Open source
Christian Cawley eschews his usual laptop to discover whether the Raspberry Pi 4 can really act as a desktop replacement.
Use a Raspberry Pi as your daily driver
Much has been written about using a Raspberry Pi as a desktop replacement. When the Raspberry Pi launched in 2012, this seemed unfeasible. With the arrival of the 8GB Raspberry Pi 4, it is eminently possible.
Take the basic specification of a low-cost desktop PC from a well-known retail park supplier. The Lenovo IdeaCentre 3 is under $900 and features an i5 CPU, 5GB RAM, and a 1TB drive. Storage aside, there isn’t anything to set that computer apart from a quad-core 1.5GHz Raspberry Pi 4. In many ways this is comparing apples and oranges, but it seems like the Pi is ready for “the big time.” Of course, there’s only one way to find out, which is why we’ve spent a working week using the Raspberry Pi as our main computer.
To clarify, every word of this feature has been written on the Raspberry Pi 4 8GB model seen in the accompanying photos.
Which Pi filling?
We’ve tried giving the Raspberry Pi a run as a potential desktop replacement since picking up the original Model B. All models since have spent time on our desk trying to substitute a desktop, attempting to run as a daily driver.
Only the Pi 3B+ and Pi 4 4GB have come close. Both have shortcomings, which is why the Pi 4 8GB raises the prospect of a Raspberry Pi solution that can make office productivity affordable for everyone. The Pi 400 is a potential option too, and with a similar spec to the 4GB model of the Raspberry Pi 4, it’s a smart alternative if you don’t have a suitable keyboard.
To ensure the effectiveness of a Raspberry Pi for daily work, we chose the model with the best specification, the Raspberry
Pi 4 8GB.
This model measures 85.6x56.5mm, has Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports and a USB-C power input. Two Micro HDMI ports for video output can support dual 4K displays, and there’s a combined stereo and video port. 802.11ac wireless internet is available, compatible with 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, along with
Bluetooth 5.0 BLE.
All the required connectivity options are available, ensuing easy plug-in of a mouse and keyboard, external drive, and anything else you might need. The best performance from a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB can be encouraged with the addition of heatsinks and a fan.
Your Pi needs
Before proceeding, some consideration of exactly how you use your PC or laptop is required before shifting to a Raspberry Pi. Advanced graphical or video work is probably going to be unsuitable (although worth further investigation). However, standard nine-to-five office tasks, programming, study and music playback are all easily achievable.
Unless you’re using the Pi 400, you’ll need a keyboard and a mouse. Almost any standard desktop input device you can think of should work out of the box, although wireless options might need a little tweaking.
Raspberry Pi OS is the perfect operating system for this purpose. While something like Puppy Linux/RasPup will give you the lightest possible desktop, an environment with all the tools you’ll need already installed is best. So, the Raspberry Pi OS with desktop and recommended software option is ideal.
For file storage, you might rely on the microSD card. However, this is probably not ideal in the event of your card being prone to errors. As such, a cloud or external storage device is recommended. As such, you’ll need a good network connection.
One element that is easily overlooked is printer access. This is relatively straightforward to set up on the Pi. Start by installing CUPS
sudo apt install cups
Wait while CUPS and its dependencies install, then assign the default (pi) user administrative rights to CUPS with the following:
sudo usermod -a -G lpadmin pi
User pi is now a member of the lpadmin user group.
In the Pi’s browser, open
https://localhost:631. The browser will display a warning: Your connection is not private. Expand and click Advanced > Proceed to localhost (unsafe). The link, in this instance, is safe; you have installed CUPS, the port number 631 provides access to the CUPS server in your browser. Usually a browser displaying “Your connection is not private” is important, especially if you’re browsing the web).
If you’re using a network printer, ensure it is switched on and connected to the same network as your Raspberry Pi. Otherwise, connect your USB printer to a spare port on your Pi and power it up.
In the CUPS interface, find Administration and authorise the pi user. Click Add Printer to prompt CUPS to search for your printer. Select the best option for your printer model. This may require
some research, as some printer manufacturers don’t provide Linux drivers for ARM devices. It’s not unusual to repeat this stage several times until you find the right driver, so be patient.
When you’re done, open a document in LibreOffice Writer and initiate a test print. If it prints as intended, you’re ready to proceed.
Finally, identify any applications
you might need. Web tools are a good alternative where available, with most running perfectly in the Chromium browser.
Pi Ho, Pi Ho, it’s off to work we go…
The next stage is to consider whether you need to install additional software. Using the standard Raspberry Pi OS, you’ll find the Chromium browser, LibreOffice, and an email client preinstalled. Do you need anything else? Now is the time to install it.
For example, if you’re going to require regular command line access then you might spend time installing guake, an advanced terminal app. For notetaking, the NixNote program is a smart open source Evernote client.
Of all the software in Raspberry Pi OS, the most important tool you’ll have is Chromium. It now runs as well on a Pi as on any other device. This means that web apps that don’t have installable alternatives for the Raspberry Pi can be accessed. Everything from
Microsoft Office 365 to Slack, Zoom and Trello can be run in Chromium.
Working from home and concerned about privacy? If you usually access the web via a VPN you should install OpenVPN on your Raspberry Pi and consult your VPN provider’s notes on OpenVPN support.
Lessons learned
While an overall successful working week was completed using the Raspberry Pi 4, it wasn’t completely plain sailing.
Primarily, the lack of flexibility for a standard Raspberry Pi proved difficult. Limited to working at the dining table, other activities, from kids’ homework to mealtimes, all impeded on productivity. Unlike most people, I had the option of switching to a RasPad 3, but this isn’t an ideal solution. Further, it requires you to choose between transplanting the entire Pi into the RasPad case, simply swapping over the microSD card, or just switching your external storage to the alternative computer.
Other quibbles are less disruptive. Using Chromium is a smart idea, especially if you rely on Google services. However, while signing into the browser is a good option, you’ll need to review the extensions you have installed as some will restrict functionality of web tools and even the Pi itself. Additionally, keeping browser tabs to a minimum for productivity tasks is wise.
Remember: we spent five days working on a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB. A model with less RAM won’t yield the same results. For example, Slack won’t run on a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ browser; syncing from cloud storage can be sluggish even on the Pi 4 2GB. Furthermore, regardless of which model of Raspberry Pi you use, the wrong keyboard and mouse can prove quite a barrier to productivity.
With five days of work completed, the Raspberry Pi 4 8GB has proved its competence as a desktop replacement. The idea of a sub-$120 computer setup that has the processing capacity to substitute a device for three times the price might seem unrealistic, but with almost a decade of development behind it, the Raspberry Pi is ready.
Sure, it’s not going to replace a gaming PC, but it’s more than adequate for office productivity, whether you’re installed in a global corporation or working on your next coursework assignment.