 20$.

And don't feel bad on the hs comment.. Kids pick stuff up faster adults do and we all start at the same knowledge level on new things. I usually work w/ my students like a teammate and go in cold.. A lot of the time I'm right there with them unsure how to solve a problem.

I wanted to show off an arcade cabinet that my brother in-law and I built.

Imgur Gallery

We designed the cabinet in 3d to make sure everything would fit. Then cut out everything using a CNC router. We used wood glue and wood putty to put everything together. For the monitor we used a Dell 17" (we had lying around) mounted portrait. The guts of the arcade are

• Internal PC fans used for cooling. We did this because the monitor would get a little warm after playing. Plus it couldn't hurt. Not too loud either.
  
• Speakers are from an old kiosk that we were throwing away at work. I did look at some other solutions but since I already had them and they were powered, we decided on using them. It also helped that the size matched the PC fans so the hole pattern would look nice on the side
  
• Buttons and Joysticks were purchased from [Amazon].(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WDQWK5M/)
  
• We used a Raspberry Pi 3 purchased from Amazon.
  
• For power, we took a power strip and removed the plug and bought (this power socket)[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ME5YAPK/] from Amazon. Soldered the connections from the power strip to the power socket.
  
• Still waiting on the custom piece of tempered glass that will go on the top.
  
• It's got 2 coats of stain and a couple of coats of polyurethane to protect the wood.
  
  In all it took us a couple of weeks to design in 3D. My brother in-law did all this work. He also cut out everything and assembled the shell. I did all the internal wiring and software side of things. It is running RetroPie 4.0.2. The only really PITA is that this is a cocktail arcade. Most if not all the games needed a custom shader to correctly implement the rotation and dual flipped screens. A big shout out to hunterk from (libretro.com)[http://libretro.com] forums for helping me with this. It turns out that NES, SNES, Arcade, etc... needed their own shader to correctly display the image to both users. Also, the mame emulator has the ability on some 2 player games, to set cocktail mode. That way, when it is the 2 players turn, the screen auto rotates so they can play on their side.
  
  We were pretty impressed with ourselves when we finished. We built it to give away at a foundation raffle a couple of weeks ago and the winner was very excited to win it.
  
  I'll be glad to answer any questions you guys/girls have about the build. I plan on putting the glsl shaders on my github so others using the RetroPie OS in cocktail mode can use them.

When you start looking as low as $200 you have to really know what you are looking for in the laptop, as conventional laptops do begin to compete in this price range with other devices. As /u/Orangematz said, used/refurbished is definitely a good fit for you, unfortunately I don't know that I could give any specific suggestions in this area. However, if you want to buy new, you may want to consider a Chromebook. You can't run Audacity on a Chromebook natively, but there are some alternative apps available to make this work (see this list for some options).

Alternatively, you mentioned an external hard drive. Do you already have one or would that be included in the budget? If you already have it, you can use this for storage and install Linux on your Chromebook to use Audacity natively (Having an Intel processor in your chromebook is necessary if this is your plan).

If you are feeling very adventurous, you could purchase a Raspberry Pi like the one here. This runs Linux natively and should be able to handle Audacity without issue, although it may take some tinkering to get up and running the first time, especially if this is your first foray into Linux. The Raspberry Pi 3 is missing three things that laptops have, keyboard and mouse, and display. That display only comes with a cigarette lighter power adapter, so you would need a 12 V adapter. Note that this solution has a lot of parts compared to one laptop, and the display is smaller and lower resolution than you are likely to get in a good laptop, so this is really a nifty solution to your problem that adds in a bunch of extra functionality (your display can play audio/video from USB/SD and can be mounted to the back of a headrest while your computer is a neat little hobbyist device that can have a bunch of different uses besides just computer), but not really recommendable if you aren't enthusiastic about those things.

For something along the same vein but slightly less adventurous if you don't feel comfortable with Linux would be to replace the raspberry pi in the previous solution with an Intel Compute Stick (comes with windows). Alternatively, the display can be replaced with a significantly better or somewhat better and significantly cheaper monitor if portability is something you are willing to compromise on (the Raspberry Pi/Compute Stick would still be very portable, but you would need to find an HDMI-enabled display to plug into).

In conclusion, buying used/refurbished is a good idea, but if you are open to it, the "microcomputer" market segment is starting to come up to par with laptops in this price range and could offer some interesting alternative solutions for you. Wow, that was a long comment.

I would not suggest the Raspberry Pi. If they are a tech lover, it's likely they already have one. I would suggest this particular Arduino set: (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D8KOZF4/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2WWHQ25ENKVJ1). It has lots of nifty pieces that they can do a lot with.

Another thing I noticed on EpicGifts list is the Amazon Echo - If they have prime and are a big amazon person, then go with the Echo, or Echo Dot. However, if they are more integrated into google, I would recommend the Google Home (https://store.google.com/product/google_home).

Other then that, I would be careful on different gadgets (Phones/Watches/Tablets/ect). Most tech lovers are bias to specific brands, and like to do a lot of deep research before purchasing an electronic. So might want to ask them some general branding questions first.

Outside of that, if none of that interests you, tech lovers love random gadgets. For example, if they have pets - maybe something like the petcube would be great for them (https://www.amazon.com/Petcube-Camera-Video-2-Way-Built/dp/B00JGWN8O8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481486893&sr=8-1&keywords=petcube).

Just browse a bit and keep those things in mind. Best of luck!

great gift!!! Python and rpi are super easy to learn. If he needs help, have him post here... but he won't need it.

+1 re pi3 builtin wifi FTW.
+1 amazon/canakit.

I recommend something simple to start, e.g.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C6FFNY4/ref=s9_acsd_al_bw_c_x_3

it has python builtin - nothing to install or do, just connect a keyboard/monitor, power it up, and type "python at the command-line!

the much bigger thing is to have a specific project in mind, and ideally one that's motivating. Otherwise, the pi is silly when python is easily run on any laptop. For me, I used pi's for a couple of real world business applications: a people counter for a retail store and a "smart" refrigerator with webcam, also for retail.

A specific project also ensure that "success" means something.

i.e. the pi is half the present -- the other half is a project you'd like him to do! :-)

Some of the kits on Amazon are great, specifically the ones by CanaKit. They usually come with everything needed to get started (Pi, power adapter, sdcard, case, etc.) Some kits have more items than others.

As for which Pi, there are only really two options: the Pi 3 or the Pi Zero W. The other models are older and slower or lacking wifi/Bluetooth/etc. The Pi3 is more powerful and requires less adapters to make it plug into your TV, use USB devices, etc. The Pi Zero W requires some adapters and isn't as powerful but it is cheaper and a lot smaller so it is great for projects where you want it as small as possible. Both are great.

Overall, I'd recommend a Pi 3. More powerful, less messing with adapters, and still pretty small. This kit covers all the bases: CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit - 32 GB Edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C6Q2GSY/

Pi 3, case, power, SD card, HDMI cable, SD reader, and heatsinks.

Edit: Here is a similar kit for the Pi Zero W if you want to go the smaller/cheaper route: CanaKit Raspberry Pi Zero W (Wireless) Starter Kit with Official Case https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XJQV162/

The SD card isn't as large and you don't get a card reader but you do get the needed HDMI and USB adapters.

Hope it helps!

This is almost literally what I'm building tomorrow. This is the Pi kit I'm getting. It comes with a case, power supply, and heat spreaders for the Pi's chips (how important are these?). I already have the exact controller in the Arse article, or one that looks just like it, and I have a couple extra HDMI cables around. I don't have an extra microSD card, so I'm buying a 128GB one, and trading my wife for her 64GB model. I don't think I even need 64GB, not for RetroPie. I might put a couple PS1 games on it, depending on how well they can run. But I need more buttons than that controller offers, so it will mainly be for NES/Super NES/Genesis games. And then mainly the first two. Never was a big Genesis player, but ToeJam & Earl, Sonic, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Phantasy Star... there are some real classics there. $50 for that kit makes it $10 less than the NES Classic... which was never sold here (middle of nowhere, NC).

For beginners (i.e. you have nothing yet), start with this one. It's $70, but it has a 32GB memory card and an HDMI cable, plus a case, the Pi, and a power supply. Oh and a microSD card to USB converter. For microSD card use I would actually recommend getting a USB 3.0 card reader. They're not much. And then you just need a controller.

I don't mean to imply I am not a beginner myself — I have never done this before. But I've played with Linux, I've modded Android (ran custom ROMs, firmware, and rooted four different Android phones by three manufacturers). I also build computers, though I'm only on my fourth built PC in 13 years. I'm kind of a little wet behind the ears, but I have some experience. I don't think you need that much to actually install and set up a RetroPie kit, but it helps to understand what is going on behind the scenes, in case anything goes wrong. And of course any seasoned geek will tell you, Google is your best friend, and from there, threads on Reddit, StackExchange, and Tom's Hardware are some of the best resources. Those are the search results I usually click on, in any case.

Also, not affiliated with CanaKit. I'm pretty sure theirs are the Pi kits RetroPie recommends. Or maybe it was a guide I saw. And then even before, looking to buy a Pi, I saw them on Amazon. There is another Pi kit company and their prices seem comparable, but they don't appear to have the full $70 kit (I may be wrong!), just the $50 case/power/Pi starter kit. I'm sure they're both (that brand and CanaKit) fine as long as the Pi itself is. The rest is probably just standard off-the-shelf stuff.

To follow up on Zouden's comment, I started with the official starter kit, partly because I do normally like having a nice-looking, physical book to refer to.

However, I quickly realized that all of the code for the Starter Kit Projects is already included the Arduino IDE, and that the Arduino founders created video tutorials for each project as well -- for example, the spaceship project. You can even find a couple of the chapters of the book on the Arduino site -- again, like the spaceship project.

The Arduino site even has detailed tutorials for all of the IDE's built-in example code. Look at the button tutorial -- that's about as good as any of the projects that are in the book, just stripped down and without the conceptual/imaginative layer ("spaceship interface," "love-o-meter")

Again, typically I prefer a physical book -- but I paid around $75 for the starter kit. Looking back, I probably would've gotten the plain-plastic-box $25 kit that the store had and used the Arduino website and videos to learn everything-- I bought the $25 kit later just to have another Arduino and extra parts, and it seemed like it had all of the components the Starter Kit did, just without the book or fancy packaging.

Not sure that that $25 kit is a typical thing - it was an official Arduino project kit, but I don't think I've seen any others but the one I bought. But you can get kits like this Elegoo one and have many of the same parts you'd get in the official Starter Kit - plus some cool other parts like the ultrasonic sensor.

If your friend loves physical books and nice-looking packaging, and has the money, they should go for the official Starter Kit. But if they'd like to save some money and read equally good tutorials online, they should buy a less expensive kit and use the Arduino website for learning.

[Edited some typos]

It's a fun hobby. Biggest learning curve is learning how to code. I didnt know a thing when I first started but the arduino community (link below) is really helpful with the process. They will even go over code you've written if your having issues.

Arduino community forum:
https://forum.arduino.cc

Book for learning arduino program language:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1430247762/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_jqgLBbP544HBT

A good starter kit. Comes with alot of goodies like the program used to write the code and compile it, the arduino itself, super sonic sensor, DC motors to name a few as well as data sheets for each piece:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EWNUUUA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_krgLBbN85GPHF

Book recommended to me that helps with the more complex builds: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1259587541/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_UrgLBb7STEDSA

My first project I made/wrote was to make a couple LEDs blink in specific intervals. May not seem like much but like I said, biggest learning curve is learning to program the arduino itself.

Good luck

I appreciate the kind words! I got started by getting the Elegoo UNO Super Starter Kit from Amazon.

I'm a Computer Science major but I've always had an interest in hardware and electronics so I just bought this and now I'm having all sorts of fun, especially since I get to combine both my interests: software and hardware. Like you said, you get a great feeling when putting things together, so I would highly recommend you pick up a kit if you have the slightest interest!

I actually didn't tally up the cost as that wasn't really of a concern to me, but I'll try my best to provide links to the things I bought for this. Feel free to add it up for me!

• Lighting
  
  • T-5 Grow light (came with 6500K bulbs)
    
  • 2700K bulbs
    
  • Grow light hangers
    
• Grow medium
  
  • Net Cups
    
  • Black Buckets
    
  • Black lids
    
• Nutrients
  
  • General Hydroponics Flora Series
    
  • General Hydroponics pH control kit
    
  • pH/EC/Temp Meters
    
• Grow tent
  
• Air ventilation
  
  • The only thing I ended up using from this kit was the cheapest part, the ventilation duct...
    
  • The fan from this kit is way too powerful for my setup because my humidifier couldn't keep up
    
  • I didn't use the carbon filter because I'm not growing weed.
    
• Water Distiller
  
• Humidifier
  
  • The cheaper the humidifier, the better. I first bought (and destroyed) one that had some sort of digital switch, so it would always be in the off state when you first supply power to it, meaning you can't turn it on/off with just a relay.
    
• Plumbing
  
  • Aquatec 8852 booster pump
    
  • 2 Gallon accumulator tank
    
  • Pressure relief valve
    
  • Tubing
    
  • Inline Pre-filter (Sorry they must have taken the product down...)
    
  • Misting nozzle T's
    
  • Tube ball valves
    
  • Analog pressure gauge
    
  • Misting Nozzles
    
    • Note that these nozzles are meant for WAY higher pressure systems (~1000psi) and I actually had to take out the spring for them to operate correctly, but they never clogged up, are easy to clean, and worked perfectly for me!
      
• Electronics
  
  • Raspberry Pi 3 kit
    
  • Humidity sensor
    
  • Pressure sensor
    
  • Water solenoid valve
    
  • 5V 4-channel relay module
    
  • Analog-to-digital converter
    
  • 24V to 12V converter
    
  • 24V Power supply
    
  • Resistor kit
    
  • Semiconductor kit
    
  • Circuit boards
    
  • Standoffs
    
• Wiring
  
  • 22 gauge stranded wire
    
  • 22 gauge solid wire
    
  • Power supply cord
    
• Connectors
  
  • Electronic Connectors
    
    • JST-XHP Connectors
      
    • JST-SM Connectors
      
    • Dupont Connectors
      
  • Plumbing Connectors
    
    • Bulkhead connectors
      
    • Quick-connect kit
      
    • NPT to quick-connect connector
      
      I also bought various tools, like crimpers, Dremel kit, drill, etc, but I don't consider those to be project-specific as I'll have them for the foreseeable future. Let me know if there's anything you see that you think I missed!
      

• Fire TV Stick, which is a lower-cost alternative to the awesome Fire TV. (think Apple TV, but actually good)
  
  
• Raspberry Pi which is a tiny fully-functional/fully-featured ARM computer.
  
  
• Arduino, which is an easy-to-use electronics prototyping platform, great if you're interested in learning how to make your own electronics and whatnot. (you might also want this, this, this, this, and this. Should be less than $40 altogether, though you could also probably find like a starter kit that comes with an arduino, book, and components.)
  
  
• Huion drawing tablet, great for if you want to do digital art. I haven't used this model specifically, but I do have the (bigger/more expensive) Huion 610 Pro, which I love.
  
  
• Amazon Prime student was like $40 IIRC, not sure if that has changed though.

They're not really a gaming thing, but I think most any tech savvy person would appreciate it and could probably find some use for one. Maybe they could set it up to play some simple old school games like pong or something (I haven't actually used one myself, so I'm not sure of their limitations). That sounds like a great idea actually.

Edit: Something like one of these seems like it would be pretty neat.

You and I have a lot in common OP as a 23 year old male software engineer who enjoys video games and fantasy type stuff. I just moved out of my parent's house this past March and like another commenter said, you will get hammered with expenses you might not have thought of. I had to go out and get all sorts of kitchen cookware and dishes and linens etc. So depending on your timetable I would HIGHLY recommend either asking for that stuff now or for gift cards to places you can get that stuff at. I'm asking this Christmas for kitchen stuff because i still haven't got around to getting everything I need.

Do you drink beer? What about pint glasses with Game of Thrones or World of Warcraft logos? Hell, check out other things on thinkgeek.com, there is a load of stuff on there that is pretty neat.

You mentioned you like DIY projects but are limited on this? Do you mean in terms of space and tools? What about things like Arduino or Raspberry Pi kits that don't take up tons of room or extra tools? You can develop some pretty cool DIY applications with those.

Does your girlfriend play video games? Recently my girlfriend has gotten into games more so I am always on the lookout for games we can play together, especially couch co-op type games. Or maybe check out some board games, there are some pretty cool RPG type games you can get into that you both can play together. Or maybe movies or TV shows you can watch together.

Do you sit at a desk at your job? You could always ask for little things to put on your desk or in your office/cubicle, whether it be small posters or a unique stress ball or something. Last year my girlfriend got my a little Hobbit lego set I have set up on my desk along with a football shaped stress ball. Maybe something like that depending on your work/job situation?

I am still trying to think of more stuff but hopefully this helps, let me know!

There's a lot of Raspberry Pi kits on Amazon that come with wires, a breadboard, some LEDs, and other electronic components. The CanaKit Ultimate is one such kit that's a good price for what it contains. In addition to the Pi kit get him some books with interesting projects.

• Getting Started with the Raspberry Pi
  
• Raspberry Pi Projects for the Evil Genius
  
• Raspberry Pi Projects
  
  These are all pretty good books and have interesting projects. If your son is actually interested in engineering don't let him just stick XBMC or RetroPi on the thing and call it a day. While those projects might be interesting in their own right you're not really learning much if you're just assembling a video player or video game emulator.
  
  If he puts together some interesting projects with the Pi get him a Radio Shack gift card for his birthday. They're trying to get back to being the electronic hobby retailer of choice so they're carrying Pis, Arduinos, and stocking more electronic components.
  
  What's nice about a good kit is a lot of the components will be useful in other types of projects. Breadboards and good wires work just as well on an Arduino as they do on a Raspberry Pi.

I'm an ECE that got into Raspberry Pi about a month ago. I work in microelectronics (chip design), and wanted to use it to get back into larger scale electronics hacking and to do some more hardware oriented programming and projects.

As such, I had to basically reform my electronics gadget supply at the same time since I ditched my college collection a while back when moving to a new house.

Here's some of the key things I bought to go with my Pi that I felt I needed. I'm assuming you're like me and want to work on electronics hardware (lights, switches, etc).

• Raspberry Pi B+ : I wanted the larger sized one with more memory and USB ports as the prototype environment. As I get stuff fully working, then I plan to buy an A+ for the implementation environment. I bought the Canakit Ultimate Starter Kit on Amazon
  
• You'll want a good microSD card. I swapped out the 8GB one from the Canakit for a 16GB one since I want to store some data on the card for a project I have in mind
  
• A case : I used the one from the Canakit
  
• A USB keyboard. The Logitech K400 is nice (just make sure to pair it on a PC first), or the Rii i8 Mini work nice (I have both)
  
• If you want an onboard display, look at the PiTFT from Adafruit. I used that for my initial setup, then set up my Pi to autostart a VNC server on boot and now I work without a display. If you don't want the PiTFT, you can use a TV or a monitor if it supports HDMI (or a regular monitor with an HDMI to DVI adapter).
  
• If hardware hacking, a breadboard and cobbler board : You'll want a breadboard for prototyping electronics projects before soldering to a PCB, and a cobbler board to connect the pin header of the Raspberry to your breadboard. I used the one from the Canakit but there are various ones out there you can buy
  
• To go with a breadboard, I suggest flexible breadboard wire. These or these would work.
  
• If hardware hacking, you'll want LEDs, switched, and resistors/capacitors. I really like these resistors (they came bagged and labelled), the LEDs I started out with from Radio Shack, and for switches I really like these ones. They snap right into a breadboard. The caps I just got at RadioShack.
  
• You may want to grab a multimeter as well. I have two myself with different functions (one for logic probing mainly).
  
  Beyond those basic starter components, the rest is up to your imagination and what you want to do next. In my case, I plan to drive higher current components, so I'll be using optocouples and relays eventually. And I plan to make my own PCBs to snap onto the Raspberry, so I have PCBs, headers, and soldering stuff.
  
  If you're new to the Raspberry, there's online resources out there. I also got this book off Amazon as a starter as well, which I've been coupling with online resources.
  
  On the Arduino side, that's my next purchase since I may find it easier to have the software and server side of one of my projects on a Pi, and the hardware interface on an Arduino. I'm just going to get an R3 board to start since I have the rest of the stuff they usually include in a starter pack listed above.
  
  This blog did a nice writeup comparing some Arduino R3 starter kits:
  https://www.pretzellogix.net/2014/10/09/three-arduino-starter-kits-compared-and-reviewed/

Everyone here is saying all the right things but I'm writing my own comment to further emphasize the comments regarding learning C and playing with an arduino. It is true embedded systems touches upon many topics as listed by captain_wiggles but a lot of what he's saying is overkill at this point for you.

i don't know how hard it is to get arduino stuff in ghana, but there exists arduino starter kits that comes with basically everything you need to get started. here's an example of what i'm talking about. Arduino Starter Kit

get your hands on one of these kits, watch a ton of arduino tutorials on youtube and learn C/embedded systems at the same time. you can get a feel of how much you like embedded systems or if you have misunderstood any of it in literally 2 weeks of just casually playing around with it.

if it's something you like, then dig deeper and choose two years of coursework relevant to embedded systems.

as a side comment that's meant to encourage you in your pursuit and not to discount the complexity/difficulty of embedded systems, but embedded systems is in my humble opinion one of the easier sectors to get into and also the most fun. the hardware/software is not as complex as x86 microprocessor and you can get a lot done very quickly.

tldr: just get an arduino starter kit and watch youtube tutorials as a summer project. if you like it then come back and ask more questions.

edit: You can learn Arduino in 15 minutes.

$50 for Raspberry Pi 3 kit (tiny computer)

$45 for Aeotec ZStick

~$40 for GE Smart Switch

It's a bit of a pain to set up, but it's completely configurable. You can get motion/temperature/humidity sensors, door/window sensors, water sensors, tons of sensors...and set up triggers/logic to do about whatever you want. Amazon just released these guys and people are talking about putting them all over their house for voice activated automation.

Currently, our bedroom light turns on at 6:43 a.m. on weekdays because we should definitely be awake by then but if not it will help us get up. If the light is on at some time after we should be at work, it will automatically turn off. Our other smart switch controls the living room light and when motion is detected in there after sunset the light will turn on at ~10% brightness as a night light, then turn off again after ~5 minutes.

People wire up their garage doors, if you really want to spend some money you can have automated blinds/shutters on your windows, there are smart locks that you can enter security codes into remotely...but we are starting pretty small.

Oh, and as my original post suggested, lights and whatnot can be controlled remotely. Turns out our router have a service that lets me fairly easily VPN in so I can access lights and whatnot from just about anywhere.

I agree, if you knew what you were doing its actually a pretty simple system. I could handle the entire control surface pretty well through a Pi running node-red and GPIO 3.3v control of some 15A relays...

On the other hand, I'm NOT an EE, and dealing with real 120v through circuits I would design would make me afraid I was going to burn my house down. There are pre-rolled addressable power strips that I could do this with, but price-wise I think it'd hit a LOT closer to an Apex price at that point. There's stuff like this out there too that might be closer to price though.

I considered this as it's basically how my home-automation system and custom alarm system function, but I'm punting to ZWave for actual switch control. It makes me wish I felt more comfortable around 120v circuit design like this, because I'm pretty sure I'd like the control afforded by this approach.

I'd buy a Cana Kit since it has everything you'd need to have a complete pie.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C6Q2GSY/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_Lc5Zzb0280WWW
That's the most full featured Pi3 kit they have but there are other more affordable options.

There are tons of tutorials online but I suggest you look up ETA Prime on YouTube because he helped me a lot with setting up Emulation Station and getting tons of games on my Pi.

As for controllers, the wired iBuffalo ones are great but if budget concerns aren't an issue then get the 8Bitdo SNES30. It's a Bluetooth SNES controller with a 1 to 1 look and feel. It's pricey but you really won't regret it.

Good luck and have fun! Hope she enjoys it!

Edit: As a side note you want to invest in a case with a fan! There are ones that look like a tiny NES or SNES and seem neat but have next to no ventilation so your pi WILL overheat. I made this mistake and wasted $20.

>>What hardware do I need to start running home assistant?

Learn from my experience and just pony up for a Raspberry Pi 3. I tried running HA for a while on an old Win7 laptop. Getting Python to run was a huge PITA. Then I tried running it with Docker on a Synology NAS. Nearly as bad. Then I purchased this CanaKit. A dream come true. A few days later I spent some quality time kicking myself in the rear for not having gone that route in the first place. SO MUCH BETTER.

I'm running Hass.io now and definitely recommend it for just about anyone... but later. First I'd suggest installing Hassbian because, although the water is a little deeper, you'll have easier root access, and you'll be able to learn the basics much more quickly. You may decide to keep that environment -- it's great. Or you may decide to move to Hass.io which, with the exception of enabling SSH, is really very easy. Just back up any .yaml files that you've customized, wipe the Pi's SD card, and install Hass.io. After booting a couple of times to get the "vanilla" environment initialized, put your .yaml files back, enable SSH server, Samba share, and maybe Bluetooth. You'll be back in business right where you left off.

Like I said, SSH wasn't exactly easy when I was first setting up Hass.io. But I documented the process I went through here, so maybe that will help.

Thanks :-)
I get to combine my two hobbies - electronics and aquariums, which is awesome.

FYI electronics is a great hobby as it doesn't cost a lot to get into and there's loads of help out there. If you are ever interested I highly recommend buying an Arduino starter kit like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01D8KOZF4/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1494889424&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=arduino+starter+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=615S0N50XHL&ref=plSrch

And having a play :-)

Oh yeah, the Pi would be great for that! It has a set of metal pins sticking out that you can use Python to program for specific functions, set voltage levels, all that fun stuff. You can plug these into a breadboard to connect to other chips, that's basically what you want. It supports all the big names, SPI, I2C, etc. even regular old serial. You can also connect remotely via SSH if that's your thing.

EDIT: I neglected to fully answer your actual question: Yes, I recommend just diving in, that's how I learned. A breadboard and some basic components can be had for fairly cheap. Combine this with the PI, and you have a pretty nifty setup going. Google can help with a lot, and anything specific, feel free to PM me at any time. And remember, just have fun!

That looks like an excellent all-in-one option for him.

There are many projects for the Pi that are well-developed and documented, and although most of them are network or computer-oriented, plenty use the GPIO as well. You might consider getting a starter kit that includes jumpers and solderless breadboards, resistors, and LEDs for more free-form projects in the future.

Without the GPIO, a 14 year old might like:

• A linux-based desktop computer that can run a browser
  
• A "piratebox" portable network storage device for sharing files with friends
  
• A retro video game system
  
• A delicious snack for guests
  
• A web server he can use in the house and remotely
  
  
  With the GPIO:
  
  
• Control LEDs, fans, motors, relays, and more
  
• Accept input from all manner of sensors
  
• Interact with other microcontrollers via serial
  
• Interface all of this with the list above for control of basically everything
  
  
  There are many things available with the Pi and some basic tools. This CanaKit includes most of the basic bits (assuming you don't have general electronics components around the house). You might consider adding on a few basic electronics tools down the road (maybe birthday gift or whatnot).
  
  Overall, I've found the RasPi community to be friendly and fairly open to new learners, so you can feel fairly safe turning him loose on /r/raspberry_pi or #raspberrypi.

What's not a stand-alone device? The Raspberry Pi is a stand-alone device as long as it has an SD card.

If you're looking to move away from Google, keep in mind that hosting your own data means that you're responsible for data redundancy, backups, up-time and configuration. For beginners, it means that you might sometimes lose data if you're not able to keep your info in more than one location (hard drive, building, etc.) or if you make a mistake configuring something. That being said, /r/selfhosted is all about trying new things!

What /u/Allistakn said is the right place to start. Go to NextCloudPi and read the instructions for how to install on a Raspberry Pi.

You can get a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ at Amazon with a case, power supply and heat sinks included. Or you can buy one from adafruit directly, but you'll need to get a power supply and case separately, and shipping is extra.

Here is a great video on YouTube that walks you through all the steps necessary to get it setup once you have your Pi.d

After that, it's simply setting up a port forward on your router to your pi and you can access your data from anywhere!



Good luck and welcome to the world of self hosting! Feel free to come back and ask more questions when you're ready (domains, dns, reverse proxies, virtualization and containerization, etc.)

Yeah, either of those would be good, the second one has more memory than the Uno, but otherwise they're comparable. I wouldn't get too distracted by it, you'll probably buy more boards at a later date and they're like $4. I still use my Uno for prototyping then move it to the ESP8266 for an actual implementation.

You might do the cheaper one and then this, your first one has a stepper motor, servo, motor, etc so combined it'd be a little of everything.

Then you can always order individual pieces for a specific project, 10 pack of motors for $5, servos, buttons, gyrometers, etc, I'd still grab a couple of those little 1" oled screens, they support i2c protocol, which a lot of sensors support, and basically you take 2 pins from the arduino and daisy chain sensors to build a network of nodes, then can send commands to specific nodes with its address similar to an IP address. It's actually simpler than that rectangular screen you see in both kits, those take a bunch of pins. They also sell multiplexers so if you have like 8 i2c screens or gyros or whatever sharing the same address you use a chip like that to make them individually addressable, like a hub.

Another site is SparkFun, it's more expensive than china/amazon, but it's more of a guided experience, selling the parts and providing libraries to use them and lots of tutorials to implement them. I started with them then just order the stuff directly now.

I am currently a physics student, and I need to code a fair bit. If you want to start coding, especially as a way to build tech skills for a job, you could buy yourself an Arduino. These little microcontrollers are nice because you can use a combination of electronics and software to interact with the physical world. One of the biggest difficulties of getting people interested in coding is that it all feels so meaningless when you start. It can be tough to learn things that are actually practical.

Buying an Arduino solves this (somewhat) by letting you build a physical object right away, and they are extremely powerful. You can just Google "cool Arduino projects" and you'll get a zillion hits. The community is fantastic and welcoming, there a zillion tutorials for beginners online, and everything is open source. There's really not enough good stuff to say about it. For you personally, another benefit would be you learn the coding skills AND electrical technical skills for a job.

I would recommend starting with this Arduino clone starter kit from Amazon. One project I saw basically made cocktails for you. Just tell it what you want and it mixes the appropriate amount of each ingredient. Point is the possibilities are endless and you can build technical skills along the way.

I honestly get so excited by this stuff, so feel free to PM me if you are curious about more stuff.

I highly recommend a proxy or VPN. [BTGuard.com] (http://btguard.com/) is my service. I just pay for the proxy service (7$ a month), that gives a step by step on how to link it to your utorrent program. So I use [utorrent] (http://www.utorrent.com/intl/en/), link my proxy, and have never received an email from Comcast (and I did before I set it up years ago). Then go to sites like piratebay and you can find tons of great old stuff that's virtually out of print.

Me and my friends love B movie nights and im the one who is tasked with locating the movies they want to watch. Its a great method of watching what you want, when you want.

PS, get a [Raspberry PI] (https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Premium-Supply-Listed/dp/B01C6EQNNK/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1469206885&sr=1-11&keywords=raspberry+pi) and link it with your tv (I like to use [This] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00224ZDFY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) remote to control it like a dvd player) to enhance your viewing experience. Load the files onto a flash drive and plug into the raspberry pi.

If you want to make a dogeatm, I am down to help out where possible. here is my idea so far:
one of these, for printing the temporary wallet adresses one of these for transferring moneys
in a fancy waterproofing case with some sort of input system for entering adresses. I want to build an doge ATM. but am wondering how to convert dollar bills back into doge, if anyone has any input please do tell, I would like to place a few of these around to increase visibility.

You have done a lot to support the doge community, WOW, recruiting 14 shibes is an impressive feat, and that is what we need.

Guarantee it? Easy! Build something better:

• 1x: https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q2GSY
  
  
• 2x: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Controller-Classic-Joystick-Android/dp/B014QP2H1E
  
  
• Spend an hour setting up https://retropie.org.uk/
  
  Congratulations! You now have a:
  
  
• Atari 2600 (RetroArch)
  
• Game Boy Advance (gpSP)
  
• Game Boy Color (RetroArch)
  
• Game Gear (Osmose)
  
• Intellivision (RetroArch)
  
• NeoGeo (Genesis-GX, RetroArch)
  
• Sega Master System (Osmose)
  
• Sega Megadrive (DGEN, Picodrive)
  
• Nintendo Entertainment System (RetroArch)
  
• N64 (Mupen64Plus-RPi)
  
• Playstation 1 (RetroArch)
  
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System (RetroArch, PiSNES, SNES-Rpi)
  
• and more!
  
  That is ~2.5 inches wide, ~3.5 inches long and ~1 inch high.
  
  
  Otherwise, get in line at a Best Buy about a month in advance.

Here's my setup:

• Raspberry Pi 3
  
• LibreELEC
  
• Kodi Gamestarter addon
  
• 8bitdo SFC30 SNES controller(s)
  
  This allows you to use your Pi not only as a RetroArch machine, but also a general-purpose media center machine running Kodi. Seeing as I have multiple machines like this around the house, I serve up my ROMs and Save Game data off a server via NFS, so that I can play a game on one box, then move to another one and pick up my saved game from there. This is a far better setup than the shit Nintendo is releasing.

There isn't much difference there. The make and model of the SD card and the WiFi adapter are different, but they should perform the same. The Canakit shows, but doesn't mention the heat sink. The differences I see: the Canakit comes with a black case and a 2.5A power supply where as the Vilros kit comes with a clear case and a 2A power supply.

Non-mobile links: Canakit and Vilros, in case anyone else wants to look.

Depending on what accessories you want to add, you may need to utilize a powered USB hub, even with the four (4) ports on the B+ due to (potential) power issues. I think 2A is probably going to be plenty for most setups.

That brings it to the case...clear or black?

I've gotten stuff from both Canakit and Vilros and there have been no issues with any of it.

---

> What sort of limitations should I expect with this project? Thinking along the lines of certain emulators not working well (if at all), as well as streaming certain forms of content via Kodi.

I don't think I've had many, if any issues with SD (480p) and HD (720p) video content, but FHD (1080p) does seem to push the Pi. I've heard that a slight over-clocking could correct some of this. I also think there are some issues with higher end and "fancy" audio processing, but for me those issues are pretty much non-existent. For my media needs I use OpenELEC.

I have only started working with emulators on the Pi and so far things have worked pretty well. I followed a Lifehacker post and a post in DIY about setting up RetroPie and it seemed to cover most things. I have only tried NES, SNES, and Genesis and I have been happy with those. There are some of the higher-end emulators that may have issues (N64 is one that gets mentioned), but I haven't tried any of those other options, yet.

Hi there, sorry for the late answer I was out for the week-end!

It will depends highly on what you expect him to do with it, and also your budget. But for the more standard it will be at least:

• The Pi
  
  
• A power cable: the "Alim" was a bad use of a french word for power cable
  
  
• A case or another (You can also build one with Legos! :D )
  
  
• a microSD card for the OS (no preference I took the first link I saw)
  
  Then there can be:
  
  
• A usb wifi adapter if the can't plug an ethernet cable
  
  
• An hdmi cable if you think he will use it on his TV or standard PC monitor.
  
  
• About the controller, if you think he will build a media center linked to his TV with the HDMI cable, some TVs allow the use of "CEC" controller, and so his TV command will be automatically compatible with the Pi. Else, he can use a classic keyboard and mouse set, or some mobile solution or even a snes usb controller if he wants to build a retrogaming console
  
  
• To finish if you have a large budget for your friend there is a lot of accessories you can find in the related articles of the Pi on Amazon, like a webcam, a motion sensor module
  
  
• You can also buy a complete bundle or a starter kit like this if you think he will have fun with all the electronic parts :)
  
  And I confirm, it can be a pretty cool gift for a friend to build :)

I looked up Pitendo and my god is that a ripoff, there's maybe 60 bucks worth of things there. Here, look:
This

https://www.amazon.com/Vilros-Raspberry-Basic-Starter-Kit--Clear/dp/B01D92SSX6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1469219491&sr=8-2&keywords=raspberry+pi+3

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-microSDHC-Standard-Packaging-SDSQUNC-032G-GN6MA/dp/B010Q57T02/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469219519&sr=8-1&keywords=32+gb+microsd

And whichever one of these you want https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=usb+controller

Is all you need, and you can honestly go for a Pi 2 Model B if you want to, and a smaller sd card maybe. Everything but the most demanding Dreamcast and N64 games work great on a 2, and N64 hardly works regardless of the model.


Honestly it's not a difficult set up, at least in my opinion. There's some troubleshooting you can do if you try and work out some more advanced things, but the basic set up is a breeze.

All you do is download the RetroPie image from the site, download Win32DiskImager, and write it to the card. It takes about 30 seconds to set up and maybe 3 clicks total.

After that, you put the microsd card into the pi, plug in your controllers, boot it up, follow the on screen controller config, and you're good to go.

Adding roms is as easy as putting in \\Retropie into any explorer window on you computer, if the pi is on your network, and dropping them into the console's folder. Everything else should be auto-configured and require little to no work on your end.

this is a bit involved but is a good way of doing things as it doesnt require extra hubs/apps

• buy some sonoff wifi switches
  
• buy an FTDI adapter
  
• buy some jumper wires
  
• you may need a mini usb cable too
  
  and you now have everything you need to flash tasmota
  
  which will allow you to connect these sonoff smart switches directly to HASS and make smart extension leads
  
  also youtube sonoff tasmota, theres plenty of videos explaining it
  
  good luck!
  
  
  
  
  

I saw it in the summer, in July. You must go there, the guy who picked up the phone may not know what it is. Below is a link to the an arduino on their website. its quite a ripoff but if you need it then at least this is a good place to buy it.

http://ekt2.com/products/productdetails/412_ARDUINO_ZERO_ORG

Alternatively, you can ask a friend to bring it with from the US for MUCH CHEAPER. i have bought many off of amazon, the link below is a cheap good quality one that i have.

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-ATmega328P-ATMEGA16U2-Compatible-Arduino/dp/B01EWOE0UU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1486427055&sr=8-5&keywords=arduino

Finally AliExpress sells them for even cheaper if you are willing to with some more .

Hope this helps and good luck.

The old skool one which is now kintaro is popular, but known to make the pi hotter. I put a fan in it and run it fine with overclock.
small nes case

There's a another china one that's interesting and gained popularity. It has function power buttons, spot for a fan. NES style as well. Have to wait for in stock again though. Both run for $20
NESPi Case

I think you are switching up between the Micro and the Mini. The Micro does indeed have a USB port, but you are correct I would have to use it in a breadboard.
I initially wanted to go with the Leonardo because it has the 32u4 microprocessor (the micro does too, the UNO not and the Nano also not), with which you can talk to your pc or OTG device as if it was a mouse or a keyboard. I don't think I can replicate that behavior with a Nano/UNO, can I?
Those kits are nice, but like I already said, they don't offer the 32u4. I guess I settled for this combination:https://www.conrad.de/de/arduino-micro-platine-65192-323485.html
and
http://www.amazon.de/SunFounder-Project-Starter-Arduino-Mega2560/dp/B00D9M4BQU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1452268693&sr=8-3&keywords=arduino+starter+kit
More than 60 Euro but whatever... At least I supported Arduino and got some parts to get me working.
If I ever need more I can still get them...
Thanks for your support man! Really appreciate it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4?aaxitk=dfLkaId6ZuFZo4yNDC4DTA&pd_rd_i=B01D8KOZF4&pf_rd_p=3ff6092e-8451-438b-8278-7e94064b4d42&hsa_cr_id=1247439260401&sb-ci-n=price&sb-ci-v=28.00&sb-ci-m=%24

This is what I started with. If you're not short on money you could get the arduino mega kit, the extra input pins is going to be really useful.

As for videos, jeremy blum has a great playlist to get started.

https://youtu.be/fCxzA9_kg6s

Pretty sure there's a free pdf textbook somewhere. Everything else just look in forums and guides.

Good luck!

The design of arduino is open source so other companies have fabricated compatible boards or systems.<br />
.<br />
There are MANY arduino beginner kits out there. Some can be great and others not so great.<br />
The components available in kits varies greatly.<br />
Will she have the parts for EVERY project, NOPE. But she can learn about the system and the language.<br />
Companies like Adafruit, Sparkfun and SeeedStudio provide parts (or rather sub-assemblies) for more projects.<br />

I googled for a beginner kit and saw this one, I have no experience with it specifically.
The components I see are quite a wide variety,
$36 ELEGOO UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial and UNO R3 Compatible with Arduino IDE
https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4
The only thing I don't like is that they use a 9V battery and connector to power the arduino.
To me, to make the board portable, that is just silly; a better way is to use a USB power bank
For example
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2100mAh-Universal-Battery-Pack/dp/B01AUT8CRI/
also a USB cable
https://www.amazon.com/C2G-28101-USB-Cable-Printers/dp/B000FW60E8/

Just for grins, I went to their download page, searched for "super" and downloaded their ZIP
https://www.elegoo.com/download/
Elegoo 2.8 Inch Touch Screen User Manual V1.00.2018.09.19.zip
In "English" folder is a PDF, that explains installation and gives projects. I'd suggest reviewing that file.


I found these links, maybe reading them will give you some more insight.

Elegoo vs Arduino: Which Will Your Kids Love Most?
https://www.allhomerobotics.com/elegoo-vs-arduino/

Elegoo vs Arduino – Which should you choose?
https://techttech.com/2017/11/17/elegoo-vs-arduino-choose/

"These boards don’t support the non-profit Arduino project."
This means that the original makers who invented and open-sourced the design, don't get part of your $$

Elegoo UNO R3 Project Complete Starter Kit Review
https://techttech.com/2018/06/02/elegoo-most-complete-kit-review/

I bought the elegoo super starter kit off Amazon and I've been SUPER happy with it. For less than the price of an official arduino you get a knockoff board and a ton of electronics to play with. Also arduino is open source so it's completely legal to make knock offs.

Elegoo EL-KIT-003 UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_CvMWAbFQQHAP4

I'm pretty new to it too, and for me, buying the kit (power cable, hdmi, preloaded microSD, etc.) was a good route. Then you have a choice to make - is it a tiny linux server for you, or do you want to play with making stuff? I am pretty new to it all, but the Raspberry Pi T-cobbler + ribbon cable + breadboard kit (transistors, leds, wires, etc.) was the right combo for me to start learning. From another newbie, the best advice i can give is to watch your voltages!

My Pi: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L87YMGM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The add-ons:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N0R6EVE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NC8OS6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N4SHO5O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D9MK150/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

More storage:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DTZA5S0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

With all of that, plus an outlet/box/misc wire from the hardware store I'm now able to control an electrical outlet remotely - pretty basic, but a huge deal for me.

That sucks! I was hoping to get hold of one but it sounds like I'm going to have to wait a while. If he's into DIY computing you could get him the components to make a RetroPie setup. A raspberry pi kit like this one has what you need except for the controller, but you can use a wired xbox controller if you have one or i'd recommend a classic snes controller. It takes a bit of work to get it set up, but it's not too much trouble if he's computer savvy.

If that's no good, here's some geek/gamer recommendations from my site expertly chosen. Good luck!

I meant to plug it into a windows PC to see what chipset it has. I just Googled CanaKit, and it appears to be a raspberry pi starter kit which ships with a Ralink RT5370. I don't know much about Ralink, as I've never owned one, but it looks like there are plenty of people having issues with it under Linux and various solutions that show up with Google. It looks like most of the solutions involve making sure lsmod shows the module as being loaded (and possible updating with a ethernet cable connected), and then configuring wpa_supplicant manually. Since this requires the system to be installed it doesn't really solve your issue. You might be able to get around some of this headache by creating a completely unencrypted connection on your router until you can set everything up and then lock it down once you're done.
Alternatively, you could download the OS image and load it onto your SD card from another computer, and then configure it.
I'm sure someone may have a better idea, I'm just going by 5 minutes of Googling.

The Arduino website is very helpful, especially the language reference page for help on all the default functions you can use. The getting started and examples pages are great places to start (who knew?). I found the best way to get into it was to dive right in. I ordered a Arduino Uno board and a starter kit from Amazon. Then I made all the different devices work by using the breadboard and simple code. A bigger project is just lots of little parts all working together. If I needed help, I googled "<part I'm trying to get to work> Arduino" and was able to find someone who did it previously. The Arduino Forums and /r/Arduino are also very helpful!

I know I don't need the two flash drives. The 8 GB is for me because I only have one other laying around. It doesn't really need to necessarily be added in the cost. ;) It's for me.

My nephew will be using his ps4 controllers and I think he'll be satisfied with that for a while. I'll give him one of my old retro gamepads as well if he wants.

I'm definitely not putting the whole PS catalog on there but probably quite a few of the games. RE series, some platformers, and the abundance of pretty good RPGs. I know the N64 and dreamcast have their problems but I'll see what his favorite games are on the systems and test them out at least. Yeah, 128 SD card is probably my first cost cut. :)

Edit: Just went with CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit - 32 GB Edition for $74.99

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C6Q2GSY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A30ZYR2W3VAJ0A

Should do the trick, right? Won't get much cheaper for the ideas? The heat sinks shouldn't be necessary but I might as well use them, right? Will it be quieter or noisier with them for this project?

This is just my honest opinion, but we didn't have any save states back in the day (the 80's & 90's).Playing a game through the beginning to end and mastering them was what made gaming fun..... for me. If your looking for the exact experience, not having save states wont even be a big deal.

I started off with the retropie not knowing any details as well. Google and YouTube tutorials was what help me the most. And after a while I was able to notice the difference and just got the Super Analouge Nt. If your interested in doing the retropie I would recommend this kit here. Believe me this intent provided me with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes....

I got this kit about 2 months ago and it's great. The card has NOOBS on it and everything came that was needed to get going. I thought I would use it for RetroPi and other pre-built things, but then really starting learning a lot and having more fun than if I were playing games on it.

In retrospect, I wish I had upgraded a little at the time and got the Cana "Ultimate" Kit - with the breadboard, ribbon, and GPIO interface, as well as some little bits and pieces to fiddle with. I've since acquired those other pieces so I can play with LEDs, sensors, and other things. Had I had all that to start with, I would have been even happier.

amazon has kits at pretty much every price point, just search arduino kit. make sure it's got an arduino uno clone, a breadboard, breadboard wires, basic stuff like leds, buttons, resistors, potentiometers, a couple transistors, stuff like that. plus some cool things like sensors and lcd displays.

something like this, although it might not be the best one at that price point https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=arduino+kit&qid=1574021245&sr=8-3

this one has a lot of good stuff too https://www.amazon.com/EL-KIT-001-Project-Complete-Starter-Tutorial/dp/B01CZTLHGE/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=arduino+kit&qid=1574021245&sr=8-7

i'm sure somebody can link one with a slightly better spread of parts, but in general if he doesn't have specific projects in mind any kit will do well enough to get started

how much are you looking to spend specifically? 30ish is a good price point, but there's options below and above that. i'd say stick to amazon kits instead of buying more expensive kits or individual parts if you don't know what you're looking for.

I got a canakit with the B, I feel like I’ve seen that there’s issues with Retropie and the B+, but maybe I’m thinking of something else... mine came with a sandisk microusb. Used etcher on my Mac to format and write the retropie image. I got the innext controllers and I think they work well (two for $14.99 on Amazon). In the future I may buy a case with a fan built in, but that’s just something I’m interested in, not too worried about it.

This is what I got and it came with everything as listed
https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q2GSY

I’ve had a lot of fun with it, hope it works out for you

Awesome thanks for the info and enjoy the gold!

So i'm looking at the "complete starter kit" here because it has HDMI and WiFi enabled, both of which will be super convenient when setting it up:

http://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Quick-Start/dp/B00L87YMGM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1416436112&sr=1-2&keywords=raspberry+pi+b%2B&pebp=1416436121474

I was kinda confused that you couldn't just order one from the main web page so not sure if Amazon is the best place to order.

And I'm also under the impression that you have to install the ROMs yourself?

Just Breathe!

This will help me relax because I'll be happy kidding it and doing things like running a server or using emulators with it!

It's on my public wish list, should be at the top! :)

I use both a Rpi2 , and Rpi3. I use the Rpi2 as my backup, in case I need to format the Rpi3. Recently, I installed an addon or update that prevented my Rpi3 from booting. When you need to format a sdcard and start over, it is convenient to have a backup.

I bought two of the velros kits on amazon because they are cheap. Whatever you decide, just know that for Kodi you don't need all of the bs included with the more expensive kits.

Buy a good sdcard and format it.

If you want to use your tv remote with Kodi, buy a Flirc. Super easy to setup, and now you only need one remote. Configure the flirc on your pc.

Install Noobs on the sdcard and decide which option you prefer OSMC or Libreelec for Kodi. I use OSMC. You can also skip noobs and install OSMC directly.

Go through connecting to your network. Note: Wifi will work but I would recommend you use an ethernet connection, especially for streaming higher bitrate/blu-ray files.

You are ready to start customizing Kodi (skin/addons, etc.) The whole process takes a few hours, then it's mostly making small tweaks.

Once you are done configuring the skin and addons, download the official Kodi remote app from the App Store or Google Play for your phone/tablet. No need for the keyboard.

Good luck!

You can make lots of cool stuff if you've got the skill/time, but if you just want something simple, the Old Skool Tools NES case rocks. Doesn't come as a kit that I know of, but just grab a Pi, power supply and microSD card and you're set. It's super easy to put together. And if you want an extra little DIY project, you can add a power indicator light or maybe a functioning ON/OFF button. That's what I did with mine, and I love how it turned out.

Parts List:

Power Adapter

Raspberry Pi

USB Super Nintendo Controller (This is the best one I have found so far)

HDMI Cable

WiFi Dongle

Other Items you will need:

USB Keyboard

Monitor or TV with HDMI Support




Now you dont have to use these parts exactly, there are plenty of other parts you can use. I am pretty sure that you can play Roms up to Playstation 1.



There is also a new Raspberry Pi 3 that is compatible with the RetroPie software which has WiFi and Bluetooth integrated into the board.

Helpful Video's to tackle technical issues with your RetroPie:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtht1mv6ty8xMBwgHX9RCkplqeSRxyHiC


Edit:

Almost forgot!


Here is the Case I found on Etsy. There are plenty of other sellers but this guy was great!

I thought it'd make sense to list all this information in one place:

• Here's the starter kit I used to make them. They're currently on sale for about $60.
  
  EDIT: I realized in hindsight that this kit runs with 256mb 512M of RAM. For the same price, you can get the another 512M version, here.
  
  
• Here's the Lifehacker guide for beginners interested in trying this on their own.
  
  Note: the games for these consoles are very likely to be copyright material, so it's up to the reader's discretion on how to go about attaining them.
  
  
• Don't forget to check the other 8 pictures in the album that get cut off if you head to imgur from a browser, or you'll miss the best part (and the rest of the steps)!
  
  EDIT: Setting up the controllers seems to be the most common question asked in this thread. I personally went in via ssh (or F4 if you have a keyboard connected) to home/pi/RetroPie-Setup/RetroPie-Setup.sh to configure the RetroArch controllers. From there you can also find the button values which map to your controller, and add your advanced emulator functionality (quit game, save/load state, etc) to your /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg file like I did here. People looking for more help can find a more detailed thread (which sets up the controllers differently, mind you) at /r/raspberry_pi , here.
  
  New EDIT: If for some reason this button mapping doesnt work (perhaps for someone else that has another controller type, for example), I've heard that the retropie-setup.sh script has been broken with the newest RetroPie Images (2.3). What the setup script essentially does is call the retroarch joyconfig binaries and saves the output as your controller config . As a workaround, we can hardcode your retroarch.cfg file with your controller. Type the command:
  
  > sudo /opt/retropie/emulators/RetroArch/installdir/bin/retroarch-joyconfig -o /opt/retropie/configs/all/p1.cfg -p 1 -j 0
  
  and then follow the instructions that appear on screen. Afterwards use the command below to take that config file and append it to your retroarch.cfg file:
  
  >sudo cat /opt/retropie/configs/all/p1.cfg >> /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg
  
  You should now have the button mappings in retroarch.cfg to use for your advanced emulator functionality. Note, you'll want to do this for each controller you have (change '-p' and '-j' accordingly).
  
  Update (1/10): Looks like RetroPie v2.4 is out. The change log suggests that the controller config issues have been resolved (but I haven't tested it).

Travel is a strong motivator to bring some kinda of travel gaming device and I can see a case to be made for the Switch on the go. However, allow me to suggest an alternative...

For 75ish$ you can get a complete Raspberry Pi kit and you could put Retro Pie (/r/RetroPie) on it and play your favorite old games with a bit of DIY?

I carry mine with me and hook it up to hotel TVs all the time. Carry a controller or your favorite fightstick and you are good to roll.

If you want to get crazy with it, you can put a screen on the Pi itself and play on the go with a bit of work.

It's not the most elegant solution, but play a ton of retro games on the go and waiting to see what Nintendo does seems like the better option in my eyes.

If you're just looking for ideas, the MagPi back issues are a good place to start.

• For RPi in general: Projects Books 1 & 2 and issues 50, 56, 49, 43, 36, 35
  
• For the Zero: GPIO Zero Essentials special and issues 40, 42, 61.
  
• Camera stuff: Camera Essentials and Issue 45
  
• Google AIY: Issue 57
  
• Home Automation: Issue 37
  
• RPi as desktop: Issue 59
  
• For coding in general: Issue 53
  
• For Python coding: Make Games with Python special
  
• If you’re looking for hardware project ideas, Hackaday has over 840.
  
  You can find quality starter kits with hardware prototyping goodies including breadboards, LEDs, resistors and capacitors and other electronic components from Adafruit and Canakit, but I haven't seen any that ship with a soldering iron. The starter kits are usually meant for the solderless breadboard. Beware cheap kits with crappy power adapters and microSD cards, as they'll cause a lot of frustration.
  
  Adafruit is a great resource for getting started. I'd recommend a good iron and soldering setup separately. Don't skimp on the iron, as the quality of your projects will depend on a good soldering job. By the same token, you don't need anything overly elaborate.
  
  You've chosen a great DIY hobby. You can built a wide range of hardware and software projects, and the price of components are dropping every day. Once you get familiar with the basics, you can pick up additional components cheaply online. A $20 shopping spree on some of the cheap Chinese online shops will keep your mailbox loaded up with goodies for weeks.
  
  This thread on the Adafruit forums has a good discussion of this very topic.
  

If your goal is to learn, you could probably learn more by investing $50 or so into a raspberry pi setup. All your really need is the pi, a power supply and a micro SD card w/ reader, but you might already have that since you mentioned you do photography, etc.

But like I said, you could get that PC there running something like pihole, but you're limited overall. You really wont be able to do an effective NAS setup on that machine.

CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (B Plus) with Premium Clear Case and 2.5A Power Supply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BC7BMHY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Wr32CbTCTE6DC

I highly recommend this kit, but make sure you get a micro SD card for it.

Oh that's great, thank you. I may take you up on that one of these days. I grabbed a chinese starter kit (this) off Amazon and a multimeter tonight (this). I've been wanting to get into this for years. I'm already a developer, the electronicy bits just elude me and I can't stand it anymore, I feel like I'd excel at this and I always have ideas I can't execute on without the knowledge. I'm 37 but your high school level material is just what I need at the moment.. haha.

I chose the kit to keep the cost down and learn the basics. Need to start budgeting my hobbies better. But if there's anything that would be a big benefit to have in addition, I'm all ears

Take an free online free course!

I recommend a programming course "python for everybody" on Coursea. It is being taught by Dr. Chuck from University of Michigan. Its an awesome starter course to get into program. Of course you have code academy and etc.

If you can, buy an ardiuno kit from Amazon and build what you can from it. Most kits have instruction manuals on what to build from the kit.
This is the kit I bought: Elegoo EL-KIT-003 UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_w.tdBbSBN6C7N

Just a few ideas...

• Nerdy stuff from ThinkGeek.
  
• A Raspberry Pi kit, if you think he'd be into tinkering with hardware.
  
• It's probably going to be more than $70, but a nice mechanical keyboard is a great gift. Das Keyboard, Code, and Logitech G710+ are safe choices.
  
• Book-wise, consider Code. It's a classic for every programmer to read.

I started with a Sainsmart Uno compatible kit which cost about £30 from Amazon. It has some good bits and some parts I will probably never get to use, but certainly it was more than enough to get started.

At a minimum, I would suggest a few LEDs and some resistors around 100R, some pressbutton switches, a breadboard and maybe an LED panel. All of this can be bought cheaply, but once you add that up, then you might as well buy a cheap kit!

Don't waste money on books - there is more than enough info online, and since most of the starter kits contain the same basic components, there is no shortage of tutorials you can use.

I just found this kit which has some nice parts that were not in my kit, and leaves out some of the less useful things. It doesn't contain an arduino itself, but those can be bought cheaply enough, so for well under £30 you could have a few great starter projects!

you're gonna be "missing" parts depending on the projects you're working on. the most basic things you can get, though, are what you mentioned: a breadboard, wires, leds, resistors, etc. what i've done so far is looked for the parts i need on amazon... there are all kinds of sensors you can get separately and very cheap in general.

I recently got an arduino and, like you did, I thought the starter kit was pretty expensive. So I actually got a Leonardo by itself and got this on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DGNZ9G8
This kit also comes with a few buttons you can use to practice and then you can buy more later or something.

that kit was definitely cheaper than getting the official arduino one and it comes with almost everything i've needed so far. There are other kits on amazon that have different things that you might be more interested in, like this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D9M4BQU I've also seen light sensors for $7-$9 on amazon.

other parts I've gotten separately are diodes, more leds, a bigger breadboard, shift registers, etc... but, like i mentioned, those i've purchased because of the nature of the projects i've been working on. I came to know of the parts i've purchased through other people's projects, google, blogs, youtube, etc.

also, in terms of programming, i'd suggest learning some c or c++. but you might not need to spend too much time on that since you're good with sketches, it's just in case you want to get into more advanced projects, i guess.

Sure, it's way easier and cheaper than you think. First, pick up an Arduino Leonardo. It's $9.99 from Amazon US This is the microcontroller that will plug into USB. Use the Leonardo as it's the easiest to set up as a keyboard. Also order a breadboard and some resistors, a simple beginning electronics kit would be good too and give you lots of projects if you have a bit extra to spend.

Once your Arduino arrives follow the basic button tutorial. And learn how to upload code to the Arduino using the IDE.

Once you have a simple button circuit working (a button switches on LED light for example), take a look at the [Keyboard library.] (https://www.arduino.cc/en/Reference/MouseKeyboard) You should now be able to get your button to send a letter to your PC which is identical to pressing a keyboard button.

Congrats you have built a custom interface. Just add more buttons and a nice box, maybe lights if you want to get fancy.

on a side note. your most inexpensive way to get playing third strike while learning the programming part, before making a big commitment to the cabinet parts would be to buy the raspberry pi (canakit) and hook it up to a TV until you have the software where you want it. Then you can build a cabinet around it and you know it will work.

if you want to go this route you will need

RP3 canakit

SD card you dont need one this big but it will allow you to upgrade your library forever. I bought 3 cards on the way to this one. Should have got the big one to start

and any controllers. PS4 controllers work best in my experience, although i have used ps3 as well. You can check a thrift shop or buy these sweet controllers although i have not personally tested them

SD Card: http://www.ebay.com/itm/122666926962

CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Kit with Clear Case and 2.5A Power Supply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C6EQNNK/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apap_Ho9w8DaJ48wXk Use the heat sinks it comes with. Mine got a little warm yesterday but I was using it for a few hours, nothing crazy though. I don't think you will need a fan, the case has an open rim around the top.

Classic USB Gamepad https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWD8QQJ/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apap_c5kHfMyYKj5hu

AmazonBasics USB 2.0 Extension Cable - A-Male to A-Female - 6.5 Feet (2 Meters) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NH136GE/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apap_rspym691O9zjf The controller cord is pretty long but I bought this because my couch and TV are really far apart, you probably won't need it.

You will need a keyboard to set up the controller for the first time, I borrowed my boyfriend's but I ordered this: Tripsky T9 2.4GHz Backlit Wireless Mini Keyboard, Handheld Remote with Touchpad Mouse for Android TV Box, Windows PC, HTPC, IPTV, Raspberry Pi, XBOX 360, PS3, PS4(Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XTF17JT/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_qLBPzbH96P1AG It is supposed to work with Pi but I'll have to get back to you when it gets here tomorrow.

I already had an HDMI cable but it's an Amazon Basics cable.

I was super pissed about not being able to get the SNES last week but this came out to around the same price for tons more games, plus Kodi. I don't think I'd be able to build it myself, so the card was awesome.

Power off by hitting quit on the main menu, then shut down. Wait until it's off (disconnected from TV screen) and unplug the power cord. Some people add buttons but this works just fine.

(When you load a game it says press any button to configure before it comes up, DO NOT PRRSS ANYTHING. It will do it on its own and start, you don't have to do any of that. I messed up and pressed it and didn't know how to get out.)

I'm in the states as well, and Amazon is the place to go for me. They've got everything.

For cases, I really like C4 Labs' cases, especially the black-and-clear Zebra line.

For a power supply, you're probably going to want one that is 5V/2.1A -- any less and you might run into power issues, so it's better to be on the safe side. Some of my Pis (like my Pi Zeros) run well simply connected to a USB port on my computer, other Pis (like my Pi 2) do not. This is most likely due to those particular USB ports only putting out ~1 amp or so.

You'll also want an HDMI cable probably, and for this, I would recommend going away from Amazon and trying out monoprice.com -- they've got good, cheap cables galore, though you can probably also find a decently-priced HDMI cable on Amazon as well.

I use the Logitech K400 keyboard for my Pis and it works well, too. Good battery life. Some keys are laid out a little weird, so I find myself hitting "Backspace" when I want to type a backslash a lot of times -- it takes a bit of getting used to, but it's small enough to work on and doubles as a good media center remote as well.

For a camera, you're going to be limited to the "official" Raspberry Pi camera, but USB cameras work well with some programs too.

It all depends on what your looking to do. If you just want to set up something like a media center, computer, or retro game station, all you need is a pi, a case, and some sort of input like a controller or Bluetooth keyboard. If this is your goal, then I'd buy separately. If you want to get into the fun stuff like home automation or wiring up all sorts of cool stuff, then I recommend spending an extra $30 and get a kit like https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01C6Q4GLE/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1482887908&sr=8-11&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=raspberry+pi
Hope this helps!

I've ordered about 50 of these

http://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Quick-Start/dp/B00L87YMGM/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1415820344&sr=1-4&keywords=raspberry+pi

From Canakit. They have everything I need to deploy a project. The price is very good, quality is great. Comes in a single box which is great for storage. yes you could save a few bucks searching around, but their support, ease, and not having to go searching a dozen options is worth a few extra bucks

My strong recommendation would be to buy a cheap Chinese Arduino starter kit. Get one that includes some interesting sensors (ultrasonic range finder etc), as well as a stepper motor, DC motor and servo. The ones from Elegoo are quite good. The tutorials typically assumes very little initial knowledge, include example code, and will talk you through connecting and controlling all the parts in the kit. Once you have gone through the tutorial, you will pretty much understand all the basic principles, and can then figure out how to connect to almost any sensor, or control most motors / actuators.

This one looks ideal. https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=arduino+starter+kit&qid=1566681139&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Im also very knew to arduino. The kit i got was an Elegoo Kit off of amazon. I dont know if its available in the UK but its got a lot of modules. I highly recommend it, very easy to use and beginner friendly. If that is too expensive theres some cheaper ones by elegoo. Highly recommend this kit.

I can't vouch for anything, but I just ordered this kit. Not sure if it's available to you, but has pretty good reviews, seems like a really good deal. Excited to get started on whatever the fuck this stuff is. Looks like it's having a lightning special offer right now too. Damn.

Yes I know, sorry the video is vertical. And I know there's a lot cooler ones out there but I sunk a lot of time into this so I thought I'd share. If anyone is interested I've got a fritzing diagram of the wiring for everything. I used an Arduino Mega, and pretty much everything else used came in this kit. The color sensor I used was here. Pretty much everything else to actually build the mechanical portion was found in one of my groupmate's garage.

A quick Amazon search: Sunfounder Project Super Starter Kit; looks like SunFounder has a few kits like this. I haven't bought from SunFounder, so can't vouch for them, but this looks like it might fit your needs.

That said, I would recommend not buying a kit, but rather picking up a few component selections (resistors, capacitors, etc), and then ordering a bunch of stuff from Tayda or similar. You will typically end up with a better selection for cheaper, and you can pick and choose based on what you want to do.

Basically, the stuff you need is not a big list; the stuff that you might want for a specific project is darn hard to predict.

edit: also, SainSmart has a couple kits on Amazon that look reasonable and don't include an Arduino.

>ZipaMicro, a popular smart home hub developed by Croatian firm Zipato

Popular? Has anyone ever heard of them? For reference: they say they are used in 20K households in 89 countries (that is about 225 households per country). Good luck finding someone using this device even on a forum to ask for help or able to professionally set it up or service it.

When I search on Amazon I see a bunch of over-priced low-power controllers, IP cams and etc. in cheap-looking cases. Literally you can get a Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 with a decent case (or a kit) for a fraction of the price. What's the point of buying this over a Raspberry Pi?

So far, so good. I recommend the CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit - 32GB Edition for $69.99 with free Prime shipping from Amazon. It's the latest model and includes all the important parts. Just add keyboard, mouse and monitor.
 
When setting things up, I found these links to be useful:
 
PIVX-related
How to update your PIVX linux wallet to the new version using the command line
How to: Staking with the command-line wallet
 
Raspberry Pi and Linux-related
How to give your Raspberry Pi a Static IP Address - UPDATE
How to clear bash history completely?
Also, you should Google how to setup a headless Raspberry Pi which involves turning on SSH and/or VNC
 
Good luck!

$200+ is a whole lot to pay for nostalgia, unless you are playing the collectibles market... If you are just looking to game and have some fun, dude just get a set of usb SNES pads (or whatever) and a raspberry pi 3 / zero W and dump retropi rom on a card.

here is a cute case, controllers and a pi for price point Ref.

https://www.amazon.ca/case-Raspberry-Old-Skool-Tools/dp/B01M4OOY4U

https://www.amazon.ca/Raspberry-Pi-RASPBERRYPI3-MODB-1GB-Model-Board/dp/B01CD5VC92

https://www.amazon.ca/iNNEXT-Nintendo-Controller-Raspberry-Windows/dp/B01NCX7VZT

or a generic case and pi zero should do fine with snes/ nes emulation

https://www.amazon.ca/CanaKit-Raspberry-Wireless-Official-Supply/dp/B071DVLBC1

loads of fun, very capable lil computer, lots to play around with on it too there are lots of video guides on setting up retropi and a network share to dump roms on it over the network, EZ

In the classes that I took we did very simple logic circuits that would take inputs with switches and perform simple actions like add the numbers represented by the switch and display the answer using led lights, or count how many times you pressed a button, or... stuff like that (it's been 25 years, I don't remember exactly what the projects were). We used these big wooden boxes that basically had a power supply and bread board and assembled the projects, or would "wire-wrap" them on a board to make them a little more permanent.

If this interests you, there are cheap and easy kits available that are much more advanced and interesting now. I bought one for my teenage son and we had a lot of fun building little projects:

Something like this (quick search, not a recommendation per se):

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-Complete-Ultimate-TUTORIAL-Mega2560/dp/B01EWNUUUA

Comes with motors, servos, etc. No low level logic chips (you probably don't want to play around at that level anyhow, of 1 AND 1 = 1, 1 XOR 1 = 0, 1 OR 1 = 1), but still really fun and you can do much more interesting stuff very quickly with the programmable Arduino.

The Raspberry Pi by itself is just a board. Like a PC, you need other stuff to make it work -- at the very least, a power supply and an SD card on which to install the OS. A kit like this gives you the power supply and a case, or you can go bigger and get a kit that includes power, case, wifi, hdmi cable, and a preloaded SD card. For htpc purposes, you don't need a kit like this, which includes a bunch of components that you aren't going to use (LEDs, breadboard, breakout cables, wires, etc -- stuff that you'd use if you were going to use the pi to build projects, but is unnecessary for a media player).

Don't bother with any heatsinks or fans. The RPi doesn't need them even for overclocking. Case quality can vary, but even the cheap cases are generally decent. You'll want at least a 2A power supply, especially if you intend to plug in external HDDs that don't have their own power source. And if you don't go with a kit that includes an SD card, make sure you buy a good quality card instead. That's your only storage on the device, so you want it to be as reliable as possible. Which means no bargain basement, "10 for a dollar" cheap SD cards. Go with name brands like Samsung.

And finally, /r/raspberry_pi. They're big on the Zero right now, but I'd suggest you go with a 2 B instead (quad core and more RAM makes it worth the extra cost).

More Info on my train of thought.

I believe that this is the GitHub repository. My ideal concept would be to run HypriotOS on a Raspberry PI on a shelf at home with Docker running your web container. With a LetsEncrypt TLS certificate set to renew every 2 months.

Welcome to a TNO email model. You can now encrypt your emails to anyone on any vanilla SMTP server and you don't need to install apps anywhere and you can trust your own webserver as much as you can trust your ability to host a secure Raspberry PI.

Side note:

If you think that hiding your email from Google is going to stop them from seeing the bits and bytes eventually you're kidding yourself. So if you can't beat em use em!

My concerns:

• I don't know what kind of code audits have been performed on this.
  
• You want to know every bit of background goes into your Docker containers. This step may be unnecessary for most people. Although it provides a certain degree of protection using docker.
  
• This does not provide you with an SMTP/POP/IMAP server its only a web client which can piggyback normal email servers.
  
  Edit: readability and clarity

That depends on how early you want to start. There are a lot of different components at play here, but each one is using the bare minimum of each.

Personally, I would start simple with building a base Home Assistant server.

• Raspberry Pi Starter Kit $70
  
• 32gb Micro SD card $8
  
• Micro SD Card/USB Reader $8
  
  Once you have your equipment, install Hass.IO using the Raspberry Pi 3 instructions.
  
  Home Assistant does a great job of walking you through the steps. It is really easy, especially if starting with a fresh install.
  
  From here, you now have Home Assistant running and you can play around with installing all of the various components. I highly recommend taking some time to learn the basic mechanics of adding equipment.
  
  From there, I have done a ton of trial and error in JavaScript and HTML using W3Schools. My suggestion: come up with what you want to do, start small, and build from it.
  
  In my case, I wanted two separate websites on one screen. DAKBoard on the top, and my Home Assistant front end on the bottom. This told me iframe, so I started here, which allowed me to do live trial and error. Eventually, I built myself up to using Repl.it for trial and error, but that's jumping ahead.
  
  Once I got my iframes working out, I actually used Dakboard's instruction on how to build a wall display that automatically boots into a webpage.
  
  The final step is to put your new webpage on Home Assistant's built in web server. Simply create a folder "www" under your "config" folder, add your new html page there, and direct your new wall panel to it's address.
  
  tl;dr - start small, come up with a goal, and build up to it in pieces trying different things along the way.

1. Terminating cables, more practical than making cables
   
2. Degaussing HDD if you have access to one, for the bang feature
   
3. Arduino projects - kits on Amazon like this one arduino kit
   
4. Legos, quiet toys in case a server dies and you get stuck they have something to keep busy with
   
5. Leave early!
   The best advice I can give is to leave at lunch and run them back to school, then they can brag to their friends about how great it was, AND your coworkers will thank you

Really all you need is the Raspberry Pi 3B and the recommended power supply. That all comes in a kit for $42: https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Micro-Supply-Listed/dp/B01C6FFNY4/

The official case is very nice, and just snaps together. It's eight dollars: https://www.amazon.com/Official-Raspberry-Pi-Case-Black/dp/B01F1PSFY6/

The last thing you need is a Micro SD card. I use a lot of Pis at work, and have had the best luck with the Samsung cards. I use these as they're reliable and give you a lot of storage for not a lot of money: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Class-Adapter-MB-MP32DA-AM/dp/B00IVPU786

If you want to get some for him that might spark a little hobby interest, they also sell a camera for the Pi: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY05LOE. There are all sorts of libraries for writing software to use the camera, and if you do get the camera for him have him look up "OpenCV" to get started with programming for it.

Hope I'm not stepping on Agiss' toes here.

The rpi b+ takes a microsd. The model b and lower takes a regular sd card. An ethernet cable will work in place of a wifi dongle, but the dongle does make things a bit more movable. (cordless. Also they are pretty inexpensive.)

GPIO stands for general purpose input output. These pins allow your raspberry pi to interact with things like LEDs and other external electronics.

I'm not sure if your phones power supply is ok, but the recommended power supply for an rpi is a 5v DC microusb cable.

More information on the rpi's hardware can be found on the wiki here

If you aren't keen on searching around for exactly what you need, canakit has a couple of starter kits that include basically everything you need. (Just as a note, if you do go with the canakit route, make sure you have a microsd slot or adapter for your computer, since some of them come with just a microsd card.)

Edit: here is the kit I have, which came with everything but a microsd->sd adapter (it also came with supplies for getting started using the GPIO pins.)

Zwave operates at 900mhz in the us...the one i posted will hook to your wifi for control..... control is an app on my android pjone/tablet..... you can get cheaper hubs in it $50 range when i got mine, but they are not internet connected or app controlled...... a hub is required to do zwave..... but not all sensors connect to all hubs.....

Saw this today....with it, a RPi, and a smoke detector that has a digital output you could do the same... or use a cheap pair of temp sensors... one for ambient temp, the other above the printer... have it read both every second and if the top one rises super high and super fast assume a fire.. might be able to wire directly from detector to control circuit.....

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WV7GMA2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3D4241373L385&psc=1

I also use these.. turns off the water in case of a leak...or tells me i left the garage open....working on a circuit to let me remote close it and 'accidentally' lock the wife out...j/k

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXR0B8Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JGMZNNG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JGMZNNG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I originally started with one raspberry pi zero, but it quickly ballooned to numerous pi zeros and pi 3s.

When you get bit by the raspberry pi bug, you'll start finding all sorts of fun things to use it on. I was working on a wifi bell and camera system, and that took 2 pi zeros and 1 pi 3. I digress.

I'd probably get one pi 3 as a main, for breadboarding, experimenting, and if a project needs a pi running 24x7, evaluate if it can be suitably replaced by a zero.

If you like to program and tinker, you'll probably want to get an arduino electronics kit for parts and a cobbler to hook the raspberry pi to a breadboard.

Also, eBay is your friend for all the cheap components. Be prepared to wait a little over a month for them though.

Look at /r/retropie - it's more focused on these projects.

At minimum, you'll want: a [Raspberry Pi 3 ($35)](
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CD5VC92/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Sb.pzbAZKNASG), a case ($7-$20), a power supply ($10), an HDMI cable ($7), one or two controllers ($15-$30 each), and a micro SD card ($22 for a Class 10 64 GB). There are a lot of threads about which controllers are best - I'm a fan of the wireless 8bitdo SNES30 / SFC30 (usually cheaper on eBay).

You don't need any programming experience to set it up, though you may need to edit some configuration files to set certain things up properly. I've built 2 of these to date - they play anything up to and including PlayStation 1 consistently well. N64 is very hit and miss, though Mario Kart 64 and Kirby 64 work well.

You could save money, and buy more, if you didn't go with the CanaKit and built your own. Using a mix of ebay and amazon you can get a complete RPI3 Kit for <$60

[Cana Kit]

Raspberry Pi 3

32gb Micro SD (Class 10)

CanaKit 2.5A Power Supply

Case

MicroSD To USB Reader

HDMI Cable

Heat Sinks

Total: $74.99



[Self Built kit]

Raspberry Pi 3 $37.85

32gb Micro SD (UHC 1) $9.99

Power Supply $5.59

HDMI Cable $0.99

Cheap Case $3.79

CanaKit Case $7.99

MicroSD To USB Reader $0.99

Heat Sinks $0.23

Total (Cheap case): $59.43

Total (CanaKit Case): $63.63



Your Camera from Amazon: $19.99

Same camera on Ebay: $9.99

(Before anyone says anything about some off brand power supply, that you need one of those high quality power supplys yada yada, I have that exact power supply and it works great. I'm pretty sure they all use the exact same ac-dc converter, just different housing and cable design. Currently doing some more tests on my pi3 overclocked to 1.35ghz and stress testing it to see the temps. Just finished another test, 22x22mm heat sink + 10mm fan + arctic silver and the avg temp over 5mins was 41C and I never got the undervolt warning)

This is one of the better kits out there. If you don't want to be spending this much money, I recommend purchasing an older version of the Pi. While you're getting your starter kit, I highly recommend purchasing a few books on programming if you don't already know how. Best of luck with your future tinkering!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01C6Q2GSY/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1494265704&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=raspberry+pi+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=61LxoDAa3PL&ref=plSrch

I don't know what Pi kit you're getting, but make sure that the charger is giving it the proper juice. You may also want a powered USB hub for peripherals such as a mouse, keyboard, etc. A small WiFi adapter and camera module can also come in handy.

I really like my Leatherman Squirt. It fits on the keychain that I carry every day. I also want to add this small flashlight. If you're into DIY, you might find Instamorph useful.

Unfortunately I have put everything back together and didn't take a pic of the mausberry or Iot relay, but those two don't connect to each other.

The mausberry circuit plugs into the micro-usb power input area of your pi and then you plug the pi power into that mausberry circuit. You then solder wires to that circuit from the Arcade1Up power switch (I soldered longer wire between the two). Mausberry provides a command to run that'll do the rest of the magic for the mausberry circuit.

The Iot relay has a little green thing that you pull out and it has spots for a positive and ground wire. You simply attach those to any power and ground pins on the pi's gpio headers. I found these jumper wires super helpful. Now when you power on your pi, the gpio power/ground will let the Iot relay know it's on and then it'll turn on the other two outlets.

Ok....the $45 throws me a bit. My first thought was annova immersion circulator. It's $99-150 and works with the iPhone/android. It keeps water at exactly the temp you want to cook the food to. Think of it like a super exact crock pot.anova

Another option is a raspberry pi. [raspberry pi 3 kit](CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Kit with Clear Case ahttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C6EQNNK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Ovdryb4F5Q4ZB)

The kit is $50 but you can get a standalone for $35. Mini computer great for DIY or tech ideas. I'm getting one to make a retro gaming console like the Nintendo classic.

The main components are the LEDS, the controller, and a 5V power supply (usually drone batteries+converter).
Setting up the LEDS: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide/overview
The controller: https://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy32.html https://www.amazon.com/Teensy-3-2-with-pins/dp/B015QUPO5Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499135540&sr=8-2&keywords=teensy+3.2
Arduino (the Arduino IDE programs the teensy): https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/HomePage
Teensyduino to make the arduino IDE work with teensy: https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/teensyduino.html
FASTLed: http://fastled.io/

I would get one strip of LEDS (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_3?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ws2812b&sprefix=ws2%2Caps%2C379&crid=365H5OUOTHHLJ) and a controller and play around with it. There's pre-built examples that are pretty plug-and-play without modding any code that you can mess around with and learn. Pretty flexible what you can do with them. You'll also need a soldering iron and general electrical wire too (https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-120pcs-Multicolored-Breadboard-arduino/dp/B01EV70C78/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1499135864&sr=8-4&keywords=ribbon+cable). They are pretty sweet though.

Thank you for your reply. Based on what you've said, I think I will go with this 32GB Canakit here. I would like to see how well the Gamecube emulation works.

You seem to be experienced, so I hope you don't mind me asking a couple other questions real quick:

1. How would I turn the Rasp Pi on and off if I am building an arcade cabinet enclosure to put it in? I know it can be powered off by accessing the menu with the controller - can it also be turned on with the controller?
   
   
   
2. Does a sudden power failure have any detrimental impact on the device? (ex. if it was randomly unplugged prior to being shut down properly)
   
   
   
3. What direction would you look for screens that I can plug into the Pi? I am looking for between 22-32 inches. Would the best bet to be buying a cheap TV of the right size that takes HDMI?
   
   
   
   Thanks for all your help!

Its going good. I have 2 setups now and we have a #siaberry channel in Sia Discord. Also heres a parts list if your interested in getting one.

http://amzn.to/2g8nc0R -32GB USB
http://amzn.to/2wr6JLu - RPI Kit
http://amzn.to/2xvPvJU - 32GB MicroSD
http://amzn.to/2w0K5IU - 8TB Hard Drive
I have been working on Siaberry a lot and it has been going pretty good.
If you are interested in Hosting on the Siacoin network this is a real good entry point.
I just launched another Siaberry a few days ago and its been running with 100% uptime. Here you can check and see if its running right here https://siahub.info/host/5675

From the PS4 I think he wanted one of the newer Kingdom Hearts games. This or this. Also you just look up Arduino or rasperry pi kits and there's usually some game kind of deal.
Also here's some PS4 stuff. 1 or 2. If you do two check the sellers for best ratings and stuff. But 1 seems the way to go because of the game. Also if you do just end up getting him a PS4 no game get the kid kingdom hearts remaster (not the 2.8).
But if you go aruino go with this and this and this. Those three are cheaper than the PS4 and he'll learn more.
Also all this is from the perspective of a guy who's had to buy his own games and stuff.

interesting idea, taking someones 3d model, printing it, and installing a free OS on it and charging so much for it.
i think people tend to just go for something like this
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M4OOY4U


Edit: sorry man rage, just noticed you post these all the time and get comments like this all the time. I notice you just copied the case, not customised the original. And you are actually charging for the time it takes you to 3D print and put it all together.

Either way, if people are buying them, great but just seems like there are other better solutions out there

Yes, I'm using a sort of knock-off Arduino Uno. Wikipedia says the ATmega238 (the MCU on the board) can operate at 20 MHz, which I think should be plenty.

I found an interesting fact when playing around with the code. At first I had the code run every 3 - 5 milliseconds. I Then took that constraint away to have it run every loop and it didn't change a whole bunch. I then had a line print to the serial monitor cause I was timing how fast the loop was, and it seemed that the serial printing added just enough delay to make the oscillation very very close to being stable. The oscillation was there but it didn't grow to be unstable, it was just constant. So, somehow adjusting how fast the MCU is computing the input based on the state helps with the oscillations. That leads me to believe I'm definitely having a noise issue in how I'm calculating the derivates. I think the Kalman filter suggested above will be a good thing to implement and hopefully settle that oscillation

This is the type of stuff that Raspberry Pi was invented for. It's a low cost, small (credit card sized) PC that runs a distribution of Linux. Something like that is perfect if you're learning Java and don't already have a PC.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/

You can get a starter kit with the Pi, case, SD card, and power supply for like $70 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q2GSY/

Only other thing you'd need is monitor, mouse & keyboard. I have a few of these, they're pretty good, and would be more than enough for learning on.

Does anyone have thoughts about the best way to generate keys in Windows IoT or Linux on a Raspberry Pi?

I ask because it's possible to build a brand new dedicated off-line touchscreen computer + HP printer to create cold storage wallets for less than the cost of a Ledger Nano S. I own a LNS and it's great. I am just using it as a reference because it's become something of a standard and many people ask about even more secure alternatives.

$30 - [computer] (https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Model-512MB-Computer/dp/B00LPESRUK)

$22 - touchscreen

$30 - printer
____

$82. (vs. $85 LNS)

Even better, AdaFruit has a $10 Raspberry Pi with no networking capabilities - ideal for an air-gapped system. Using your own monitor and keyboard puts the price at $40, including the printer of course.

Once you have a print out of your keys from an air-gapped system, you can transfer them to other materials for very minimal cost. Photoresist film + acid or sand can be used to etch keys and qr codes into metal tags for long term storage. It's not difficult. More like a craft project. The result is relatively fireproof, waterproof, shock proof, etc. Private keys can be covered with tamperproof seals.

This is all pretty well known but hopefully it helps a few people. If anyone has any thoughts on software, it would complete the package. I have everything ready to test but I don't want to waste time solving the wrong problems with the wrong application.

Along the same lines as nudemonkey's suggestion, you could get a cheaper one such as:

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-Project-Tutorial-Prototype-Expansion/dp/B01D8KOZF4/

Or even https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DGD2GAO

Then buy whatever sensor kit you're most interested in https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dcomputers&field-keywords=Sensor+module+kit

I wouldn't expect much tech support from the discount vendors on Amazon or eBay though so if you think you might vendor help then Sparkfun may be a better choice.

In any case the main suggestion I'd have is get yourself enough stuff to keep yourself occupied and then start ordering individual stuff from China using aliexpress with free (slow) shipping. That way you'll get a little "present" from China every few days.

Don't expect any help from the seller with anything ordered that way though.... You're pretty much stuck with just searching part numbers and reading data sheets, but someone has probably posted code for just about everything on a blog somewhere at this point.

Getting a resistor, capacitor, transistor, diode, led assortment pack is highly recommended. They can be extremely inexpensive if ordered from China. I also recommend ordering some extra breadboards and jumper wires.

It sounds like he'll have no problem grasping any of the steps needed to get it working, and this sort of thing is right up his alley. As far as emulating, yes that is one of the more common uses for it too, though it can't emulate more modern high end systems like PS3/4, Xbox, etc. It can really only handle systems from the 90s like the NES, SNES, I think maybe the PS1 and N64 but don't assume I'm right on that one. The procedure for those is identical. Downloading the operating system from the internet, in this case find a site that has say, a Raspberry Pi NES operating system file, flash it to a microSD card using that program I recommended, put the microSD in the Pi and turn it on. There are also a lot of cool little Pi cases that are made to look like old school console boxes. like this NES case

I wouldn't actually recommend that purchase, go for something like this instead, you want to be making sure you're getting the latest raspberry pi too, here is a kit that looks like a better fit (just make sure the plug matches your country's). https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Premium-Clear-Supply/dp/B07BC7BMHY/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1542830469&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=raspberry+pi&psc=1

My favorite kit is this one:

CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Kit with Clear Case and 2.5A Power Supply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C6EQNNK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_He7LFsgm1pGXE

$50 for a $35 Pi3, an $8 case, a $10 PSU, plus some cheap aluminum Heatsinks.

This provides you with the bare minimum hardware, a good PSU, and a nice tool-free case, for cheaper than you could buy the individual components.

Add a good SD card (SanDisk or Samsung SDXC Class 10) and an HDMI cable, and you're in business.

Just the latest Pi 3 model B

> http://www.ekt2.com/products/productdetails/412_RASPBERRY_Pi_3

Kit that doesn't include MicoSdcard or HDMI

> http://www.ekt2.com/products/productdetails/412_RASPBERRY_Pi_3_KIT

Amazon CanaKit that I ordered from abroad using Aramex, that includes everything you may possibly need

> https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q2GSY

Total price after import was $105 which is a bargain compared to local alternatives, but this is if you're interested in gaming on the Pi

Good Luck

It's pretty easy to build a Raspberry Pi for retro gaming. I have built 3 of them recently: 1 for myself, and 2 for family members.

First thing you'll need is the Raspberry Pi itself. You can get it for as cheap as $35, but that's just the system board. No power cord, SD card, or even a case. So I recommend getting this kit for $70.

https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q2GSY

It comes with everything you'll need: the system board, a case, 32 GB SDcard, HDMI cable, etc. This is the latest model, the Raspberry Pi 3. It has 4 USB ports for controllers, wifi, ethernet, even bluetooth. You'll also need controllers. The Raspberry Pi works best with Xbox and Playstation controllers. You'll have to use USB controllers, but I've read that the new Xbox One S controllers work with Bluetooth. Hell, you can even use your phone! If the Raspberry Pi is connected to your Wifi, just open up Chrome, enter the IP address, and BAM! Touch screen controller.

Next, you'll need RetroPie. This is a pre-made image for the Raspberry Pi. It has all the emulators and GUI you'll need. All you do is supply the ROMs. You can download the latest RetroPie build from here.

https://retropie.org.uk/

Next is the ROMs. I downloaded all the ROMs from EmuParadise.

https://www.emuparadise.me/

This part will take some time since you need to download the game individually, but you can find any game you are looking for. Even rare prototype versions of unreleased games for any system you can think of.

Finally, here's a good tutorial for putting it all together. Hope this helps!

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-turn-your-raspberry-pi-into-a-retro-game-console-498561192

That is not bad, the numbers I was running had it up to three hundred dollars, which is my ceiling for this project.
I did find a nice pack from canakit after hearing the suggestion from the other user.
https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Micro-Supply-Listed/dp/B01C6FFNY4#customerReviews
Pi 3 B+ with power supply and two poorly adhesive heat syncs for forty-three dollars. Your estimate of the pack was pretty good.
Thanks a bunch! If I do not blow out my router with this project I might get around to letting you know how I did.

Raspberry Pi is super simple to set up, plus you can get a nifty case to make it look like an NES or a SNES, and there are even USB Adapters that let you use your original controllers (or pick some up on ebay). 10/10 would absolutely recommend as long as Nintendo refuses to make enough stock to meet demand.

I just built one from parts, do not be intimidated by what "could" go wrong. RetroPie has an amazing community (the Official Forum is a great place to get help and ideas from as well) behind it and a lot documentation. Both of which I did not need to tap. If you can follow the instructions to image the SD card, you should be just fine.

I bought:

• Samsung Evo Select 64GB
  
• Buffalo Classic USB Gamepad
  
• CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 with 2.5A Micro USB Power Supply
  
• Flirc Raspberry Pi Case Gen2
  
  for ~$80 and it was well worth it. The only things missing from this order is a HDMI cable and SD Card Reader (I have both already).

Most of the time the processor just needs to be capable of rendering .H264 codec (.mkvs and shit) so most things can do that, you're just using the Pi as a media renderer. I have streamed 1080p content in my house through the RPi, it handles it very well.

I only have Netflix on the PS4 now, and I rarely use it. I found this guide and it mentions Netflix/Hulu etc, so I'd give this a read. The latest RPi is pretty beast, you can get HATs for them that add extra things now as well (like higher audio DAC HATs, LEDs, breakout cables for the pins, built in IR receiver).

EDIT : They are actually very cheap and super versatile, I'd say if you've got £30 to spare then get the latest one and have a mess around with it. You can't really lose much, if you've already got an SD card knocking around and a USB keyboard/mouse, then you're there.

These Arduino kits on Amazon are a pretty great value

Elegoo UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial, 5V Relay, UNO R3, Power Supply Module, Servo Motor, 9V Battery with DC, Prototype Expansion Board, ect. for Arduino https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_CbCCyb4YGFY9H

There are hundreds of tutorials on the web for how to get started with the basics, but sparkfun and adafruit are really good places to look

You should be able to do that fairly easily off an Rpi, this Rpi2 model B most likely can perform on par or better than your P4 assuming everything you use is ported to ARM.

Rpi A+ might fit your budget a bit better, though it may not be able to do as much at once, you may need a large SD card or USB drive with some swap space.

This PCduino is probably the cheapest you'd want to go.

Double check your current normal use against what each of these boards offer so you don't end up spending money on something cool that isn't capable of doing what you need it to.

It's an all in one, miniature computer, can do a lot of things, but it's most popular application is a piece of software called "RetroPie" that's basically an emulator for any game system you want up to about the gamecube era.

This kit would give you everything you need, it does take probably an evening of installing and setting up ROMs in retropie, but the value FAR exceeds your NES Classic, I have 8000 NES Games on mine, lol

https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q2GSY/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1486935191&sr=1-2&keywords=raspberry+pi

Cool. I think I used these steps.

Most people don't run it on a Windows machine so sometimes I'd have to wrestle with platform-specific problems where the community would sort of say "eh, probably a Windows thing, sorry mate". Sometimes that was a dead end and other times it meant I had to burn a few more hours solving it myself.

I've never run into that since moving to raspberry pi. That said, my main motivator was to get it off my main PC. Since I'm cheap, if I had a spare laptop laying around I probably would be using that still. It worked well enough.

Anyway, enjoy the rabbit hole. Great community.

Edit: I might add your kit seems overkill. I got mine for close to 50 USD and it didn't come with all those other hardware doodads. Maybe that other stuff will be fun and useful eventually though. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01D92SSX6/ Actually I had to spend another $13 on a 32 GB SD card so more like 65 USD total.

Not a fan of the vitrolos case from Amazon. Bought one myself and it had no ventilation. Only box I've ever gotten a high temp indicator.

I'd recommend the canakit stuff off Amazon. If you want it all in one they have a kit that isn't too bad of a value, perhaps a the SD card is a little bit overpriced. But for friends that want to have me make something for them (like a retropie setup or whatever) I just point them to this as it's easier:

CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit - 32 GB Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C6Q2GSY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qEWfzbMVV9W7S

Otherwise you can pick a board, power supply, case, and heatsinks if you want, and if you have an hdmi cable and extra SD card you can get out a little cheaper.

Get something like this or this, it should arrive pretty fast and give you a good idea of what you can do with arduino. Once you have the basics down you can order more specific parts and go from there. This is better than buying components in that it all comes together as one and you won't be missing any parts right off the start in order to get led's blinking etc..

Happy to answer that.

Bought one of these off amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00LPESRUK

As well as a memory card to install the operating system (this one was perfect because it's a 2 in 1)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00200K1TS

The OS I used is raspbian and can be dled for free.
I hooked up the pi to my tv via hdmi cable and used a wireless usb keyboard and mouse for it.
Downloaded the offline files from bitaddress.org and transfered them to the raspberry pi via usb drive.
I could then open the site on my tv screen and generate a private and public key which has never touched the Internet. Wrote them down in a notebook and that's basically the only place the private key exists. I could then send Bitcoin to the public address and the network recognizes and records this. It's pretty wild that the network knows a public key is real even though it's never been online. I guess that's the magic of cryptography. The only way I could use the funds is if I load up the private key into an online wallet but then it will no longer be completely secure.
Here's a pic I took while setting it up feeling like Neo: http://i.imgur.com/zkYuWOa.jpg

Snarky answer:

Yes. Namely, https://www.google.com/chrome, https://www.getfirefox.com, or do Google searches for Opera, Brave, Chromium (Chrome minus the Google tracking crap) or Waterfox. Optionally (to keep keychain management going and even allow export outside of macOS) https://keepass.info or https://macpassapp.org and and follow these tweaks to these instructions. For an even briefer switch, go to the Apple App Store, grab your choice of Chrome or Firefox, optionally grab MacPass if it's on the Apple Store, and follow the instructions on how to import your keychain. Then install uBlock Origin (and optionally Nano Defender), install a browser extension (like MacPassHTTP) that works with MacPass, and there you go (even if it isn't QUITE as pretty as Safari, sorry, I can't help with that, functional ain't always pretty, let this be a life lesson).

If you insist on sticking with an insecure, unsecurable browser because of Pretty, go to Amazon and get a basic Raspberry Pi 3 starter kit, go to https://pi-hole.net/, and set up a nice portable firewall for your Macs. And never, ever connect to the Internet unless it's through that PiHole. No, not even at Starbucks.

Not at all snarky, but more in depth answer pointing out WHY this issue exists and why pretty much the ONLY fix is switching browsers (tl;dr: It's Apple's fault):

Apple, after about fifteen years of actually trying to embrace the fact that macOS (and Safari) were based on open source/free software with a lot of proprietary hints and kinks for Pretty and User-Friendliness, has decided to go back to the bad old days of going Full Walled Garden (largely in the name of integrating macOS and iOS code and business models--especially the latter--iOS has always been quite a bit of a Walled Garden, and a Profitable Walled Garden, and Apple very, very much wants to do the same with its flagship NetBSD derivative, and as of late Apple has been working very, very hard in turning what was formerly a nice serviceable PPC-then-Intel-containing, NetBSD-derivative-running, series of Good Boxen into an A-whatever-based glorified iPad Pro with delusions of grandeur).

In the case of Safari (at this point, the sole remaining Webkit-based browser that is not for a smartphone) this actually goes to multiple levels that, for all intents and purposes, actually now make it literally impossible for anyone but Apple to actually develop a secure adblocker:

a) Starting officially with macOS Catalina, and apparently unofficially with latest releases of Mojave, Safari is completely doing away with its old format of extensions. Normally this would not be a huge problem (Firefox pretty much did the same thing with Firefox 57, which is why Waterfox exists) except for the following things:

b) Pretty much all new extensions can't be installed externally--you have to get them from the Apple App Store, and there is apparently a Charge to do so. This explicitly includes all extensions with adblocking or script-blocking capabilities.

c) Unlike in the past, extensions for Safari have to be written in Swift (Apple's own proprietary Objective C fork that is heavily, heavily optimized towards iOS nowadays) for certain types of functionality--and the way Apple has redone extensions means that the new way of doing "extensions that block content" actually doesn't block all of it, because (among other things) the tools to even do the blocking no longer exist for third-party developers to use. The actual import of blocklists would require at least a second extension (more on this below) and blocking of hostile scripting may be all but impossible in the new model (because apparently actual content blocking by lists is ONLY done by Safari, and Safari adblockers in a post-Safari-12 world have to pretty much compile a list of Bad Things To Block and then send that on to Safari's internal content blocker in JSON).

d) Apparently Apple also has a completely undocumented 50,000 entry limit per blocklist, which means that multiple blocklists have to be imported, and even Adguard has had to resort to some very kludgy methods to get around this (from multiple "daughter extensions" to injected scripts that will work until Apple closes that hole).

Suffice it to say that in a post-Safari-12 world uBlock Origin would require so much recoding (for actually less functionality) that it wouldn't be uBlock Origin anymore, and that's why uBlock Origin has effectively been an abandonware extension since April 2018.

In my opinion (as a network engineer, as a security engineer) the only things that a browser that cannot have proper adblock functionality should ever be used for are to download browsers that can be properly secured and for OS-specific stuff that ONLY allows connections with the default browser shipped with a device. (Make no mistake: surfing "naked" is dangerous. I've had to clean up more than one infected computer at a workplace where (due to a site's heavy use of ActiveX) someone HAD to use IE, and managed to get infected even from ads from the likes of CNN and Bloomberg News. Hell, the advert networks of CNN and Amazon (among others) have in past been hijacked for ransomware droppers; if I can't trust ad networks to keep their sites clean, I just don't trust advert networks by default.)

In the bad old days I gave that advice for IE (as the old Rick and Morty meme goes: The purpose of life of IE is to download Chrome) and in the post-Safari-12 era that's pretty much the explicit advice I give for Safari--its purpose in life is to go to the App Store and to download one's choice of a securable browser. In this case, it means something derived from Chromium (Chrome, Opera, Brave, plain-jane Chromium, and approximately a half billion other browsers based on the Chromium code), Quantum (Firefox and Waterfox alpha 68), or Gecko (Waterfox and about half a billion other derivatives). Apple in their infinite lack of wisdom (which tends to creep up about, oh, every 20 years or so--ask any old Apple geek who remembers the 90s) has denied adblock creators the tools to actually effectively block ads and malicious scripts in Safari, so it can no longer be considered secure.

No, I wish I worked for Amazon! I just love the FireTV.

As a side note, if you are feeling like a good DIY, easy project to be able to emulate anything you want, have a look at getting a Rasberry PI and using the RetroPie image. It was made especially for emulating games and it great. Takes a little while to get configured, but for $60 dollars you can get the whole kit on Amazon, all parts included. You would just need to set it up and provide the Roms:

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-turn-your-raspberry-pi-into-a-retro-game-console-498561192

Kit: http://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Includes-Quick/dp/B00L87YMGM

Resources:
http://blog.petrockblock.com/

http://supernintendopi.wordpress.com/

Thanks for the offer! I may just take you up on it. I decided to order THIS from Amazon with a 32gb MicroSD card the other day. Still have to get ROMs and do more research, but that is this evening and tomorrow before Easter Sunday. Will probably just use my PS4 controller for the time being, but I really would like to get a classic looking NES/SNES controller for the aesthetics. I really want the kids to have the same sort of experience I had.

Basically I am just looking for the classics, and your link to Racketboy looks real useful. I have seen a few rom packs out there with basically every NES and SNES game out there, but I am always worried about authenticity. I was reading one site earlier this morning and it mentioned that some of the bigger games like Zelda were in spanish, which is a problem. Looks like there is a lot of work to get all this done, so I may have a few questions.

the best rpi hardware wise is http://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Model-Project-Board/dp/B00T2U7R7I/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449084171&sr=1-4&keywords=raspberry+pi

if you are willing to spend this much thats great. if not i wouldnt go with the one you linked either (the 512mb B+) which is only slighty cheaper but more or less outdated, instead try to get the new zero, https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/pi-zero/ for the novelty factor of being a 5$ computer

it is hard to come by currently but cheaper.
In either case the person needs a usb power adapter and a sd card to be able to use it. this is not something you necessarily have to gift as well and he/she probably already owns these things

check out /r/raspberry_pi for more information

Hello,

I have been wanting to start playing around with a raspberry Pi 3. So I was shopping around and found some kits for sale that were interesting.

I was wondering if someone with more knowledge could help. Would buying the board at this price be better than buying one of these kits from amazon with prime?

https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q2GSY/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1504673256&sr=1-3&keywords=raspberry+pi3

https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Ultimate-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q4GLE/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1504673256&sr=1-11&keywords=raspberry+pi3

https://www.amazon.com/Vilros-Raspberry-Basic-Starter-Black/dp/B01DMFQZXK/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1504673256&sr=1-9&keywords=raspberry+pi3

https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Essentials-Kit-board-Connectivity/dp/B01LWVVMUI/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1504673256&sr=1-10&keywords=raspberry+pi3


If I just bought the board now, I would need to buy:

• Power supply
  
• Micro SD card
  
• HDMI cable
  
• and a case maybe
  
  Edit: Formatting
  

>I was going to get a Pi Zero W, but then read that there's less latency if it's done over ethernet

There is less latency, but you will never notice it (milliseconds). I have four Pi-Holes on my home network, in pairs. Each pair is a 3B+ (ethernet) with a Zero W (wireless). DNS performance between the two platforms is indistinguishable.

A 3B+ is nicer to work with from an interface standpoint (the processor is just faster) and it has double the memory if you plan to block a few million domains.

>Should I buy a raspberry pi starter kit (like this?) If so, what do you recommend?

In my experience, the Amazon kits are overpriced and full of stuff you don't need. I reommend Adafruit.

Get the Pi you want, perhaps a case, a good quality power supply rated for that perticular device. Then go to Amazon and pick up a 32 GB Sandisk Ultra microSD for about $8 US.

Then follow this guide to set it up: https://www.reddit.com/r/pihole/comments/9y9e9w/simple_guide_to_setting_up_a_pi_zero_w_and/

Well the control panel he used is this but you could build your own control panel for cheaper by using one of these. If you wanted to only run MAME games then you could easily get by with a Raspberry Pi. Next you want the actual cabinet... There are a few routes you can go. You could buy a kit, you could buy some sheets of plywood and build one yourself using these plans, OR if you're lucky you could find an old broken arcade cabinet on craigslist for super cheap. Once you do all of that you'll have to get the software running on the raspberry pi. So going back on the cost... You could spend anywhere from $500 to $3000 all depending on the specifications you want.

Source: Built one myself

You can buy a credit card size pc called a raspberry pi for $35 plus SD card plus power cable. You can then install pi hole which blocks ads on your home network. So your cell phone won't see ads your pc won't see ads. Your dad's best friends roommate from college who is on your network won't see ads. Pretty fucking sweet.

edit some links
pi hole https://pi-hole.net

Raspberry pi with power and case https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01C6EQNNK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1496894828&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=raspberry+pi+3&dpPl=1&dpID=61Kje-Jv3AL&ref=plSrch

SD card https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B010Q57T02/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1496895065&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=class+10+micro+sd+card&dpPl=1&dpID=41f2SZSqv6L&ref=plSrch

Here's a decent video explaining how and why to update the firmware:

https://youtu.be/aQIg9zxuCvM

> EDIT: If you do use the Marline 1.1.9 firmware, instead of the TH3D Unified FirmWare mentioned below, make sure you make some modifications.
> I posted some of those here:
> https://www.reddit.com/r/ender5/comments/b989yk/xy_not_working_past_a_few_mm_after_marlin_119/
>
> One not mentioned very well in that thread is the auto home settings
> Those are mentioned here:
> https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/issues/12074
>
> All in all I'd suggest using UFW as I believe they sort out most of the above problems. But I haven't moved to that yet so can't speak to it too much.
>
> END EDIT

You can buy an arduino uno for pretty cheap, they are off brand mostly but have drivers scattered around the web. TH3D has a unified firmware (UFW) that I will be updating to once I get their EZABL (auto bed leveler) and they have the drivers in their download for the UFW.

Here's a link to the UFW:
https://www.th3dstudio.com/knowledgebase/th3d-unified-firmware-package/

For flashing the boot loader as a part of the firmware update you will also need dupont connectors, you can make these if you have the patience or just buy some. I bought this pack:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EV70C78

I've purchased a lot of the upgrades mentioned in this thread from TH3D. I can't speak for their quality as I haven't received them yet but they seem a decent USA shop.

One thing I highly recommend based on discussions in this thread is something you can do without the need to purchase anything and that is to de-tin the wires on the power connector. The heat passing through those connectors can melt the solder causing a fire hazard near the plastic connectors. Simply detach the power connectors all around the main board. Here's a video explaining that (also has instructions on how to flash it using their UFW I think):

https://youtu.be/T5lef0FrV_c

For any other upgrades mentioned here I've purchased mine from TH3D's Ender 5 upgrade list. I have yet to install them but from the discussions here and their videos I'm hopeful that they will be high quality:

https://www.th3dstudio.com/product-category/printer-upgrades/ender5/

It's definitely not "necessary" in the thought that "If I don't have the dongle, the pi won't work". It helps make things wireless. If you are near an ethernet port (or even have one), you can always use that too. The main things the internet helps with (on the pi), is downloading updates, downloading some files, and a few other minor things. It's like your laptop; "I can walk around with it without wifi and it's fine. If I need to download something, I just plug it in or turn wifi on".

That being said, there are two kits from Canakit that come to mind. This one is great, and pretty much has everything you need to get started.

This second one comes with more things like LED's, a breadboard, some other computing components, and leads to connect things up. I'm not really sure what he wants to do with all of this, but either kit will suit him fine. This also gives you an idea of what other things he might want with the pi

I would suggest buying one of those Arduino kits from amazon. It’s a great starting point as it includes a ucontroller board (typically an uno or ATMega 2560) along with a bunch of sensors you can tinker around with. Good ones have a piece of paper enclosed within the kit with a link to PDF schematic files, example codes etc..

Once you have gained enough experience using the basic sensors, you can start incorporating Arduino board shields, multiple ucontrollers and what not. The possibilities are literally endless!!

Edit: This is the first kit that I bought while starting out

Oh! My SO and I got each other almost exactly the same gift (we're nerds who are very alike sometimes)! I got him a Raspberry Pi B+ Ultimate Starter Kit, and he got me a Raspberry Pi B+! It was awesome. :)

This one? Hmm, seems pretty good, and a power supply for that specifically would be nice anyway. Thanks

Sorry man, easter.

Here is a dece kit that comes with the raspberry, a power supply, and a case.

SD card for it

SD card reader if you don't have a micro sd slot on your pc/laptop

USB controller of choice - I like my xboxone plugged in with usb (haven't gotten bluetooth to work) but if you want a rec on a cheap one let me know.

Retropie getting started guide

edit: I already had psus, sd cards etc, and got some cheaper stuff in bulk but the kit etc makes it a little easier on you. coolrom.com and emuparadise.me are reasonably trustworthy for roms.

This 100%

https://www.amazon.com/NES-case-Raspberry-Pi-Skool/dp/B01M4OOY4U

This is the one I'm using for mine, its $10 and even though I dont really use the Pi anymore (the novelty runs off after you play like 30 classic games) and it looks really cute on my desk. Theres also a SNES one on amazon thats good too.

To follow up on what the above user said, I bought the Elegoo Arduino UNO kit on Amazon, the whole kit costs less than most official Arduino UNO units and this specific kit comes with a whole bunch of micro controller projects on a cd and the relevant components to complete them with enough spare components to experiment with.

I’ve actually since bought a second one because I felt like it was good value. Hope this helps!

Buy

($6)Wires:For the MOFSET mod

($1o)MOFSET

($6)Wire spades:For the MOFSET mod

($8)Assorted M3 Bolts:You need some for a few mods and for the bolts you will inevitably strip on this cheap wonderful machine

($13)Longer assorted M3 Bolts:For a few mods

($9)M4 Bolts:For one of the mods

($9)Metric allen wrench set:Had to order one of these since metric tools aren’t common round these parts

(~$20) PLA of preferred choice- You’ll run out of the sample bit quick so go ahead and order a roll or two to be prepared. You will note some upgrades require ABS so a small spool of that to your order will also help.

($6)M3 Lock nuts:Critically needed for a simple mod

($10)Threaded rod and nuts:Please note that this item seemed difficult to find online. I recommend going to your local hardware store and getting two 5/16” rods of at least 16” in length. They should have an assortment of threaded rod in various lengths available. Also note that the pitch of the threading matches the nuts you buy. Further instructions regarding this can be seen in Azza’s Z-Axis braces below.)

($6)9mm Wrench for the nozzle: Don’t wait for your first clog, go ahead and have this on hand to remove/change the nozzle. Note to only tighten/loosen the nozzle when heated.



Below is the order of printable upgrades I recommend but I suggest you mix in a few other prints along the way because this is a hobby after all and you should be having fun. It helps to have your quality as tuned in as much as possible for some of these so be patient and keep trying if you need to.

Print

Spool holder- temporary : Until you can mount your spool on top of the enclosure or any other personal preference.

Belt tensioner- print x2

Z-brace

Shielded stop button

Cable relocator : It’s a pain, but if you spend the time to do this and turn your extruder motor 90 degrees then you can get the full Z height without ruining your cables. It does involve opening all the cables to the PSU and feeding a few extra inches back through the cable chains.

Cable shroud : Looks nice if you do the cable relocator.


The following need to be printed in ABS:

M3 Bed Nut retainer: 10/10 upgrade. I know they look worse than the nice metal stock ones, but these help keep your bed level longer.

CiiCooler

Glass bed Holder


Now that the first major round of printed upgrades is done it’s time to shift to a few more supplies to pick up to really fine tune the machine.


Buy

($5)Radial fan: For CiiCooler

($5)Glue sticksThis and a glass bed is magic

($25)Borosilicate glass 8” x 8”

($26)Y-Carriage plate upgrade: This has been a nice upgrade as I now only need to relevel the bed every couple weeks instead of every print. Check out this guide for a ‘how to’ as well as a free upgrade by shifting your Y pulley over.

($15)rechargeable dehumidifier: For keeping in the bin with your opened filaments

($9)Extruder gears: Might be able to hold off on these, but will need eventually. If for some reason you have a Maker Select with metal X-axis blocks (V1 and V2, but not V2.1) then this is a must. You can follow this guide for a how to.

($28)Metal extruder plate and lever: Not needed, but nice.

($14)Noctua 40mm fan: Not needed, but makes the printer a lot quitter. A LOT quieter.

($50)MicroSwiss All Metal Hot End: The destruction of my PTFE tube by this point pushed me to doing this upgrade. If needed you can follow this guide for replacement. Remember to tighten/loosen when the nozzle its hot.

($6)Ceramic cotton: Tore off the stock one when replacing for the all metal hot end by accident. At least its thicker than stock

Now that the printer is in its final form, its time for the enclosure which is a stacked Ikea Lack hack.

Print

Spool holder

Pi Case

120mm fan cover

Fan grill

120mm fan PSU modification: I edited this to fit upside down since my PSU is mounted on the underside. This was nice since I blew the 40mm fan anyways so it made everything a lot quieter than before.

IKEA Lack filament guide

Webcam holder: This is one I designed specifically for the webcam I happen to have lying around. The camera mount piece can be changed out no problem though for what ever webcam you have or buy. The SketchUp file is included on Thingiverse for such purpose.

Buy

($20)2x Ikea Lack: Luckily there is one right down the street from me. I am located in North America though, so we do not have the STUVA, if you live literally anywhere else you may check in to this as an alternative.

($80)Plexi glass for enclosure: Could be cheaper alternatives, but it looks cool

($9)Foam pads for feet

($42)Raspberry Pi3: For OctoPrint. I also suggest using a different USB cable than the stock one provided by Monoprice or you will have issues.

($9)2x 120mm fans: Used for the power supply cooling and enclosure

($6)Rocker Switches so that the enclosure fan can be on for PLA, but off for ABS

($15)Dimmable LED lights

($10)8mm LED light connectors


Total:
$250 printer + $452 upgrades/parts + ~$80 PLA/ABS to date

Like u/Jack_Bohlen said - the documentation is really good and you should be able to find answers to most of your questions. Being able to read and follow instructions carefully is important, especially if you get into doing anything from the command line.

If you can follow directions, you should have very few problems going from a box full of components to a basic working system in a short time.

Here are the instructions I gave a friend recently:

• Buy this - https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q2GSY
  
• Buy whatever USB controllers you prefer or use a PS3/4 controller if you have them
  
• Download RetroPie, follow instructions to put that on the SD. https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/First-Installation#installation
  
• Put SD in Pi.
  
• Plug it in.
  
• Follow instructions here to copy ROMs over - https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/Transferring-Roms
  
  Oh, and I guess you want to have a USB keyboard handy just in case. But it is a really easy process to get started.

I love my old skool nes case for my retropie!! Hey, why don't you include a link to the product and maybe an image?! Show people how awesome this little case is.

Amazon:
Old Skool NES case for Raspberry Pi 3,2 and B+ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M4OOY4U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_PBI9ybVWN3C4N

> I don't even know which OS to use, I've never used Linux before.

Don't worry, the Arduino IDE works just fine on Windows. There are plenty of resources for Arduino projects that will help you learn, and most tutorials are aimed at those who have zero programming or electrical engineering knowledge.

Something like this might be a good idea, as it includes everything to get started with basic projects (including the Arduino itself), as well as an instruction booklet. You could also further augment it with this kit.

A lot of the "value" they tack on is stuff you could do for free, they're just offering it up with their own tutorial videos. The complete Pi 3 Canakit is $75 on Amazon. If you want some extra stuff to play with they have an ultimate edition for $90. I got my complete canakit pi 2 for $65 on sale before the pi 3 was out.

Edit: to be fair it's not a terrible price considering they spent the time and money making the videos. The "lol" was more about their original price.

Obviously u/wee0x1b is talking from his own experience, but don't take everything he says as a scientific truth.

Of course you can use a 16 GB SD card from SanDisk; the size of the card depends entirely on what you want to do; even 8 GB is fine if you aren't installing too many things. And of course the heatsinks are helpful. They are not extremely important, but if they come with a kit, you may as well use them.

I prefer the $70 CanaKit. It's a personal choice, and also depends on your budget. If you are starting, go ahead an purchase a few things. Later on you will know exactly what you need to have a barebones system.

Arduino Mega kits are a good place to start off with for beginners.

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-Complete-Ultimate-TUTORIAL-controller/dp/B01EWNUUUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481883771&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=arduino+mega+kit&psc=1

If you want to get into digital electronics, learn about all the logic gates, and how you can combine them together to make more complex stuff, like Adders, Multipliers, Barrel Shifters, Comparators, etc. Put all that stuff together and you got an ALU. Add some busses and registers and stuff and you've got yourself a CPU.

There are several free simulators for digital circuits which allow you to draw circuits and simulate them, but if you want to get serious about digital circuits then learn a Hardware Descriptor Language like Verilog and pick up an FPGA and get cracking.


You can get a used Basys 2, which uses a Spartan 3E or something, for like 50 bucks, which will be more than enough for a novice. And you can use it with Xilinx ISE, which allows you to describe your circuits in an HDL !!AND!! schematic capture so you can physically draw your circuit.

If you want a more modern Xilinx FPGA like the Artix-7 on the Basys 3, you're stuck with Vivado, Xilinx' new software which doesn't support old FPGAs, is an abomination with the interface written with Java Swing, so it won't scale properly on a high DPI screen, and overall just sucks.

This is from a post I made on another thread like this:

Here is a list of the parts I used, from Amazon, to make an NES Mini.

Raspberry Pi

Case

Power Supply

Controller

Micro SD

You would also need an HDMI cable if you don't have one already. Some people use wireless Bluetooth controllers, (the PI has Bluetooth and WiFi built in), but I don't know how well they work, latency wise.

Edit: For SNES and N64 you would need a more robust controller. You can use just about any USB controller that works with a PC, and a corded Xbox 360 controller works fine. I have heard others have used he WiiU Pro Controller, but I haven't tested that myself.

We understand that Homebridge is daunting for people who don't know Linux, or even heard of it. HOOBS is trying to change that.

We make documentation for HOOBS, but most of it applies to Homebridge as well. This set of docs https://github.com/hoobs-org/HOOBS/wiki/2.5-Installing-from-Scratch will help you setup the system for HOOBS or Homebridge.

---

However if you don't want to setup Linux. You can purchase a Raspberry Pi, case and power supply on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Premium-Supply-Listed/dp/B01C6EQNNK/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=raspberry+pi&qid=1572280456&sr=8-4

Then you can download and flash an image to a micro SD card. You can download or purchase an SD card from our website https://hoobs.org/. If you don't wish to donate and simply want to download the image, it is on GitHub https://github.com/hoobs-org/HOOBS/releases.

You can flash the HOOBS image using the balinaEtcher. https://www.balena.io/etcher/

---

We also sell the HOOBS Box. It is a Raspberry Pi with Homebridge pre-installed and ready to go. You can also find that on our website. https://hoobs.org/

The Arduino is plug and play when it comes to learning to program though. You can do 100X more with the $35 Arduino Starter pack(https://smile.amazon.com/Elegoo-Project-Starter-Tutorial-Arduino/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498590782&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=arduino&psc=1) than you could with the Raspberry Pi.

If you can't afford a real computer and just want to stream movies or play NES games, sure the Raspberry Pi is the right thing to use. If you want to learn to program, the Arduino is perfect for beginners.

I would recommend this http://www.raspberrypi.org/help/camera-module-setup/ http://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-5MP-Camera-Board-Module/dp/B00E1GGE40

I was looking at building one myself but dont have much time or EXP as you may have with this. Hope it works out. 5MP shouldn't be bad unless you are looking for something with a better camera. I think the fact that the board is controlled by linux this should make your process easier.

normally I would agree with you, but since its the sale it looks like it would be worth it, so I figured I would ask. Here is the breakdown.

Kit - 69.99 on sale

Individual - 74.55 (didn't bother including the manual or hdmi)

• Raspberry Pi 2 - 38.49
  
  
• Power Adapter - 6.69
  
  
• Wifi Adapter 9.99
  
  
• SD Card - 10.59
  
  
• clear Case - 8.79
  
  
  So, objectively, it would be cheaper, unless i wanted to swap out specific parts (but I'm a noob, so I'm not sure what I need yet). So, instead of buying it individually, should I go for the normal wifi kit or the deluxe kit?

Yes it is possible, I don't have my pi with me currently but I have hundreds of NES, SNES, game gear, master system, and Genesis roms all saved on my micro SD card with the retropie setup. If you haven't bought your pi yet I would suggest buying the whole package off Amazon, it's what I did and it was helpful.
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit - 32 GB Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C6Q2GSY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_nZ8l33jxmjhpy

I've done a project just like this, what you'll want to do is buy the CanaKit set for the Raspberry Pi 3 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q2GSY/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1498681064&sr=1-4&keywords=raspberry+pi+3 and then install a software called "RetroPi" https://retropie.org.uk/, there are some great tutorials on YouTube. You can connect it to your home WiFi network and use a client like FileZilla to wirelessly send ROM's over to your Pi.

What is the difference between the B+ and 2? Which would be better for beginners/give the best performance?

All I could find on Amazon is the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B and the Raspberry Pi B+. Are these the two you are talking about? In the first link what is the difference between the 2 options? Does the $54 option just include a MicroSD card? Will he need one to do anything or does the base model start with some memory?

Also what accessories would you recommenced I buy for someone who is just starting out and doesn't know what they want to do with it yet?

Is there any sort of buyers guide online?

I have answers

• You do, you can find finished models here. I actually have a 3D printer. But I found it hard to find the correct colored filaments, that´s why I bought the case instead.
  
• Controllers can be found here. Just google "8Bitdo NES30 PRO" to find a local reseller.
  
• I am using a Raspberry PI 3, with a 128gb SD card. Also added heatsinks on it.
  
• To create one, I just downloaded this image (was by far the thing that took the longest, the actual download). I used this to copy the image over to the card (takes about an hour). Applied heat sinks on the Pi3 then screwed the Pi in to the case. I updated the firmware on the controller, then connected everything to my TV plus a keyboard. Once booted I expanded the file system, added the controller and wifi. Then I updated RetroPie. Once all of that was done I spend some time playing around with it, making changes as I saw fit. I also added new roms to it via my computer by just accessing it via the network (\\retropie). Once I was happy with everything I used the same tool to write to the SD card to create an Image from it, and backed that up to my computer. Then it just was a matter of putting the other ones together and then I just installed my image. Only thing I need to do is to expand the file system and adding the controllers. So 30 minutes building and configuring a Pie and 1h to write the image.