SARPi Project - Slacking on a Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi Review by the SARPi Project

In this RPi review section you'll find summaries of the various Raspberry Pi hardware versions and revisions which are , their suitability for running Slackware Linux, and any other candid opinions and musings that may be relevant, or notable, by the SARPi Project.

The is the latest addition to the SARPi Project's compliment of Arm-based devices. We've been testing and playing around with these microcontroller boards and hope to start publicly supporting these devices, by sharing some fun mini-project things to do with them, very soon™.

Quick Links

• What is the Raspberry Pi?
• Is Slackware Linux and the Raspberry Pi a good combination?
• Availability of the Raspberry Pi : 2020-2024
• Raspberry Pi Reviews
• Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller

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What is the Raspberry Pi?

The Raspberry Pi Foundation was incorporated in 2009 and is a registered charity in England and Wales, with a vision that every young person develops knowledge, skills, and confidence to use computers and digital technologies effectively. With long-term goals for promoting awareness, education, and research towards computing. Who have made it their mission to assist everyone in realising their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies with the objective of furthering the advancement of education of adults and children, particularly in the field of Computers, Computer Science and related subjects. Experience AI is a new educational programme, developed in collaboration by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind, that offers cutting-edge Key Stage 3 resources on artificial intelligence and machine learning for teachers and their students. The programme supports teachers in the exciting and fast-moving area of AI, and gets young people passionate about the subject. The Raspberry Pi Foundation's mission is powered by a global network of thousands of volunteers who believe that computing is a vital aspect of today’s world. They aspire to empower teachers to give young people the skills they need to shape this world and provide high-quality CPD training courses, classroom resources, and online events for teachers. All for free. The Raspberry Pi Foundation Group includes CoderDojo Foundation (Irish registered charity), Raspberry Pi Foundation North America, Inc., and Raspberry Pi Educational Services Private Limited (a company incorporated in India to deliver educational services).

Raspberry Pi Ltd. (a subsidiary of the Raspberry Pi Foundation) was founded in 2008 and incorporated in 2012. Raspberry Pi Ltd. are a limited company in the United Kingdom who manufacture a series of modular, single-board computers (SBCs), and microcontroller chips and boards, built on Arm-based architecture and supported by their own in-house developed software. Raspberry Pi Ltd provides high-quality, low-cost computing solutions to people and businesses all over the world. For personal use at home and also for industry. Raspberry Pi Ltd. are also responsible for creating the company's first custom Arm chip, the RP2040, designed in-house with Arm Flexible Access and now at the heart of the Raspberry Pi Pico. Raspberry Pi Ltd. also manage and maintain the official documentation for Raspberry Pi computers and microcontrollers.

These Raspberry Pi organisations and all their services, computer hardware, and software, are what's collectively referred to, and commonly known as, "Raspberry Pi". Raspberry Pi promotes computing for all purposes, and on multiple levels. From corporations, institutions, industries, and businesses large and small, to the individual 'garage workshop' hobbyist, to the classroom coder, making Raspberry Pi products accessible and affordable for everybody. People from all walks of life and levels of knowledge and experience are able to engage in Raspberry Pi computing.

• One exceptional example is when NASA launched two new Astro Pi units into space on 21 December 2021.

Raspberry Pi:"We’re on a mission to put high-performance, low-cost, general-purpose computing platforms in the hands of enthusiasts and engineers all over the world."

From humble new beginnings...

The "Pi computer" concept was the brainchild of Eben Upton, while he was working for Broadcom as a system-on-a-chip architect. Although, his intention was not to make computers as a whole but "to get kids programming", and the computers were a vehicle towards that end in the beginning. The primary proposal was to manufacture approx. 10,000 units under a "Raspberry Computers" company brandname (a reference to a fruit naming tradition in the old days of microcomputers) to produce a computer that was only capable of running Python (which is where the "Pi" moniker came from) and distribute them to schools and academic institutions. Although the protoype Pi designs and resulting final product were much more capable than the original objective. Incidentally, the first batch of 10,000 Raspberry Pi boards were sold-out within hours on the first day of public sale. An event that brought down the Raspberry Pi supplier's websites for approx. 24 hours due to public interest, such was the demand for these new Arm devices, which even surprised its creators.

• Read all about The inside story of the Raspberry Pi. From its inspiration and development, to plans for its future - [tech news article by Nick Heath for ZDNet].

• An interesting insight into The Epic Story of the Raspberry Pi - [article by Patrick Fromaget of RaspberryTips.com].

The fledgling Raspberry Pi Model B was released on 29 February 2012 (initially supplied with 256MB RAM, which was supplanted by an upgraded 512MB RAM version on 04 October 2012) and is a credit-card sized single-board computer (SBC) which was conceived with the primary goal of teaching computer programming to children. It was developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, who are a registered charity in the United Kingdom (UK). The foundation exists to promote the study of computer science and related topics, especially at school level, and to put the fun back into learning computing. Since 2013, Raspberry Pi devices have been developed and supported by a subsidiary of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, named Raspberry Pi Ltd. Basically, the "Raspberry Pi" is a miniature ARM-based computer which can be used for many of the tasks that a conventional desktop PC carries out, including spreadsheets, word-processing, games, and is also more than capable of playing High-Definition video. It's a very neat little box of tricks that's just oozing with potential! It's based around mobile phone technology and Rob Bishop said about the Raspberry Pi Model B, "In many ways this is a cellphone without the baseband, without a radio." during his Raspberry Pi Foundation - Google campus presentation on 01 October 2012. These ARM devices have many other applications both in the developed and the developing world. (Read more).

Since its initial launch, the Raspberry Pi range has seen a number of revision updates and upgraded models released. In the decade between 2012-2022 Raspberry Pi sold over 45 million units worldwide, and created a market worth +$1 billion. In 2024 that figure has risen to over 60 million units... and counting.

Is Slackware Linux and the Raspberry Pi a good combination?

Running Slackware Linux on any Raspberry Pi single board computer is a match made in heaven. That's mainly down to the operating system rather than the hardware because Slackware, as a general rule, runs flawlessly on anything it's installed on. Obviously, Slackware runs faster on a Raspberry Pi 5 than it does on a Raspberry Pi 2, but it doesn't matter how fast it's performing or the speed of the hardware it's running on. Slackware just does what it's designed to do on the Raspberry Pi devices, and that's usually without any problem(s).

Raspberry Pi computers are renowned for their rudimentary ease of use and steadfast reliability. Therefore, with the same attributes being true of Slackware, it makes perfect logical sense to compliment Raspberry Pi computers with Slackware Linux operating systems.

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Availability of the Raspberry Pi : 2020-2024

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic [2020-2022] on businesses, and especially the manufacturing industry in general, was cataclysmic for world industry and supply chains. It ruinously impeded turnaround times in converting raw materials into finished products across the board. This had a domino effect on the availability of Raspberry Pi hardware as semiconductors and other components became sparse. As a result, retailers, consumers, and end-users exacerbated the situation as the unconscionable, but predictable, panic-stricken purchasing of existing stocks ensued and sky-rocketed to dizzying new heights, which effectively caused a drought in all Raspberry Pi model's availability for close to two years! By mid-2023 Raspberry Pi stocks were starting to be replenished back to their former levels, which was greatly expedited by Raspberry Pi Ltd. who had planned for, and made provisions for, this eventuality and worked closely with their partners during this crisis to attenuate the negative effects on businesses and consumers.

If you're finding it difficult to locate available stock(s) of the Raspberry Pi then the following website may be helpful: https://rpilocator.com

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Raspberry Pi Reviews

Below is a list (in reverse chronological order) of available Raspberry Pi hardware versions, their initial release date, SARPi support status, and end of life [EOL] status according to Raspberry Pi Ltd.'s projected obsolescence statement.

Click the 'Hardware Version' links for in depth reviews and further information on individual models.

Hardware Version	Release Date	SARPi Support	EOL*
Raspberry Pi 5 Model B	23 Oct 2023	Yes	January 2035
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W	28 Oct 2021	No	January 2028
Raspberry Pi 400	02 Nov 2020	Yes	January 2026
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B	24 Jun 2019	Yes	January 2026
Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+	15 Nov 2018	Yes	January 2028
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+	14 Mar 2018	Yes	January 2026
Raspberry Pi Zero W	28 Feb 2017	No	January 2026
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B	29 Feb 2016	Yes	January 2026
Raspberry Pi Zero	26 Nov 2015	No	January 2026
Raspberry Pi 2 Model B	02 Feb 2015	Yes	January 2026
Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+	10 Nov 2014	EOS: 01 Aug 2023	January 2026
Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+	14 July 2014	EOS: 01 Aug 2023	January 2026
Raspberry Pi 1 Model A	04 Feb 2013	EOS: 01 Aug 2023	01 Jul 2022
Raspberry Pi 1 Model B	15 Oct 2012 (512MB) 29 Feb 2012 (256MB)	EOS: 01 Aug 2023	01 July 2022

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Raspberry Pi Pico

The Raspberry Pi Pico series is a range of 32-bit Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller boards featuring the flagship RP2040 chip, designed by Raspberry Pi in the United Kingdom. The Arm Cortex-M0+ processor is the most energy-efficient Arm processor available for constrained embedded applications.

Legend: [ H = with headers | W = with wireless | WH - with wireless and headers ]

Hardware Version	Release Date	SARPi Support	EOL*
Raspberry Pi Pico WH	30 Jun 2022	Yes, soon™	January 2034
Raspberry Pi Pico W	30 Jun 2022	Yes, soon™	January 2034
Raspberry Pi Pico H	30 Jun 2022	Yes, soon™	January 2034
Raspberry Pi Pico	21 Jan 2021	Yes, soon™	January 2034

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EOL* - The official discontinuation of Raspberry Pi models by Raspberry Pi Ltd. seems to be somewhat of a hazy, grey area. This can be confusing and misleading in some cases. For example, [date: Sep 2023] Raspberry Pi Ltd. lists the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B as discontinued on https://www.raspberrypi.com/products [see: "Show Older Products" under the "Raspberry Pi computers and microcontrollers" heading] but states that this model will be in production until at least January 2026 on the linked Raspberry Pi 2 Model B products page. Furthermore, information relating to some earlier products [e.g. Raspberry Pi 1 Model A/B] have been removed from the news and product web pages, while some technical schematics are still accessible on the Raspberry Pi Documentation page.

The SARPi Project does not support the Raspberry Pi Zero [W] or the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W but Slackware Linux can still be installed and run on these devices. There are members of the Slackware community who have gone to the time and trouble, and cost, of installing Slackware on Raspberry Pi Zeros but we haven't. For a low priced computer that's advertised as 'A tiny Raspberry Pi that’s affordable enough for any project!', you might not be aware that initially the cable(s), adapter(s), and anything else that's required, can cost more than the device itself. The Raspberry Pi Zero [W] features the same SoC as the Raspberry Pi Model B. The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W features the same SoC as a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B but runs at 1GHz. The Raspberry Pi Zero [2] [W] devices have 512MB RAM.

The Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller boards and not suitable for installing or running Slackware Linux. These boards are intended for running MicroPython scripts (i.e. a version of Python especially for microcontrollers) to support projects by enthusiasts, hobbyists, tinkerers, etc. That said, it's very possible to install and run a lightweight OS such as Fuzix, PyDOS, or FreeRTOS, on them. The RP2040 is hailed as the "Raspberry Pi flagship microcontroller chip", but it's their only microcontroller chip to be released, to date.