Category Archives: Personal Computer

Known as a PC (Personal Computer), is a type of micro-computer designed to be used by one person at a time, usually for personal or domestic use outside the work environment

Amiga, PC, Personal Computer, Commodore

BBS

BBS

A BBS was software (a set of computer programs installed on a computer) that was popular in the 1980s and 1990s in the United States on computer networks

It allowed participating users to connect through a telephone line to a network where they could see and consult different information published by other users

Currently, it is easily accessible through telnet (computer program to access an external server; not to be confused with the computer protocol of the same name) over the Internet to servers and perform functions such as downloading software, data, reading news and newsletters, exchange of messages with other users through email2, online gaming, etc.

They were the precursors of modern forums and other aspects of the Internet

Historically, the first BBS software is considered to have been created by Ward Christensen in 1978, while Usenet, for example, did not go live until the following year

During their years of popularity, BBSs were the meeting point for communications enthusiasts and software developers, and constituted the first public file sharing systems, including the first shareware programs and the first computer viruses

Unlike web pages on the Internet, by relying on a computer connected to a telephone line, users had to “wait in line”

That is, as long as the previous user did not disconnect and release the phone line, the next one could not connect (most BBS only had 1 phone line)

With the rise of the Internet in the second half of the 90s, BBS decreased in popularity, although that does not mean they have disappeared: today they continue to exist and have adapted to the Internet, using it to facilitate access to the BBS

FidoNet

It is worth highlighting the systems linked by the FidoNet network that, altruistically maintained by their Sysops (system operators or system administrators), use software compatible with each other that allows them to act as a server for the BBS system and exchange mail packets with other nodes. which, moving from node to node, were distributed throughout the world

FidoNet constitutes a quality alternative for email, unrelated to the spam that prevails in forums, news and mailing lists

Many boards continued to operate until 2014

Eye of the beholder BBS

In Spain there were pucela_bbs (located in Valladolid), Eye Of The Beholder (by Enric Lleal, in Barcelona) and VampireBBS (by Belky, in Barcelona)

For its part, there were in other countries of the world, such as Argentina, where Mummy BBS, Rolling BBS (maintaining the traditional Dial-Up connection) and Matrix BBS still operate via telnet

Even platform users Amiga they had a large number of BBSs, some of the best known being: Amiga Penedès, Hypnosys BBS, Euskal Amiga BBS, Nyarlothotep BBS, oDRuSBa BBS, etc.

History

The first BBS was CBBS (Computerized Bulletin Board System), created by Ward Christensen

It was put online on February 16, 1978 in Chicago

The first BBS ran on large systems (usually in universities), PCs or home computers such as Apple II, the TRS-80, the Atari 800 or the Commodore 64, with 300 baud modems, which made the transfer extremely slow (a 64 KB program could take up to 30 minutes to transmit)

The advent of 1200 and 2400 baud modems increased their popularity and they began to grow

But the storage problem was still present, as they were usually computers with a floppy drive with an average capacity of 180 KB (only a privileged few could afford up to 4 floppy disks), which forced the sysop to make manual changes

The advent of hard drives for both systems was embraced by all those who could afford it

The appearance of 16 bit computers led to a migration to the platforms of each manufacturer until the fall in prices of the PC clones (and especially their notably cheaper hard drive, as well as their internal modems) led to the generalization of their use in BBS

However, they survived until 2014 some running on Commodore Amiga, Mac, Commodore 64 or TRS-80 IV

As multitasking operating systems such as Amiga OS, OS/2, Unix (in its many variants) became available, Windows 95 or added to MS-DOS as DESQview or Windows 3.1, increased the number of BBS

Those who had restricted hours were able to operate 24 hours a day by being able to use Sysops on their own computer instead of needing a dedicated one

This coincided with the advent of 14,400 baud modems, which marked a major leap in communications speed

Along with the emergence of peer networks such as Fidonet, WWIVnet or VirtualNET, many computer companies began to maintain their own BBSs to support their products (support forums, patches, drivers, shareware versions of Antivirus or compilers, etc.) while maintaining a presence on CompuServe (a kind of global paid BBS with local access points in certain countries)

In a few cases, they opted to financially maintain a BBS in Fido, which is very specialized in their products as official support

In Spain, some of Fido's most important BBSs began to offer paid access at high speeds (in addition to 1 or 2 free public access modems, they had 1 to 10 additional lines with the fastest and most expensive modems of the moment) and even access to the incipient Internet

Some of them helped found IRC-Hispano, an IRC-based social network in Spanish

The programs of the BBS used to be written either in assembler for each machine, or in Pascal (Turbo Pascal above all) or C

The latter made it easy to port to different hardware platforms

A particular case was Virtual BBS, not only because it was written in Quick BASIC (without this implying a decrease in speed), but also because its author, Roland De Graaf, was blind

There were two main ways to use the BBS:

  • Online Connection: It resulted in phone bills and locking up the system for other users to do so
  • Offline Connection: In each connection, the new e-mails and posts in the forums were uploaded, the files that were contributed to the exchange area, and after that, the new messages and the selected files were downloaded

Offline connection made it possible to shorten the connection time

Packages could be monolithic composed of several interchangeable programs, and specialized in a specific or general purpose BBS

The most popular were Fidonet's dot package and BlueWave (a multiBBS client)

Packages generalized the custom of including at the bottom of each message a famous quote or phrase, which may or may not be related to the subject of the message (there are compilations of about 100,000 quotes)

More modern clients (such as BlueWave) allowed not only to assign blocks of appointments to certain areas, but also to customize the tags depending on who was being answered or the topic being discussed

With the generalization of the Internet and its graphical interface (in contrast to the text interface of the BBS), graphic clients began to emerge that allowed a more visual connection, with the use of additional codes to include icons or images, but they did not reach much popularity

Presentation

A BBS was usually text based, rather than a GUI, and early conversation BBSs used the ASCII character set

However, some computer manufacturers extended the ASCII character set to take advantage of the advanced color and graphics capabilities of their systems

Premier BBS

The authors of the BBS software included these extended character sets in their software, and the authors of the terminal program included the ability to display them when a compatible system was called

The native character set of Atari it was known as ATASCII, while most of the BBS wildcards supported PETSCII

PETSCII was also supported by the nationwide online service Quantum Link

The use of these custom character sets was generally incompatible between manufacturers

Unless a user was using a terminal emulation program written for the same type of system as the BBS and running on it, the session would simply revert to a simple ASCII output

For example, a user of Commodore 64 calling a BBS Atari it would use ASCII instead of the machine's native character set

As time went on, most terminal programs began to use the ANSI standard, but they could use their native character set if it were available

COCONET, a BBS system created by Coconut Computing Inc., was released in 1988 and only supported one GUI (initially no text interface was available but was finally available in 1990), and worked in EGA/VGA graphics mode, which made it overhanging in text based BBS systems

COCONET's bitmaps and vector graphics and support for multi-type fonts were inspired by the PLATO system, and the graphics capabilities were based on what was available in the Borland BGI graphics library

A competitive approach called the Remote Imaging Protocol (RIP) emerged and was promoted by Telegrafix in the early to mid-1990s, but it never became widespread

It was also considered an industry-standard technology called NAPLPS, and although it became the underlying graphics technology behind the Prodigy service (online service), it never gained popularity in the BBS market

There were several GUI-based BBSs on the Apple Macintosh platform, including TeleFinder and FirstClass, but these remained widely used only in the Mac market

In the UK, BBC Micro based OBBS software, available from Pace for use with its modems, optionally for colour and graphics using the Teletext based graphics mode available on that platform

Other systems used the Viewdata protocols popularized in the U.K. by the British Telecom service Prestel, and the online magazine Micronet 800 which were busy giving away modems with their subscriptions

The most popular form of inline graphics was ANSI art, which combined the blocks and symbols of the IBM Extended ASCII character set with ANSI escape sequence to allow on-demand color change, provide cursor control and screen formatting, and even basic musical tones

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, most BBSs used ANSI to create elaborate splash screens and colored menus, and thus ANSI support was a highly requested feature in terminal client programs

The development of art at ANSI became so popular that it spawned an entire BBS "artscene" and a subculture dedicated to it

Skyline BBS for Amiga, written by Scott Lee, was the first in 1987 with a script markup language communication protocol called Skypix that was capable of providing the user with a complete graphical interface, with rich graphical content, changeable fonts, controlled actions. the mouse, animations and sound

Wildcat BBS

Today, most of the BBS software that is still active, such as Worldgroup, Wildcat! BBS and Citadel/UX, is Web-enabled and the traditional text interface has been replaced (or operates concurrently) with a Web-based user interface

For those more nostalgic for the true BBS experience, one can use NetSerial (Windows) or DOSBox (Windows/*nix) to redirect the software from DOS COM port to telnet

This allowed them to connect to BBS via telnet as in the 1980s and 1990s using software that emulated a modem terminal, such as Telix, Terminate, Qmodem and Procomm Plus

The most modern 64 bit terminal emulators such as PuTTY and SyncTerm include native telnet support and even SSH connection encryption

PC, Personal Computer, Atari, Commodore

SAM

SAM

SAM (Software Automatic Mouth), was a speech synthesis program developed by Mark Barton and sold by Don't Ask Software

It was launched in 1982 for the family Atari 8 bit, Apple II and Commodore 64

It was one of the first commercial all-software speech synthesis programs

Don't Ask Software also marketed PokerSAM, a talking poker game, and also licensed the SAM engine for use with other games, such as Tales of the Arabian Nights for Comodore 64

Technology

Apple II

Used an included expansion card containing an 8 bit DAC

The hackers created a modified version of SAM, which instead used the computer's one bit audio output (adding a lot of distortion) if the card was not present

Atari

It used the integrated POKEY audio chip

Disabling interrupt requests and turning off the ANTIC chip during voice output

Sam Owner's Manual

Audible output was extremely distorted voice when graphics and text display was activated

Commodore 64

Used the 4 bit volume DAC from the onboard '64 SID audio chip

Which significantly reduced its quality compared to the versions of Apple II and Atari

Trivial

SAM was used as the basis for the original MacInTalk speech synthesis program

The technology was recreated for the voice of the character “SAM” in the program Chipspeech

SAM was used to create the voice of Trogdor in the Homestar Runner game Peasant's Quest

SAM was used to create the voices of the characters in the 2017 game Faith: The Unholy Trinity

SAM was used to create the voice of the main character in the 2024 game Cash Cow DX

Chromecast, TV Box, Personal Computer

Chromecast

Chromecast

Google Chromecast is an audiovisual (multimedia) playback device for devices, especially older network televisions, manufactured by Google

It was officially announced on July 24, 2013 along with its Nexus 7 line of tablets, at an event in San Francisco

Like the previous Nexus Q, all its components are manufactured entirely within the United States

Basically it is a Wifi access point, with interchangeable USB and HDMI plugs, which once connected to a television with HDMI input and configured the Chrome web browser from a PC or an Android mobile phone, replicates the web pages that are viewed to the television; In the case of YouTube and Netflix, they send the video signal

Google made APIs available so that any video player can interact with Chromecast in the future

There are a total of four models or generations

Specifications
Generation CPU type RAM (base) Mem. internal Wi-Fi Security Weight and measurements Screen
First generation Marvell 88DE3005-A1 to 700 MHz 512 MB DDR3 2GB flash storage 802.11 b/g/n to 2,4 GHz WEP, WPA/WPA2 34 g.; 72 x 35 x 12 mm. 1080p to 60 Hz
Second generation Marvell 88DE3006 to 1,3 GHz 512 MB DDR3 256 MB flash storage 802.11 b/g/n/ac to 2,4 GHz / 5 GHz and Bluetooth 4.0 WEP, WPA/WPA2 39 g.; 51,9 x 51,9 x 13,9 mm. 1080p to 60 Hz
Third generation Marvell 88DE3006 to 1,3 GHz 512 MB DDR3 256 MB flash storage 802.11 b/g/n/ac to 2,4 GHz / 5 GHz and Bluetooth 4.0 WEP, WPA/WPA2 39 g.; 51,9 x 51,9 x 13,9 mm. 1080p to 60 Hz
Ultra Marvell 88DE3218 to 2,133 GHz 1 GB DDR4 128 MB flash storage 802.11 b/g/n/ac to 2,4 GHz / 5 GHz and Bluetooth 4.0 WPS, WEP, WPA/WPA2 47 g.; 58,2 x 58,2 x 13,7 mm. 4K Ultra HD, HDR10, Doybly Vision
Chromecast with Google TV (4k) Amlogic S905X3 Cortex-A55 Quad-Core to 1,91 GHz 2 GB DDR4 8GB flash storage 802.11 b/g/n/ac to 2,4 GHz / 5 GHz and Bluetooth 4.2 WPA2 56,7 g.; 162,2 x 61 x 12,5 mm. 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, VP9 and HLG, Wide color space with HDR10 and HDR10+, Dolby Audio Passthrough Mode
Chromecast with Google TV (HD) Amlogic S905X3 Cortex-A55 Quad-Core to 1,91 GHz 2 GB DDR4 8GB flash storage 802.11 b/g/n/ac to 2,4 GHz / 5 GHz and Bluetooth 4.2 WPA2 55 g.; 162,5 x 61 x 12,5 mm. 1080p, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG, Doybly Vision, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos using Dolby HDMI Passthrough

On September 30, 2020, Google presented the fourth generation of Chromecast, which for the first time would have remote control and the Google TV operating system, based on Android TV and in 3 new colors and includes a USB-C port, instead of the USB used by the previous

Software

Chromecast uses an operating system specially designed for the device, in which Miracast is used to display content; The system is composed of the following parts:

  • Starting screen: this is displayed when content is not being sent
  • Application screen: this shows the content sent

Functioning

Thanks to Chromecast, a mobile device becomes a personalized remote control

Mobile phone apps can be used to search and navigate, as well as play and pause content, rewind playback, control volume, and even create playlists

While sending content, you can use your phone for other functions

The Chromecast can be comparable to the “extend screen” function of some operating systems; this means that at no time is the Chromecast's memory used to store applications

Using the Android SDK, it is programmed together with an Android or Chrome app; this means that it must (for now) be accompanied by an app (for Chrome or Android), since the device does not have an application launcher

Also, Chromecast can be used as a wireless display using its Chrome extension (or Chromium based)

Generations

First generation

It was the first presented by Google, it had the appearance of a black pendrive, with an HDMI output that could be connected directly to the computer or television or through a short cable included in the box

At the beginning it did not have any graphical interface, today it has a screensaver that is activated when not in use, the screensaver searches for photos on the internet and displays them along with the time and name of the device

It also had a micro USB input for power and a button that allowed you to reset it after holding it down for 25 seconds, it also had an LED that indicated the different states of the device (solid white meant that everything was working correctly and flashing white meant that there was no internet connection)

It is currently discontinued and it is not possible to buy it

Chromecast Audio

The Chromecast Audio is an externally the same device as the second-generation Chromecast and on the inside it adds a sound processing chip

This Chromecast can't stream video, it can only stream audio

It does not have an HDMI connector or any type of video output interface, its only output is a 3.5" jack and inside it an optical audio output

It is currently discontinued and it is not possible to buy it

Second generation

The second generation was launched two years later, in 2015

Its exterior design underwent a major change as it took the form of a circular disc slightly larger than the UMD (Universal Media Disc, a type of optical disc developed by Sony, known mostly for its use in the PlayStation Portable)

The name "Chrome" was no longer inscribed, the 3D logo was now integrated

The HDMI was not integrated, a cable came out and at one end the connection pin

The micro USB input, the LED (with the same states as above), and the reset button are retained

It is currently discontinued and it is not possible to buy it

Third generation

Chromecast 3

It didn't add big improvements apart from being 15% faster than version 2, its WiFi AC added more speed, we could choose between dark gray and white, when before only the former was available

In the updates section, Google added support for Home, being able to control it by voice if we have a Home device at home

It premiered in Europe at a price of €39, while weeks earlier in the United States it went on sale at $37

Chromecast Ultra

With the arrival of 4K resolution to television broadcasts over the Internet on platforms such as Netflix or Wuaki TV, the need is created to bring a new device to the market, which in addition to supporting this resolution, improves data transfer and therefore, video loading times, and the overall response of the device

It was released in Europe in November 2016 at a price of €79, while weeks earlier in the United States it went on sale for $69

Fourth Generation

Chromecast with Google TV (4K)

It was released on September 30, 2020

For the first time it includes a remote control in which it integrates the Google voice assistant, shortcuts to Netflix and YouTube, buttons to control basic functions of the TV, home theater and soundbars such as on and off, volume and selection of inputs of the device to be controlled and includes the Google TV operating system (not to be confused with the predecessor of Android TV), which is an Android TV interface customized by Google

In addition, it comes in 3 new colors (Blue, White and Pink) and includes USB-C port

This new generation of Chromecast, in addition to supporting 4K resolution, also has support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

The official name of this generation is "Chromecast with Google TV" (USA/Mexico) being the first not to have the name "Google Chromecast" and the first device to have the Google TV system, which will replace Android TV in the following years

It launched in the U.S. for $50

Chromecast with Google TV (HD)

It's a scaled-down version of the Chromecast with Google TV that features a 1080p resolution and supports the AV1 video codec

It is only available in white

It was released in the United States on October 10, 2022 for $29.99

Discontinuation and successor

After 10 years since the launch of the original Chromecast, Google decided to end software and security updates for the device in April 2023

On August 6, 2024, Google announced that it would end production of the Chromecast product line and sell the devices until existing inventory was exhausted

The company said it would continue to provide software and security updates for the remaining devices

The same day, the company announced Google TV Streamer as its next streaming device

Google TV Streamer 4K

The product has a slanted, wedge-shaped design and is designed to sit in front of a TV, avoiding the dongle form factor of Chromecasts that allowed them to be hidden behind TVs

Specifications
Model CPU type RAM (base) Mem. internal Wi-Fi Security Weight and measurements Screen Ports
Google TV Streamer 4K Mediatek MT8696 Quad Core A55 at 1.8 GHz (64 bit) and a PowerVR GE9215 GPU at 750 MHz 4 GB DDR4 32GB flash storage 802.11 ac at 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz and Bluetooth 5.1 WPA2 162 g.; 16,26 x 7,62 x 2,54 cm. 4K HDR a 60 fps, Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG HDMI 2.1, USB-C 2.0 OTG and Gigabit Ethernet

On the back of the device, hidden from view, there are three ports: a USC type C for power, an HDMI port to connect to the TV, and an Ethernet port in case you want to connect the Google TV Streamer directly to the router

In its original packaging, only the USC type C cable and its power adapter are included

But not the HDMI cables (required to connect the Google TV Streamer to the TV)

Not even the Ethernet (necessary to connect directly to the router and have a faster connection speed)

It uses a Mediatek MT8696 SoC, which is the same one used by the Fire TV Stick 4K Max 1st Gen of the year 2021 (Amazon's stick)

Its operating system is Google TV 14 (32-bit) and includes a Bluetooth remote control, which integrates a microphone for Google Assistant to do all kinds of searches

The remote control is one of the things that has changed in this Google TV Streamer compared to previous Chromecasts:

  • The volume up and down buttons move to the top to be less hidden
  • The home button is highlighted, instead of the voice control microphone; and there is no app list button
  • The big news in terms of functions is the programmable button, at the bottom of the remote control, marked with a star icon. It can be customized to open an application or perform the function you want
  • Includes only the YouTube and Netflix buttons
  • The device has a small physical button located on the back, next to the charging port and the standby light. If pressed, the remote control will start making a ringing sound and the LED at the bottom will light up for you to find it, and it won't stop until you press any button
  • Google promised a major breakthrough in AI on this device. However, the operation is very similar to the basic Google Assistant. Speech recognition is more accurate than Google Assistant from just a few years ago

We also have an integrated Chromecast 4K to send content from our mobile phone and all the certificates for streaming apps in 4K Dolby Vision quality with Dolby Atmos sound

Receive updates thanks to Google OTA support

Supports most modern video formats such as h.265, VP9 with native 4K@60fps HDR resolution support, supports recent AV1 codec for streaming services

In contrast to the initial price of Chromecasts, Google TV Streamer has had a higher launch price

It was released in the United States on August 13 for $99

And on September 24 in Europe for €119

TV Box, Personal Computer, Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi is a family of low cost single board computers (SBC) developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation

Logo Raspberry

Originally the promotion of computer science education in schools was sought

But it has become more popular in the personal computer market

It is even sold as robotics or home automation components

One of its characteristics is that it does not include peripherals (such as keyboard, mouse or case), these components must be purchased separately

Its accessories have been included in official and unofficial packages

Description

It is not expressly indicated whether it is free or trademarked hardware

In your official web They explain that they have distribution and sale contracts with two companies, but at the same time anyone can become a reseller or redistributor of Raspberry Pi cards

Therefore, it implies that it is a product with registered property, maintaining control of the platform, but allowing its free use both at an educational and private level.

On the other hand, the software is open source, its official operating system being an adapted version of Debian, called Raspberry Pi OS, although it allows the use of other operating systems, including a version of Windows 10

In all its versions, it includes a Broadcom processor, RAM, GPU, USB ports, HDMI, Ethernet (the first model did not have it), 40 GPIO pins (from the Raspberry Pi 2) and a camera connector

None of its editions includes memory, this being in its first version an SD card and in later editions a MicroSD card

The foundation supports downloads of ARM architecture distributions:

  • Raspberry Pi OS (derived from Debian)
  • RISC OS 5
  • Arch Linux ARM (derived from Arch Linux)
  • Pidora (derived from Fedora)

Mainly promoting learning the Python language

It also supports Tiny BASIC, C, Perl and Ruby languages

Raspberry Pi Foundation developed the first models

After the release of the Raspberry Pi 1 Model B, the Raspberry Pi Trading was created and Eben Upton as CEO during the development of the Raspberry Pi Model 1 B+

Raspberry Pi Trading is responsible for developing the technology

The foundation is a non profit educational organization, which aims to promote the teaching of computer science in schools and developing countries

Sale of units

According to the Raspberry Pi Foundation, more than five million Raspberry Pi were sold in February 2015, making it the best selling British computer

November 2016, they sold 11 million units, and 12.5 million in March 2017, being the third best selling “general purpose computer”

July 2017, sales reached about 15 million

March 2018, sales reached 19 million

Most Raspberry Pis are built in a Sony factory in Pencoed, Wales; the rest are manufactured in Asian countries such as China or Japan

Models

Model A

Raspberry Pi 1 Model A (discontinued)

Raspberry's first model, started selling in 2012

Raspberry Pi A

It lacked an Ethernet port, so it required a USB Wi-Fi adapter to connect to the Internet

It had 26 GPIO connectors, video output via HDMI and Video RCA, a 3.5-millimeter Jack connector, a single USB connector, MicroUSB (for power) and a camera connector

Its processor was a Broadcom BCM2835, Single-Core at 700MHz

It also had 256 MB of RAM and a Broadcom VideoCore IV chart

It required a 5-volt, 2-amp power supply, a common element to other versions

Its initial cost was 40 euros

Raspberry Pi 3 model A+

Announced in November 2018

A+ models have lower performance so their price is lower

It has 512 MB of RAM (shared with the VideoCore IV GPU), a single USB port and lacks a wired network connection (RJ-45)

Model B

Raspberry Pi 1 Model B (discontinued)

It appeared in 2012, is a variant of the Model A, which included several improvements, such as a double RAM, from 256 MB to 512MB

An additional USB port and Ethernet connector (RJ-45), so internet access was now possible without peripherals

It remained both in size and cost

There were no variations on the processor or the graphics

Raspberry Pi 1 model B+ (discontinued)

A short time later the Model B+ was launched, it is a variant of Model B with little modification

It included 4 USB ports and changed the SD memory to a MicroSD

Raspberry Pi 2 Model B

It was released in 2014 and is the first model to use the BCM2836 processor, different from the previous three, but from the same manufacturer

Raspberry Pi 2 B v1.1

It goes from one core to four, and from 700 MHz to 900 MHz

However, it uses the same graph, the VideoCore IV

Doubles the amount of RAM, from 512MB to 1GB

Although because this memory is shared with the graph, there is really something less

It also includes 40 GPIO pins, keeping all four USB ports

RCA connection is deleted

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B

It came to light in 2016, renewing its processor, once again from broadcom company

Raspberry Pi 3 B

It was a Quad-Core, but it goes from 900 MHz to 1.20 GHz

Keeps RAM at 1GB

Its biggest novelty was the inclusion of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (4.1 Low Energy) without the need for peripherals

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

It appeared in March 2018 to update the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and among its improvements features a new processor and better connectivity

Going from 1.2 Ghz to 1.4 Ghz and in terms of wireless connectivity now incorporates dual band, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz

Its new Ethernet port triples, from 100 Mbits/s to 300 Mbits/s

Also features Bluetooth 4.2 (Low Energy)

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

Announced in June 2019

Raspberry Pi 4 B

HDMI ports have been replaced by two microHDMI ports

It has the ability to operate a display at 4K at 60 Hz or two 4K displays at 30 Hz

USB 3.0 ports have been included and the Ethernet port is no longer limited to 300 Mbps

Its Broadcom processor is up to three times more efficient than the previous one

Three models are available, depending on their amount of RAM, 2 GB, 4 GB, and 8GB

Raspberry Pi 5 Model B

Announced in September 2023

Raspberry Pi 5 B

The COVID-19 pandemic forced chip manufacturing plants to close completely or partially, causing a severe shortage of components

Due to this situation, the launch of the Raspberry Pi 5 had to be delayed for two years

There have not been too many technological advances compared to its predecessor the Raspberry Pi 4:

It has a quad-core ARM A76 processor (64 bit – 2.4 GHz) and integrated VideoCore VII 800 MHz GPU for overall performance 2 to 3 times higher than version 4 and greatly improved graphics

New features included on the card, such as the ON/OFF button and PCIe 2.0 port, as well as the integrated RTC connector for even more possibilities and improvements

Completely redesigned and improved connectivity with high-speed Micro-SD port for the OS, 2x simultaneous 4K-60 fps for the display, 2x USB 3.0 5GBps for transfers, etc

Depending on your RAM, there are 2 versions to choose from: 4GB and 8GB (LPDDR4X-4267)

Raspberry Pi Zero

Apart from normal models, the Raspberry Foundation has also taken out another range of boards called Raspberry Pi Zero

They are much smaller and less powerful than their sisters, but it is precisely their attractiveness, less consumption and a much lower price

Pi Zero

It was the first model, released in 2015

Worth $5, it's much smaller than a regular Raspberry, in fact it's smaller than a $5 bill

It's 40% more powerful than the first Raspberry model

Its Broadcom BCM2835 microprocessor operates at 1 GHz with a single core

It has 512 MB of RAM, and shares the VideoCore IV chart

Due to its size it replaces the HDMI port with MiniHDMI

It also doesn't use standard USB, but it has two MicroUSBs, one power and one data

It has RCA output, but instead of per pin there are only two connectors integrated into the board

Use MicroSD as a storage system

Pi Zero W

Es la sucesora de la Pi Zero, la W es por Wireless, ya que la única novedad de esta placa con respecto a su antecesora es la inclusión de Wi-Fi y Bluetooth

Its price is $11

Pi Zero WH

It doesn't make any difference in hardware

The specifications remain the same as the Zero W, apart from the inclusion of a 40-pin GPIO pre-solated connector

Peripheral

Video camera

In May 2012, the foundation reported that it was experimenting with a camera module for Raspberry Pi

The prototype used a 14-megapixel sensor, and was connected to the board's CSI port using a flexible flat cable

In November of the same year, the final prototype was presented at the 2012 Electronic Fair in Munich, and it was disclosed that the sensor would be 5 megapixels and that it could record video at 1080p H.264 at 30 frames per second

The module was finally released on May 14, 2013 at major suppliers

The dimensions of the module are 25 x 20 x 9 mm

In order to make use of it, it has to be activated in raspbian's raspi-config menu

At the end of October 2013, an infrared camera module was also released

Clock

In order to save economic and space costs, Raspberry Pi does not have an internal clock that preserves the time and date when turned off

The Network Time Protocol is used, otherwise the minimum date stored by default is November 30, 1999

Several manufacturers have designed small cards with a DS1302 chip and a CR2032 lithium battery that connect via GPIO port

When booting, the driver software for that device is loaded into memory, consulting the date and time

Testing from time to time while it's running

Other

Peripherals, keyboards, mouse and cases are marketed by companies outside the foundation

For example, the Gertboard, which has been created for educational purposes, serves to make use of the GPIO port and to be able to interact with LEDs, switches, analog signals, sensors and other devices

It also includes an optional controller for Arduino to be able to interact with the Raspberry Pi

Software

Raspberry Pi mainly uses GNU/Linux operating systems

Raspbian, a Debian derived distribution that is optimized for Raspberry Pi hardware, was released in July 2012 and is the distribution recommended by the foundation to get started

Slackware ARM (also called ARMedslack) version 13.37 and later boot without any modification

The 128-4096 MiB of RAM available on the Raspberry Pi covers the 64 MiB of RAM required to boot this distribution on ARM and i386 systems without using a graphical interface (fluxbox window manager operating under X Window System requires 48 MiB of additional RAM)

More specific and lighter distributions such as IPfire (distribution to be used as firewall), 77 or OpenELEC and OSMC (distributions with Kodi Media Center) are being created

The GPU is accessed using a closed-source firmware image (a binary blob), which is loaded into the GPU when booting from the SD card

The file is associated with Linux kernel drivers that are also closed source

Applications make calls to runtime libraries that are open source, and they make calls to open source drivers on the Linux kernel

The kernel driver API is specific to these libraries

Applications that use video make use of OpenMAX, three-dimensional applications use OpenGL ES, and 2D applications use OpenVG; OpenGL ES and OpenVG make use of EGL and the latter, the kernel open source controller

February 19, 2012, the foundation launched a prototype SD card image that stored an operating system and could be loaded into an SD card

The image was based on Debian 6.0 (Squezze), with the LXDE desktop and Midori browser, plus some programming tools

The image worked under QEMU allowing the Raspberry Pi to be emulated on other systems

March 8, 2012, the foundation launched Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix (now called Pidora), which at the time was the distribution recommended by the foundation

It was developed at the University of Seneca in Canada

It set out to create an app store for people to exchange programs

October 24, 2012, Alex Bradbury, the foundation's Linux development director, announced that all videocore GPU driver code running on ARM would be open source, using a modified BSD 3-clause license

Source code is available in a foundation repository on GitHub

November 5, 2012, Eben Upton announced the launch of the RISC OS 5 operating system for Raspberry Pi to the community, and could download the image for free from the foundation's website

His relationship with the RISC OS community dated back to July 2011, when he spoke in it of a hypothetical version

The operating system includes a lot of applications like ! NetSurf for web browsing, ! StrongED to edit text, ! Master to edit music, ! Packman for package management or an app store called ! Store where you can find free or paid apps

Also included are manuals for creating basic applications for the operating system

November 24, 2012, was announced in the Minecon in Paris, the game Minecraft: Pi Edition for Raspberry Pi, based on the Minecraft: Pocket Edition version for smartphones and tablets

The download was first made available officially and for free on February 12, 2013 from the game blog, as version 0.1.1 alpha, along with instructions to run it on Raspbian Wheezy

One of the main features of this release was being able to interact with the game programmatically, with the intention of motivating children to learn how to program

May 25, 2013, the foundation reported that work was under way on a version of the Wayland graphics server for Raspberry Pi, to replace the X-window system

This change would achieve smoothness by using the desktop's graphical interface, as processing would be done by the GPU video core and not the CPU, without interfering with 3D rendering

June 3, 2013, was launched on the foundation's website for download by the NOOBS (New Out of Box Software) application, a utility that makes it easy to install different operating systems for Raspberry Pi

It is distributed as a zip file that is copied unzipped to an SD card of 4 gb or more, and once the board is booted with the card for the first time, a menu appears in which you can install one of the different distributions in the free space of the memory card, or access the internet with the integrated Arora browser

Later if desired, you can access this menu by pressing the shift key during boot to reinstall the operating system, choose another one, or edit the config file.txt

NOOBS contains the general GNU/Linux distributions Raspbian, Arch Linux ARM and Pidora; distributions for mediacenter with Kodi Openelec and RaspBMC; and the Risc OS 5 operating system

September 26, 2013, an official version of Oracle Java JDK ARM with hardware floating-point support was added to Raspbian repositories, offering much more performance than the openJDK ARM version already in place so far and more application support

It was also announced that this version of Oracle Java JDK would be included within the distribution in future versions of Raspbian

Operating systems

List of operating systems that work, have been ported, or are in the process of being ported to Raspberry Pi:

  • Complete operating systems
    • AROS
    • GNU/Linux for ARM processor
      • Android​
      • Arch Linux ARM
      • Debian Whezzy Soft-Float, Debian version without hardware floating point support
      • DietPi, lightweight Raspbian based distribution and easy menu setup
      • Firefox OS
      • Gentoo Linux​
      • Google Chromium OS
      • Kali Linux
      • Manjaro Linux Arch based Linux distribution, with 64 bit, 32 bit and ARM architectures
      • Open webOS
      • PiBang LinuxRaspbian derived Linux distribution with different desktop and applications
      • Pidora Fedora Remix version optimized
      • QtonPi linux distribution with a cross platform application framework based on Qt framework
      • RaspbianDebian Wheezy version for ARMv6 with hardware floating-point support
      • Slackware ARM also known as ARMedslack
      • Ubuntu MATE
      • Void Linux
      • Parrot SecOS
    • Plan 9 from Bell Labs
    • RISC OS 52​
    • Unix
      • FreeBSD
      • NetBSD
    • Windows
      • Windows 10
      • Windows CE
  • Lightweight multipurpose distributions
    • DietPi best light distribution for the Raspberry pi
    • Minibian Raspbian based light distribution
    • Moebius Debian-based ARM HF lightweight distribution that uses the Raspbian repository and fits on a 1GB SD card, uses few services and is optimized to use low memory
    • Squeezed Arm Puppy a version of Puppy Linux (Puppi) for ARMv6 (sap6) specifically for Raspberry Pi
  • Single purpose light distributions
    • Instant WebKiosk operating system with only one browser
    • IPFire
    • Micro Elastix open source solution for unified communications
    • OpenELEC
    • LibreELEC
    • OSMC distribution to make a media center with the Raspberry Pi
    • Raspbmc Distribution (discontinued)
    • Xbian is a small, fast and lightweight distribution to make a media center with the Raspberry Pi
TV Box, You-Box, Personal Computer

You-Box

You-Box

Youin You-Box was an audiovisual (multimedia) playback device for devices especially old televisions, which was manufactured by Youin

Youin is one of the big players in the world of electric scooters and, in addition to having controlled products related to mobility

During the transition that took place in February 2024 to TDT in HD in Spain, it diversified its activity and entered the world of smart television

Currently their website does not collect any more orders, they do not indicate anything about support and there is no information about the manuals for these devices

Its first device was the Youin You-Box, a proposal with Android TV launched to compete with alternatives such as Chromecast con Google TV or the Fire TV Stick 4K

There are a total of two models

Specifications
Model CPU type RAM (base) Mem. internal Connectivity Security Measurements Screen
EN1040K Quad-Core ARM Cortex A55 to 1908 Mhz 2 GB RAM DDR3 8GB flash storage 802.11 b/g/n/ac a 2,4 GHz / 5 GHz, Ethernet 100 MB, Bluetooth 4.2, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, USB C, Micro SD, HDMI, AV & SPDIF WPA2 235 x 162 x 65 mm. UHD 4K HDR 60fps H.265/HEVC 10bits, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos, DTS, AAC
EN1060K Quad-Core ARM Cortex A55 to 1908 Mhz 2 GB RAM DDR3 8GB flash storage 802.11 b/g/n/ac a 2,4 GHz / 5 GHz, Ethernet 100 MB, Bluetooth 4.2, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, USB C, Micro SD, HDMI, AV & SPDIF, DVB-T2 DONGLE WPA2 235 x 162 x 65 mm. UHD 4K HDR 60fps H.265/HEVC 10bits, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos, DTS, AAC
Supported codecs
Codec Resolution
VP9 Profile-2 4Kx2K@60fps
H.265 HEVC MP-10@L5.1 4Kx2K@60fps
AVS2-P2 Profile 4Kx2K@60fps
H.264 AVC HP@L5.1 4Kx2K@30fps
H.264 MVC 1080P@60fps
MPEG-4 ASP@L5 1080P@60fps (ISO-14496)
WMV/VC-1 SP/MP/AP 1080P@60fps
AVS-P16(AVS+) /AVS-P2 JiZhun Profile 1080P@60fps
MPEG-2 MP/HL 1080P@60fps (ISO13818)
MPEG-1 MP/HL 1080P@60fps (ISO-11172)
RealVideo 8/9/10 1080P@60fps
Supported video files
Codec
*.mkv
*.wmv
*.mpg
*.mpeg
*.dat
*.avi
*.mov
*.iso
*.mp4
*.rm
*.jpg
*.bmp
*.gif

Software

You-Box uses an operating system designed especially for this type of device, in which Miracast is used to display content; The system is composed of the following parts:

Starting screen: this is displayed when content is not being sent
Application screen: this shows the content sent

Functioning

Use Android TV as the main application screen, where we can quickly access everything we have downloaded

It is also quite easy for us to access the content that we have been playing from the list, that allows us to resume our favorite series or movie in a matter of seconds

In addition to being able to access the applications that we have downloaded, this device has Chromecast Built-In, so we can send content from the phone to the box, as if from a Chromecast it was about

This Chromecast Built-in has small limitations regarding Chromecast, since it is a service emulated by software, although the experience is similar

Models

EN1040K

At the design level this Android TV box has a fairly compact box that will barely take up space in the furniture where we place it

The device fits in the palm of a hand and has a small central LED that tells us when it is off (red) and when it is on (blue)

It is made of plastic, with the company logo on the top and various ports both on the back and on the sides

When we turn it we find multiple ports to make connections: slot for micro-SD cards, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 on its side

On the back, the power input, an Ethernet port that supports up to a maximum of 100 MB, HDMI 2.1, AV, optical input for audio cable and USB-Type C cable

Its casing is made of a somewhat porous plastic, on which it is easy for dust to become embedded in its surface, so it is recommended to clean it from time to time, so that it does not generate too much heat

Although thanks to its internal heatsinks and small size, heat is not usually a big problem

In terms of performance, it is fluid and fast, the device already comes with 8 GB of memory, of which just over 5 are free to install our apps

It is enough to download a couple of heavy applications so that the storage fills up and we have to uninstall apps to free it up

To solve this lack, it has microSD, USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and USB C slots that allow us to connect memory cards, USB flash drives and Type C Hub to read local content from Android TV

MicroSD cards or USB flash drives can also be left connected (if we remove them we will not be able to access the apps) to use them as shared internal memory, which will be added to the 8 GB that it has

Video playback is automatically adjusted according to the content we are watching, with a maximum resolution of 4K up to 60 FPS and with HDR playback in formats such as Dolby Vision

If our television does not support said resolution, the contents will be adapted to the maximum resolution supported by it, without rescaling of any kind

It includes a very complete, somewhat small remote control, which allows us to access all the buttons without overlapping keystrokes between them

The controller is well finished visually and is quite complete in functionality, with several interesting dedicated buttons: Netflix, YouTube, Prime Vídeo and Google Play

Likewise, we have a dedicated button for the Google Assistant, just by pressing it, we can speak directly to the microphone included in the remote control, to give it voice commands

It also has buttons to add content directly to favorites or access settings

The You-Box control is thus even more complete than that of the Chromecast con Google TV, with a similar size, but with fewer buttons

Preinstalled has the version of Android TV 10 which can be updated via OTA and the official Google patch of October 2020

It was launched in Europe on June 7, 2021 for €79.99

EN1060K

EN1060K no incluye ninguna mejora en cuanto a hardware, manteniendo todas la características del EN1040K

Includes the DVB-T2 DONGLE to be able to comfortably watch TV via TDT, which even supports the H.265 codec, compatible with TDT2

Preinstalled has the version of Android TV 10 which can be updated via OTA and the official Google patch of December 2022

It was launched in Europe on March 21, 2023 for €89.90

DVB-T2 DONGLE

The USB dongle plugs into the USB-C port and the other end to the antenna cable

Once turned on, we can use the pre-installed TV LIFE app and from it, tune in to the TV or radio channels that come to us through the antenna

Then, whenever we press the television-shaped button on the remote control, we can directly access the TV LIFE application and watch live television

pre-installed apps

pre-installed apps
app Description
Netflix subscription service to watch series and movies
Prime Video subscription service to watch series and movies
YouTube subscription service to watch current music videos, content about video games, beauty, fashion, news, learning and much more. Allows creation of user channels and sharing videos with friends on any device
Google Play Películas subscription service to watch series and movies
Google Play Juegos subscription service to play alone or with friends, includes tracking of your achievements. Allows you to save your games where you left them and recover them on any device
Google Play Store store service, contains free or paid apps through subscription. Serves as a repository for installation on the device