Endless OS

• Overall: Looked REALLY good, possibly a little early.  Follow project and retry.
  VERY interesting OS!  Simple, lots of software.  May be easier than a Mac!

• Motivation:   Future replacement for our family's Mac?   Possibly grandkids first genpurpose compooter
  Tagline:  "Technology that Enriches Life.  Endless OS comes with everything your family needs"

• See also hack-computer.com.  EndlessOs is underpinning for Kids Computer project!

• Notes in Raspberry Pi 4 Preview Release | Endless OS 3.7.7~beta1, Late Jan 2020.  Downloaded 3.7.8

• Install Notes

  • Downloaded via Torrent on this page endlessos.com/download.  Not marked as beta, but ... unsure

  • Created SD using etcher ... used 32g micro sd due to size of disk image - 19g!  Room for expansion!

  • Came right up, very simple install ... its different

  • Finding way around was different ... but simple

  • Looks like ARM version may still be evolving, but most things worked right out of the box

  • Settings available if you right click on user icon (initials) in lower right

  • Performance was so so.  A youtube video pegs it, some clipping & studders

  • Stability ... some stumbles.  

    • Seemed to have trouble waking up, even with non bluetooth keyboard/mouse.
      I set Suspend & Power Button to off, simply let monitor blank after 15 Mins 

    • Settings app refused to run @ one point.  Fine after reboot

    • Struggled to Restart @ another time.  Had to power cycle

    • Didnt like to shut down ... seems to hang 

  • Most Hardware worked 

    • HDMI 

      • No dual monitor options that I could see

      • HDMI Audio was low vol even when slider maxed.  Had to alsamixer it up to hear

    • Networking 

      • Ethernet worked fine

      • WiFi works ... but ... had to reconnect after reboot

    • Bluetooth worked well

      • it EVEN noticed our Smart TV and tried to pair with it ... will have to play with that!

      • Apple Magic mouse and keyboard came right up

      • It DID see BT smart TV ... this may be alternative monitor

    • Audio/Sound - no option for 3.5mm audio jack, hdmi sound only option

  • Lots of preinstalled apps.  Arranged on desktop like a smartphone

• Enough, will download and try again when next version comes out

Manjaro (XFCE)

• Overall:  Looked good, ran pretty well.  Not for me tho.  Aborted testing, too excited about KDE/Plasma version (see below)

• Motivation:   MiPi Project - my X86 Desktops are getting old, RPi 4 SHOULD be suitable replacement

• See also Manjaro (KDE) below

• Install Notes

  • Using slow 32g Micro SD again

  • Downloaded from https://manjaro.org/downloads/arm/raspberry-pi-4/arm8-raspberry-pi-4-xfce/

  • Etcher to create SD ... yada yada

  • Booted up fine, same install menu as KDE/Plasma

  • Bluetooth Keyboard - apple (A1314) and logitech mouse (M720 Triathalon) paired right up!

  • updated via gui (panel notification), couple of errors.

  • Not as glitzy as Plasma, basic gui and tools - e.g. System monitor is Terminal with Htop running

  • Didn't know how to log into network drives - not much time spent on it

  • Ran thru initial tests, all seemed well - even places where kde/plasma struggled like bluetooth & Openshot editor.  BUT ... doesn't have the look and feel I was looking for.  I'm used to Cinnamon and Mac OSX

  • Actually seemed a little less responsive than KDE/Plasma ... surprised. 

Manjaro (KDE)

• Overall:  Wow!  Looks really good!  Easy to use, surprisingly fast.  Possibly my utopia
  Currently my top choice in Search for RPi Desktop replacement.  Will revisit w/ a better SD card!  Antics HERE

• Motivation:   MiPi Project - X86 Desktops are getting old, RPi 4 SHOULD be suitable replacement

• Manjaro is apparently well regarded desktop distro.  Have played with on x86 in the past - nice

  • From Manjaro.org:  "a suitable replacement for Windows or MacOS"
    Tagline:  Enjoy the Simplicity" (Exactly what I'm looking for!)

  • Started w/ KDE Plasma version - haven't seen plasma for a long time

• Install Notes - have not found Arm install notes ... but haven't really needed them!!

  • Using slow 32g micro SD ... all I had available

  • Download from manjaro.org/downloads/arm/raspberry-pi-4/arm8-raspberry-pi-4-kde-plasma/

  • Oh, oh!  Arm Documentation looks like skeleton page ... "This group don't use Wiki." 

  • Created SD using Etcher on x86, of course

  • Booted RIGHT UP!  ARM install menu

    • Wow!  Keyboard List includes the Apple Magic keyboard I plan to use!
      Stuck wireless with Logitech initially

    • Prompted to add user and additional user groups - unsure how/what power default user has, so I added myself to wheel and power groups

    • I did get to set passwords during install - including root

    • Came Right up!  Looks really nice!

    • ssh enabled by default - apparently no root access via ssh

    • hmmm ... its not apt-get or rpm or yum ... It's Pacman!

    • Appears to be skeletal RPi config.txt in /boot

  • Checklist run-down (see table above)

    • Things look good ... but will do updates first - from gui panel. 241 of them!

      • Oh Oh!  Warnings:  Error while configuring (x3), looks like it was working on Germany and japan!  I may be OK in USA!

      • Update looked to be mostly KDE.  Plasma from 5.18.1 to 5.18.3

    • On with checklist ...

    • Bluetooth - LOOKS like its working .... BUT ...

      • Apple Magic keyboard detected and connected, but doesn't work - I'll revisit this
        Looks like I may have fumbled pairing 

      • Logitech BT Mouse (M720 Triathalon) - seems to connect and be avail, but no workie!

      • I'll revisit this - it sees BT stuff, I should be able to fiddle my way out of this!

      • HEY!  Reboot and Voilà - BT Apple keyboard and Logitech BT Mouse came right up!

    • Audio - LOOKS good!

      • VERY Happy to hear HDMI audio - my raspbian/cinnamon stopped working!

      • 3.5mm Audio jack - no go, will revisit this.  I can see it in Alsamixer, it'll work

    • Displays/Dual Monitors - Dual Monitors worked right out of the gates

      • Something strange - programs appear to pop up on Monitor #2, Not sure why, but behavior seems normal once they are closed/repopened

    • Everything seems to work as its supposed to!  Nice Change!

    • No Temp Monitor that I could find

      • Installed cpu-temp-speed, CLI, but it works

    • WiFi worked fine - looks like it can create a hotspot!  Added to my ToDo list to try.

  • Performance is looking really good - youtube video runs great w/ approx 34% CPU utilization, temp 38C - This is MUCH better than raspbian/cinnamon contraption I've been using!

  • Apps - Repository looks great - Installed a dozen or so apps that I use, spot checked

    • Openshot video editor fails at launch - looked repairable:  python undefined symbol

    • EVERYTHING ELSE SEEMED TO WORK *and* performed well!

    • Installed ksystemlog, did not see log viewer

openSUSE (XFCE)

• Overall: Looks nice!  Probably a little early.  

• Motivation:  MiPi Project - X86 Desktops are getting old (me too), RPi 4 SHOULD be suitable replacement

• openSUSE is pretty well know Desktop world, may try a couple of these

  • Started with Tumbleweed XFCE from download.opensuse.org/ports/aarch64/tumbleweed/images/

  • Release info @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSUSE#Distribution

  • RPi Sing-a-long:  https://en.opensuse.org/HCL:Raspberry_Pi4

• Install Notes:

  • Dowloaded from http://download.opensuse.org/ports/aarch64/tumbleweed/images/

  • Using slow 32g Micro SD PNC - only one I had avail

  • Imaged SD using etcher.io, worked fine

  • Booted right up!  U/P=root/linux

  • Started with wireless USB keyboard and trackpad

  • SSH enabled by default

  • Ran YaST online update (from start menu) - hmmm?  nothing installed

  • Networking - Ethernet and Wifi - seemed fine right out of the box

  • Will have to do some fiddling to get other stuff working ... looks to be worth the effort

  • Stumbled through YaST update, looks like I got alsa, bluetooth stuff & more

  • Installed blueman - didn't detect bluetooth hardware

  • Similar for Audio - no hardware detected

  • Found YaST hardware Info - seemed like a lot of Pi hardware not detected

  • Enough for now ... I'll revisit when there is a Leap version

Kano OS

• Overall:  Looks & Works VERY WELL!  BUT...Future is uncertain.  Will watch and explore using open source parts (Parental controls, for example).  Sad if this was killed off, it was pretty well thought out and cool!

  • Hold the Phone!   This Dec 2019 Techcrunch article suggests RPi underpinning is being replaced by Windoze!  No wonder install image was Stretch and dated October 2019!   I hope it stays alive in opensource community!

  • I set a watch a couple of threads on community board ...

    • https://community.kano.me/t/kano-abandoning-the-pi-platform

    • https://community.kano.me/t/whats-the-future-of-pi-based-kano-since-kano-pc-is-coming

• Motivation:   Looking for starter environment for 4 year old.  

• Install Notes

  • Created 8g boot SD using Etcher

  • Install is is VERY cool, it's interactive, designed for kid.  Introduces computer while gathering setup info

    • 'Whats your name?" -> user info

    • Interactive audio test guided me to 3.5mm output

    • Trackpad setup/test

    • Background Colors

    • Personal Icon

    • Kano World Account - with Parent permission!  Nicely done!

  • Aftermath

    • Settings->Advanced includes 

      • SSH Client (sshd)

      • Parental Controls - looks good!

    • Still Rasbian behind the scenes - apt-get for missing stuff

    • LXTerminal in Apps under Code tab 

  • Hardware/Software Tests - Pi hardware seems good, some config options are tough to find or non-existent

    • Seemed to prefer keyboard+trackpad.  my K400r was perfect, mouse/keyboard would prob be fine

    • Insisted on 3.5mm audio during install, easily changed to hdmi

    • Also forced WiFi during setup, Ethernet would prob work with a tweak or two

    • No apparent power management

    • Bluetooth was there and configurable, noticed some devices but didn't see my mouse.  

    • Samba wasn't installed

• Very well thought out and easy to use

• Performance was good EXCEPT when browsing - Chromium sucks it all up!

• Guide to Parental Controls - Slider was hard to see on my display, but it was there!  Looks REALLY good!

• Apps - Nice library.  Prob 50 apps or so

  • Sort of a combination of local apps and web-based (Kano World) 

  • Easy to add apps to main screen

  • Standard apps seem to focus on learning to use computer and programming (blocks)

    • Wow!  Original Adventure!  plugh!   Nice/fun!

    • Terminal Quest teaches linux commands/terminal use!

Ubuntu-Mate

• Overall:  Aborted.   Will try next beta (64-bit).  Couldn't stabilize on my RPI3+.  Ended up bricking it

• Motivation - Just realized I've never really tried Ubuntu on RPI!
  2 possible interests:   

  • Looking for starter environment for 4 year old grandkid ... preschool+
    If this works, I may be able to install remnants of Edubuntu (ubuntu-edu-preschool)

  • Have been looking for OS capable of replacing my main desktop - MiPi Project
    Currently using Manjaro, but has been sort of one step forward, one step back progress

• Ubuntu-mate.org/about/ - Also had Experimental 64-bit on website

• Install Notes

  • Etcher'ed a 16g SD

  • Booted up fine - one goofy message "sdhost-bmc2835 already registered, aborting..."

  • Installer is nice - came right up

  • Fumbled with mate preferences, ultimately found raspi-config via terminal

    • SSh enabled but never got it working

    • /boot/config.txt appeared to be standard RPI

• Very difficult to use - mouse/keystroke delays, but didn't see processors pegged - odd

• Ended up rebooting to see if I could regain control but bricked it, wouldn't boot back into GUI
  - "EXT4-fs error loading journal" ... didn't mess with it

Sugar OS

• Overall:  It works, seems dated.   Interesting though, I'll keep image around to revisit
  OLPC has used Sugar for years, interesting project. Sugar on a Stick (SoaS) for quickstart

• Motivation:   Looking for starter environment for 4 year old.  

• Sugar is more of a Learning Platform, evolves as child grows.  wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/What_is_Sugar

  • SoaS is bootable image for pi, Fedora based (bad luck with Fedora on RPI in past, but quick way to start)

  • Should be able to install Sugar on OS of my choice if it works out

• Install Notes

  • Documentation is sort of spread around, will start here:
    https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Tutorials/Installation/Install_with_liveinst

  • It's different!  REALLY DIFFERENT!

  • Friggin Fedora!  Re-downloaded to retrace my install steps and hung in Fedora Installer

    • Problem appears to be Fedora 32 from SoaA download page 

    • Reverted back to Fedora 31 and life was much better
      https://archives.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/31/Spins/armhfp/images/Fedora-SoaS-armhfp-31-1.9-sda.raw.xz

  • Initial setup via Fedora Anaconda

    • hint:  set WiFi here, I fumbled with Net Config in Sugar GUI

    • Normal Setup, timezone, users ...

  • Sugar Initial Setup

    • Create user

    • Select Grade - options were:  Preschool, K-7, High School or Adult

  • Nav Notes:  

    • Move Mouse Pointer to any corner to reveal Neighborhood, Group, Home, Activity & Journal

    • Right Click on X-Stickman in middle for Settings, shutdown/restart, etc

    • List View (upper right icon) to enable/disable other apps.  Including terminal, Sys Logs, 

  • Hardware - most appear to work, may have to dig into Fedora to config

    • Bluetooth - looked like Bluetoothctl was installed, but didn't test/fiddle

    • Network Adapters

      • Ethernet worked right out of the gate.  Had to boot to switch to WiFi

      • WiFi worked.  Set up is in 'Neighborhood'.  But odd - SSID's appeared/disappeared

    • Networking - different, not samba-like.  Peer2peer mesh neighborhood

    • Looks like Mic and Camera would help for many apps

  • Apps/Software - see http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/.  

    • Not overly active, many older apps but a few added in past 2 years

    • Look/Feel is dated

    • Interesting 'Collections' of apps, like "Preschool"

    • Preinstalled Apps are interesting, not sure setting 'grade' during setup adjusts

    • Developer Resources @ https://github.com/sugarlabs/sugar-docs

Raspberry PI OS

• Overall:  More than a name change.  Should be OK on fresh installs, not sure about upgrading

• Motivation: Tagline:   "Raspberry PI OS is the new Raspbian" ... BUT ...
  ... Something changed, I updated (dist-upgrade) my old development RPi and noticed much has changed in official dist *and* some important environmental stuff broke (e.g. Wireless, Sound maybe more.  I had to restore DevPi from saved image).  Decided to give it a whirl as fresh install.

• Install Notes - Will follow recommended install @ https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/

  • Downloaded official RPI Imager (imager_amd64.deb).  HEY!  No arm version?!

    • Here Weee GO!  "Error:  Dependency is not satisfiable:  libqt5core5a (>=5.9.0~beta)"

    • Will do Mint updates first ... was a tad behind.  NOPE That didn't fix it!

    • Ended up attempting install from Mint Repo via Software Manager

    • Mint version of Imager was flatpak install that DID NOTHING!
      "systemd[1496]: Started app-flatpak-org.raspberrypi.rpi\x2dimager-5501.scope."

    • Aborted - created SD using etcher!   Yeeesh!  This is going to be interesting!  

  • Initial Boot:  Welcome to Raspberry Pi dialog

    • Set Country *and* Language *and* Keyboard 

    • Force Password change

    • Set up Screen 

    • Set up Wifi (if necessary - I skipped)

    • Forces Software Update

    • Ran Raspberry Pi Config GUI before initial reboot

      • Set Hostname

      • Enabled SSH (Interfaces tab)

    • <Customary initial Reboot>

  • Quick Hardware tests

    • Bluetooth - Still pretty flaky

      • paired w/ Mouse (logitech) FIRST TRY!

      • Apple Magic Keyboard, got pairing code but Connection Failed
        "GDBus.Error:org.bluez.Error.Failed: Input/Output error.  Try to connect manually"

        • Tried to manually connect - still I/O error

        • Boot for heck of it - Re-paired keyboard, STILL wouldn't connect

      • BT is still pretty clumsy:  failures, connections, recognizing devices when adding ... 

    • Networking - Seemed fine here

      • Ethernet worked out of the box

      • WiFi connected 

    • Audio - A little flaky too!  WTF
      // I'd guess this is side effect of treating Audio as 2 devices mentioned in release notes:  "Internal audio outputs enabled as separate ALSA devices" and blog announcement

      • HDMI Audio worked fine right out of the box

      • 3.5mm Jack Failed

        • Via GUI taskbar: changed from HDMI to Analog, but still HDMI audio

        • Reboot and Analog seemed to be working ... THEN couldn't switch to HDMI!

        • Bottomline - it takes a boot to switch audio sources

      • Appears to take a reboot after switch to/from HDMI or Analog ... both work after boot

    • Power Management

      • DPMS, powering off monitor STILL doesn't work w/o a tweak (pet peeve)

      • No sign of power management in GUI ... I'm sure I could stumble thru install

  • Software - Didn't test too much, a few notes:

    • Browser (chromium) hit me up with Raspberry Pi User Research survey on initial run - That's Fine
      BUT ... browser also popped up "Can't Update Chromium".  That shouldn't be after updates!

    • Noticed "Raspberry Pi Diagnostics" under Accessories ... only 1 option:  SD Card speedtest

    • Bookshelf app is new - See Blog Announcement, you can download RPi books and magazines

    • Networking

      • (samba) worked fine

      • Side Note:  WiFi was fine on clean install, but goofed upped on the Pi I have been using and upgrading for years.  Possibly 2 network managers?   

  • Other RPI's:  Booted SD on a few other versions of the RPI, just for heck of it. VERY quick tests!

    • RPI3B+:  Original test machine, couple of minor issues (see above).  idle @ 37C w/ fan & heatsinks

    • RPI4:  Booted fine, Dual Monitors worked, temp seemed good - 35C w/ fan and heatsinks

    • RPI3:  Booted fine, seem to work fine.  idle temp around 45C heatsinks only

    • RPI2:  Booted/Worked time.  WiFi via Edimax adapter worked fine, 37C w/ heatsinks only

    • RPI1:  Booted! Slow/unresponsive at times.  Wifi via Edimax adapter seemed to drop/reconnect.

Honeeepi

• Overall:  Great way to experiment with a variety of Honeypots - I'll keep mine running for a while

  • Project is a little stale (older OS & tools), no changes since 2016
    If/when I deploy a honeypot, I'll probably build one with latest/greatest version of selected tools

  • There is more here than doc describes - found a number of additional tools (see list below)

  • Moved mine to a RPI v1 Model B w/ edimax wifi adapter, works fine 

• Motivation:  Have had a Honeypot on ToDo list for a very long time - curious, interested in learning more

• Notes - singing along @ https://redmine.honeynet.org/projects/honeeepi/wiki

  • Image didn't boot on PI Zero (of course) ... worked fine on RPI 3 via ethernet

  • Switched to RPI 1 Model B, works fine with USB WiFi (edimax adapter)

  • dhcp and ssh (@ port 9002) on by default

  • Hmmm?  Had to sudo apt-get install raspi-config ... Doc mentioned it, but it wasn't there 

  • Had a couple of unscheduled reboots - may have been my impatience on RPI 1 

  • 32g SD is probably an overkill for testing/playing, I re-imaged with a 16g SD for my purposes

  • Apps/Addons appear to come from raspbian repo (jesse), I found what I needed to play

  • Commandline WiFi setup (I forgot) @ https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/wireless/wireless-cli.md

• Honeypot playtime - quite a few preinstalled tools - even some that were not in doc

  • Glastopf v3.1.3-dev: Web App HoneyPot - project is winding down, glastopf.org -> mushmush.org

    • Came right up on Honeeepi ... Played a little, may revisit

    • Marked as 'Maintenance' status on mushmush.org

    • Know Your Tool paper is interesting - how it works

    • Github project @ https://github.com/mushorg/glastopf 

    • Looks like snare is new web app honeypot used in conjunction with tanner ('the brains')

  • Conpot v0.5.1:  Industrial Controls Honeypot - very interesting - more @ http://conpot.org/

    • Honeeepi includes a number of ICS templates - meter, ipmi, tank monitor, etc

    • Seemed to fire up and run, but I need to learn MUCH more

    • Github project @ https://github.com/mushorg/conpot - seems to be active/current

  • Dionaea v0.1.0: Captures attack payloads and malware.  Looks interesting (for IoT?), but will take effort 

    • Seemed to run initially, but aborted on subsequent attempts - need to play more

    • Project may have changed hands - https://www.honeynet.org/project/Dionaea, but lots-o broken links

    • This doc looks pretty good - https://dionaea.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

    • Github project @ https://github.com/DinoTools/dionaea

  • Cowrie v2016/08/22 :  Telnet and SSH (and more?) Honeypot. 

    • Seems to run right out the box, some research and fiddling to do.  I trapped myself accidentally!

    • Homepage & Doc @ http://www.micheloosterhof.com/cowrie/

    • Github project @ https://github.com/micheloosterhof/cowrie

  • Kippo:  Bruteforce SSH Honeypot 

    • Was in doc, but no sign of Kippo on honeeepi I downloaded 

    • Github project @ https://github.com/desaster/kippo

    • Did not attempt to install yet

  • Amun v0.1.1:  A Python Honeypot - Looks like an old project (last update 2014)

    • HowTo not in Honeeepi doc - worked off of files in /honeeepi/amum and got it running - no testing

    • Start w/ instructions in INSTALL file - will take some poking to really play

    • Project appears to be @ https://sourceforge.net/projects/amunhoney/

  • Honeyd v1.6d:  Honeypot Daemon - virtual hosts w/ various personalities (OS, apps, etc) 

    • Was not listed in Honeepi doc, but installed and seems to work

    • Start @ /honeepi/honeyd/README and/or man honeyd

    • Old project - circa 2007 - website is alive @ http://www.honeyd.org

  • Snort v2.9.7.0 GRE (Build 149) - Intrusion Detection 

    • Noted in honeeepi doc but no instructions - it does seem to be installed and functional

    • A long road, but start @ snort.org there is a lot to this one

    • Right/wrong or not knowing any better, here's what I ran to test
      sudo snort -d -h 192.168.1.0/24 -l /home/pi/log -c /etc/snort/snort.conf

  • ntopng v2.5.160924 - Traffic Analysis (nice)

    • Also noted in honeepi project notes but no instructions - it also DOES seem to be there & work!

    • Looks like a trial license - runs for a few minutes?  Mine ran beyond expiration

    • Doc @ https://www.ntop.org/support/documentation/documentation/

    • To get it rolling

      • Start the service via sudo service ntopng start

      • point browser to http://<honeeepi-ip>:3000

      • login as admin/admin

      • Stop via sudo service ntopng stop (of course)

  • <Still sniffing around ... quite a bit on here ... possibly more to come>

•  Odds-N-ends

  • Nice list of Honeypots @ https://github.com/paralax/awesome-honeypots

Mozilla Things Gateway

• Overall:  Early, but looks VERY promising!   

  • Gateway is still under development (Experimental), but definitely worth following this project

  • I'll keep my IoT gateway alive and continue playing as the project matures

    • Gateway Remote Access appears to be well thought out - has been a DIY obstacle for me

    • I need zigbee & z-wave for my smart world - wonder if there is a combo USB

• Experimental - Announced in Feb 2018

• Motivation: Ongoing attempt to tame our 'Smart Home' - too many hubs & apps and untrusted cloud collectors/controllers

• Notes as I go - https://iot.mozilla.org/gateway/

  • Quick/Small download and painless sd create via etcher 

  • Booted right up

  • It's headless, OS access not intended - no login or ssh or GUI by default

    • You can add file called 'ssh' to boot partition if you really need to poke around

  • I initially logged in via Ethernet cable, but looks like I should have connected to its WiFi Hostspot 

  • Accessed via http://gateway.local

  • Created https://<myhub>.mozilla-iot.org during initial setup (bookmark/remember it)

  • RPI V2 w/ EDIMAX WiFi adapter seemed to work fine ... but I'll redo on RPI3 for bluetooth

  • RPI3 redo - this time following the instructions(!) and a WeMo Switch to see how this thing works

    • Setup via phone by connecting to "Mozilla IOT Gateway" SSID

    • Did an update just to get the witches out - updated to 0.3.1

  • RPI3 redo AGAIN - this time I WILL REALLY follow instructions 

    • Etcher.io is really nice!  It even burns sd using zipped image

    • Didn't forget to update - back to 0.3.1

    • Reclaimed my domain from previous install - that took a while

    • Odd behavior on macbook via chrome (coudnt access menu) - switched to linux desktop, chrome worked fine.  

    • Crap!  No WeMo!  Current hardware support @ github.com/mozilla-iot/wiki/wiki/Supported-Hardware

    • Installed GPIO adapter for time being 

      • how2 @ github.com/mozilla-iot/wiki/wiki/Configuring-GPIO-for-use-with-the-gpio-adapter

      • Hooked upped my breadboard, will play with gateway like this for a while

DietPi

• Overall on DietPi:  Works GREAT!  I think it may be my new starting point for Raspbian PI projects!

• Working on a couple of server-like projects, DietPi seems like a great quick-start - Looks nice!

  • Lightweight/Optimized OS:  "Give your single-board computer lightweight justice."

  • Interesting comparison to Rasbian Lite

  • Install guide @ http://dietpi.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9#p9

  • Versions for a wide variety of Single Board Computers - some very interesting alternatives on web site

• Notes

  • Very small/quick download (like 80M zip file) contains image, hash and readme

  • Booted up and dropped me right into install menu, quite nice- EVEN via SSH!

    • Appeared to expand FS automatically, looks like much will be done 

    • username/pw: root/dietpi

    • DietPi-Config is quite nice - quick setup/customization.  Notes

      • Display - GPU/RAM memory split is nice + LCD Panel addon (but not mine)

      • Audio - Quite a few soundcards preset

      • Performance tune is nice - Overclock profiles!

      • Network/NAS setup in config seems handy

      • Tools/Benchmarks in config:  great idea for tweaking!

    • Software installs

      • Nice collection of 'Optimized' software - Desktops, Remote access, etc

      • Additional software in menu appears to be subset of Raspbian repository

      • I installed favorite loose-ends manually using sudo apt-get

  • Some VERY interesting optimized software - actually distracted me from initial project

    • RPi-Monitor: web interface system stats. More info rpi-experiences.blogspot.fr/p/rpi-monitor.html

    • Shairport-sync preinstalled *and* functional!  Huge time saver for HomePi and CutiePi updates

    • MotionEye: web interface & surveillance for your camera - DietPi Notes

    • Home Assistant: open-source home automation platform

    • CloudPrint: print server for google cloud print - It's CUPS!  

    • Remot3.it: (Weaved) access your device over the internet (one of my favs)

    • <there are A LOT of great packages in here - Full Details & Doc HERE>

  • Notes from testing

    • Audio - use dietpi-config to change soundcard/output options (e.g. hdmi to 3.5mm)

    • Little bump w/wifi - seemed to have dropped connection, re-ran install while wired ... will revisit

    • Network shares - Little fumbling to turn on ... samba appears to be option in dietpi-config

    • Multiple GUI desktops offered, I used LXDE, worked great on RPI v2

    • Still no sign of power management (DPMS, specifically) 

• Rebooted my test SD (8g) on a PI Zero just for the heck of it ... quite impressive

  • RPi-Monitor, MotionEye (w/camera), Home Assistant and Remot3.it installed and running

  • Idles around 2%-10% CPU (not counting htop)

  • Running approx 15% CPU with MotionEye (streaming video)

  • Shairportsync wouldn't run - blew-up (illegal Inst) - I didn't mess with it

  • Simply a quick little test, but performance looked very promising

Raspbian Stretch

• Overall on Stretch:  Time to Upgrade.  Looks REALLY good.  Raspbian is coming along nicely!

  • Current release of RPI official OS, played w/ this a few months ago - time to revisit and upgrade!

• Notes 

  • Decided to start via NOOBS.  Wanted to see other OSes offered up during install - Nothing of interest

  • Install is VERY EASY via NOOBS

  • Hardware/peripherals worked right out of the box - even a bluetooth speaker

  • Noticed FTP feature in GUI file manager - VERY Handy feature!

  • Stumbled upon a nice jessie to stretch update HowTo, seemed to work well

Parrot OS

• Overall on Parrot:  Looked GOOD on RPI 2!   A little light on preinstalled tools, will revisit again

  • I will Redo this one with a larger SD (8g was tight) and test using a RPI 3

  • listed as 'experimental' on downloads page ... https://www.parrotsec.org/download-other.fx

  • Still digging around for readme/release notes, etc - https://cdimage.parrotsec.org/parrot/iso/arm/rpi/

• Parrot Security Project @ https://www.parrotsec.org/index.php
  "... GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian designed with Security, Development and Privacy in mind."

  • I've been waiting for this one!  Switched to Parrot for security testing a while ago on my netbook. 

  • nice selection of security tools - better than Kali, IMHO

• Install notes

  • Initial tests on RPI2 w/ Edimax Wifi adapter and 8g SD, will redo on PI 3 if I decide to keep it around

  • Automatically expanded filesystem on initial boot

  • Firefox kept rolling over (crash) when it first came up 

    • upgraded to see if FF would settle (apt-get upgrade) - Took hours!

    • Firefox still crashing, installed FF ESR (atp-get install firefox-esr)

    • Firefox settled down after reboot - not sure if reboot or ESR install or combination fixed it

  • Updates/Software

    • Had to set a root password - strange authentication errors during AutoUpdate & some app startups
      (sudo passwd root).  Default password supposed to be toor, but I had to set it

    • Strange warning when software installed, supposedly simply an FYI sort of warning
      W: http: aptMethod::Configuration: could not load seccomp policy: Invalid argument

    • Looks like a well stocked software repository - Synaptic Software MGR is easy

  • No sound via hdmi or 3.5mm jack - didn't fiddle with it, but noticed that alsa stuff was installed

  • Performance was respectable - even on RPI V2!  Very responsive/usable

  • One little glitch/hang that forced a reboot late in install - when futzing with Firefoxes.  No details

  • Pretty tight on 8g SD card!  I'd say 16g minimum if you are planning on capturing traffic

• Apps

  • Appears to be subset of tools that normally come pre-installed w/ Parrot ... will dig more

  • Rats!  No OpenVAS vulnerability scanner, it was nice to have it preinstalled on Parrot

  • Quick test of a few apps that would be handy on this thing

    • Wireshark seemed to work.  Watched net traffic on ethernet and wifi (edimax usb)

    • Nmap/Zenmap worked fine

    • Etherape OK

    • many more to test here

Mozilla Things Gateway

• Overall - This thing looks GREAT!  Still early/preview state, but I'll probably buy a Zigbee adapter when the next version is released.  Looks like a potential Smartthings Hub replacement.   I'll Keep testing this one

  • Main site =  Mozolla Things Gateway 

  • This is a redo of some testing earlier in year (see below)

  • Started from scratch - noticed new release of Things Gateway - 0.6.1 (oct 2018)

• Motivation:  Smartthings is a POS!  Latest version of Moz Gateway supposedly handles ST Sensors w/ Zigbee Adapter, of course.  Have also been looking for an easy GPIO interface and/or roll-your-own.

• Couple of good reads:

  • Original Web-of-Things overview @ https://hacks.mozilla.org/2017/06/building-the-web-of-things/

  • Things Framework to build your own @ https://iot.mozilla.org/things/

  • Web Thing API Draft Specification @ https://iot.mozilla.org/specification/

• Install notes

  • Singing along with https://hacks.mozilla.org/2018/02/how-to-build-your-own-private-smart-home-with-a-raspberry-pi-and-mozillas-things-gateway/

  • Pretty simple install/boot - 

    • Raspbian, Resizes fs on first boot

    • Acts like an AP - Connect to "Mozilla IoT Gateway" SSID to setup WiFi
      BUT ... never asked for password, consequently never came up on our WiFi

      • Logged in as pi/raspbian and raspi-config to get it on our WiFi network

      • Ack!  Reflashed, I must have done something wrong!

    • Razin Frazin - worked better last time ... connected it to a wire to get thru initial setup & WiFi config

    • Logged in as pi/raspberry and enabled ssh (raspi-config) - had a feeling it would be handy!

    • Added subdomain because I want to see how tunneling will work ...
      email confirmation request failed like this:
      
      This site can’t provide a secure connection
      
      api.mozilla-iot.org sent an invalid response.
      ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR

• Connect to gateway.local via browser - nope, that didn't work w/ chrome or safari.  Connected via http://<ip>
  ** Correction:  Connecting using https://gateway.local works fine ... my network issue **

• Initial scan for things (+) came up empty 

• Add-ons - quite a few listed, selected the following

  • DateTime Adapter seemed useful (sunrise/sunset, etc)

  • GPIO Adapter!  I'll need that!

  • Homekit 

  • Philips Hue

  • Wemo

• Nice UI!

  • Still needs some technical tweaks, but simple, browser-based and easy to use!

  • Rules/Automation seems to be VERY simple - nice UI!

• Security looks pretty well thought out.  I need to think it thru a bit, but looks pretty good!

  • Remote access info @ https://github.com/mozilla-iot/wiki/wiki/Gateway-Remote-Access

  • Seems to use pagekite.net

• Our World/Things ( See also https://github.com/mozilla-iot/wiki/wiki/Supported-Hardware)

  • Use Settings/Add-ons to find/add Adapters for your world ... some interesting Add-ons in here!

  • Detected a couple of things - Didn't spend a lot of time here

  • GPIO - this will be important for me.  Singing along with instructions
    @ https://github.com/mozilla-iot/wiki/wiki/Configuring-GPIO-for-use-with-the-gpio-adapter
    and @ https://www.npmjs.com/package/onoff (this looks nice btw)

    • Pretty easy setup - when they say 'pin' they mean GPIO#

    • I'm going to 

  • WeMo - Found the Switch, didn't find motion detector

  • HUE (old/original bridge) - took its time, but found HUE bridge and bulbs.  

    • Some granular controls like color, but didnt see others - brightness, etc

  • Smartthings - No Smartthings hub adapter BUT Moz gateway supports a number of smartthings adapters directly - IF you have a Zigbee Adapter.  THIS IS VERY APPEALING because smarthings sucks!

  • Apple Homekit - appears to interface with Homebridge (I have to think that thru too!)

Q4OS 2.6

• Overall:  Couple of little bumps, but is working great now!  I like Q4OS a LOT!  Waited a quite a while for the Scorpion Release on RPI.  Focused on a complete desktop environment on the ARM architecture

• Motivation:  Trinity Desktop was GREAT start for my XP look-a-like project.

• Notes as I go 

  • Etcher.io is really the way to go to burn OS images to SDs.  It even burns from zip file

  • SD booted right up and resized filesystem (using a 16g SD)

  • Login was default raspbian:  User=pi, PW=raspberry

  • Nice initial startup, detected hardware, set language, forced password change

    • Chose "Full Featured ..." desktop from Desktop Profiler Menu.  540M

    • Profiler does all package installs ... looks to be Stretch

      • Ack!  Profiler exited with error code 70 aft approx 10 mins. 
        "Please try again in a few minutes".  Looks like something failed to download

    • Reran Profiler, ran fine

  • Performance was pretty good EXCELLENT on RPI3B+.  Very Usable!

    • Seemed a little sluggish initially, but actually did quite well running youtube video (chromium) while tweaking, installing and testing.  RPI3 avg load probably around 50%

    • Q4OS struggled the last time I tested it, could be Raspbian Stretch

    • Installed RPI-Monitor to keep an eye on it while I test ... Nice utility BTW
      https://rpi-experiences.blogspot.com/p/rpi-monitor-installation.html

    • Ran a quite a few tests on GUI watching utilization and temp on Pi3B+
      ... seems good with video/audio streaming on Chromium, Firefox ESR not so good
      Even tested hangouts using a usb webcam - possibilities!

  • Running thru normal Raspbian config per https://www.q4os.org/dqa010.html

  • Audio - HDMI Audio worked right out of the box, prepare to tweak to get other stuff working

    • Did not get bluetooth speaker working - but confident it can be done

    • Did not figure out how to switch to 3.5mm output - tried to force via raspi-config ... failed
      Did not spend a lot of time playing with Kmix 

  • WiFi works, but is quirky - I had to set it up using raspi-config, 

    • desktop tray/app thingy (TDENetworkManager?) doesn't seem to work ... I just hid it

    • I set a wifi network via raspi-config to get wifi working

  • There is a PowerSave feature!  I've been looking for Monitor power off capabilities (DPMS)!

    • Odd - shows battery state(?) *and* 84% charged?

    • Monitor didn't shut off, will keep putzing here

Got it!  Stumbled my way into thru rpi /boot/config.txt file using https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/config-txt/README.md. 
Lots of interesting stuff in here ... 

hdmi_blanking=1... this did the trick, turns off HDMI.  

This is not a Q4OS feature/option, essentially RPI BIOS equivalent.  How2 is now Here

• • Network Participant

    • Windows shares worked right out of the box

    • Network printers worked fine too - CUPS 2.2.1

  • USB - Worked great

    • Automounted removable drive

    • Webcam worked right out of the box - tested with VLC Media Player
      (Logitech HD Webcam C525, Portable HD 720p*  - $40 via Amazon.com in Mar 2014)

    • Standard USB Mouse/Keyboard seem fine too ... will need these for my little proj

  • Config/Usage

    • Struggling with kmenuedit:  Attempting to adjust Start Menu.  May be my Trinity Desktop IQ

    • If you unlock panel (right click on start) you can switch between Menu styles - I liked 'kickoff' best

    • VERY easy to use if you dumb it down, remove unnecessary icons and such

  • So far so good! OK GOOD GREAT! on RPI3B+

    • Had VERY good experience on support forum - Figured out WiFi glitch, very responsive

OpenHABian

• Overall:  Abandoned this one for now, may revisit in the future.  It is complicated, partially due to transition-in-process from v1 (raw config files) to v2 (GUI helpers).  Project is very active, I'll revisit in the future

  • Looks Formidable!   Backed by openhabfoundation.org

  • Main Website @ https://www.openhab.org/

  • Demo @ https://demo.openhab.org:8443/start/index

• Some fun quotes from Doc:  

  • "A home automation enthusiast doesn't have to be a Linux enthusiast!"

  • "The good news: openHABian helps you to stay away from Linux - The bad news: Not for long..."

• Motivation:  Decided to fireup OpenHAB up to compare/contrast with Home Assistant

• Working though setup @ https://www.openhab.org/docs/installation/openhabian.html#quick-start

• Notes as I go 

  • Misc Hardware/Test notes

    • WiFi - worked fine, config using openhabian-config - there is no raspbian-config

    • TFT Touch Screen:  Didn't test, but there is potential, see this note
      @  community.openhab.org/t/raspi-7-touch-display-as-openhab-gui-how-to/4113

    • Bluetooth - there is a Binding 

  • Installation takes a while (and a couple of reboots, if I recall)

  • v 2.3.0-1openhabian 

  • Installing with no monitor ethernetted to our 'things' network segment to see if it discovers things
    UI not responsive during install, so I took a peek via ssh openhabian@<myip> (pw=openhabian)
    Looked like install died

2018-03-13_22:53:35_UTC [openHABian] Starting the openHABian initial setup.

2018-03-13_22:53:35_UTC [openHABian] Storing configuration... OK

2018-03-13_22:53:35_UTC [openHABian] Changing default username and password... OK

2018-03-13_22:53:36_UTC [openHABian] Setting up Ethernet connection... OK

2018-03-13_22:53:36_UTC [openHABian] Ensuring network connectivity... OK

2018-03-13_22:53:36_UTC [openHABian] Waiting for dpkg/apt to get ready... OK

2018-03-13_22:53:57_UTC [openHABian] Updating repositories and upgrading installed packages... FAILED

2018-09-06_12:04:05_UTC [openHABian] Initial setup exiting with an error!

• REBOOT  w/ no ssh peeking!   Seemed to work fine this time

• Chose "Standard Package (Recommended)" via UI @ http://<ip or host>:8080
  Initial screen:

  • Log Viewer @  http://<ip or host>:9001 - all seemed fine

  • Link to Help @ https://www.openhab.org/docs/installation/openhabian.html

  • Link to Homebuilder tool

  • Link to BasicUI Tool

  • PaperUI Tool

  • HABPanel - dashboard builder.  Looks nice

• ssh openhabian@<myip> 

• sudo openhabian-config
  doc @ https://www.openhab.org/docs/installation/openhabian.html#openhabian-configuration-tool

  • Stepped thru all items

  • Password must be > 10 (and hint for me)

  • Updated everything - "Upgrade System" appears to be to latest/greatest 

  • Apply Improvements - Stepped thru all of these, looked like all were already installed on RPI image

  • Optional components - installed stuff that looked interesting or useful
    (All installed stuff shows up on OpenHab start screen @ http://<ip or host>:8080)

    • Log Viewer 

    • Mosquitto (w/ a password)

    • Influxdb and Graphana - looks cool and seems to run @ http://<ip or host>:3000
      but no clue yet.  More info @  https://community.openhab.org/t/13761/1

    • Node-RED - installed as root eventho it attempted to scare me off!    I want to learn
      Potential useful notes from install

    • You can now start Node-RED with the command node-red-start

    •   or using the icon under   Menu / Programming / Node-RED
        Then point your browser to localhost:1880 or http://{your_pi_ip-address}:1880

• • System Settings - Hostname, Locale, Timezone.  More here too

  • Backup/Restore - just to see.  Setup Amanda Backup

• More setup via browser interface @ http://<ip or host>:8080 using Paper UI
  Working thru www.openhab.org/docs/installation/openhabian.html#first-steps-with-openhab

  • Configuration/System - Turned on Inbox Auto Approve and Item Linking/Simple and set regional settings (Lang, TZ, Region, etc)

  • Configuration/Bindings for a few of our 'Things' - WeMo was easy to test here

  • Took a read thru 'Concepts' section of doc

  • Never saw anything in my "Inbox", but managed to discover Hue and WeMo things and manually add to Control screen by selecting Channels and setting Room Name

  • Still a little Confusing - but I'm stumbling along making progress.  LOTS of Doc.  Recommendations for new users may help.  

  • Config Tutorial @ www.openhab.org/docs/tutorial/configuration.html

  • Looks like I have to Create a Sitemap - time for ssh and an editor.   

    • File Locations vary - found mine via
      $ set | grep OPENHAB_CONF
      OPENHAB_CONF=/etc/openhab2

    • Used Home Builder to create sitemap, items and dashboard.  Odd utility, no save button ... create, then copy/past into correct config file

• Our World/Things (Configured using Paperui)

  • Philips Hue Hub (v1) - Configuration>Bindings:  Added hue Binding
    Bridge was discovered came up fine. Had to manually select 'Channels' for each bulb in Configuration>Things dialog to get them listed in Control Section of UI, but they work! 

  • WeMo - Configuration>Bindings:  Added WeMo Binding.  Motion and Switch worked fine

    • Switch - Detected switch - manually set Channel to get it to show up in Control area of UI.  

    • WeMo Motion - Set Channel to get it to Control area, 

  • GPIO - Hmmm, time to get the editor out to whip together some .cfg files

  • Cameras - No Bindings that I could see, some outside work on IP cameras tho on github @ github.com/thhart/openhab2-addons/tree/master/addons/binding/org.openhab.binding.camera  

  • Smartthings - Didn't Test.  Possibly Doable using Binding from project @ https://github.com/BobRak/OpenHAB-Smartthings/tree/master/org.openhab.binding.smartthings 

  • Nest - Looks doable, there is a binding.  I didn't go thru the motions to test 

  • HomeKit - Binding exposes OpenHAB as HK Hub, didn't test this

  • Did not test Automations, but there is a facility

• Enough for now - Will make a note and revisit this one in the future

Home Assistant (Hass.io)

• Overall:  A tad disappointing, more of a struggle to get this going than Hass via Dietpi.  Aborted
  Dietpi version simply worked better and has many nice features wrapped around (e.g. backups, autoupdate)

• Dedicated Pi running Hass.io (the new HassOS) - apparently the traditional way to run Home Assistant

  • Interested to compare/contrast config effort here vs Dietpi/Hass  

  • Based on complexity of Home Automation a dedicated Pi probably makes sense

  • Testing on RP3 w/ 16g SD.  32g SD recommended, 16g seemed fine for testing 

• Motivation:  Cleanup our home automation, utilize older switches and sensors built into our home *and* attempt to control cloud chatter (privacy)  

• Notes

  • Hass.io seems to have gotten major re-work in July 2018 - new OS under the hood 

  • Installation:  Singing along with https://www.home-assistant.io/hassio/installation/

    • Downloaded 32bit version because it was marked 'Recommended' on Installation Page
      32-bit didn't work for squat, 'initializing' for hours!  never came up

    • Downloaded 64-bit version, came right up.  Etcher is a nice way to flash these SD's

    • Wired connection to our 'Things' segment and booted so it could discover stuff

    • Hass is @ http://<yourip>:8123 

    • Hass.io Add-on's are nice!  Not quite as techie as dietpi version

      • Turned on ssh via web interface!   Nice

      • Added the Configurator Add-on.  @ http://<yourip>:3218 by default
        Web-based config editor - pretty nice, it also checks yaml

    • Alpine Linux package management is different.  apk to add stuff, but only to running instance, package will disappear after reboot if you don't also run ibu .... interesting! 

    • My pass thru  /config/configuration.yaml 

      • Used this for to find location long/lat - https://www.latlong.net/

      • Timezone from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones
        "America/Chicago" seemed to be valid

      • Add name to platform 'yr' so it displays "Weather" on top of page ...
        # Weather prediction
        sensor:
          - platform: yr
            name: Weather

  • Server restarts seem to be required for configuration.yaml mods - to restart follow menu:
    Configuration->general.  Will take you to Configuration and Server Control

  • Our World/Things

    • Detects 'things' I hadn't intended to include in home automation....
      
      # Discover some devices automatically
      discovery
        ignore:
          - roku

    • Had to tell Discovery Component to ignore Roku, could not find way to ignore our TV

• Philips Hue Hub (v1) - Bridge was discovered came up fine

• WeMo Switch detected and functioned right  out of the box

• WeMo Motion detected and functioned right  out of the box

• GPIO:  FAILED(?!?!) using the exact GPIO syntax that was working on HA on Dietpi - WTF!
  Retried using switch example in documentation - STILL failed
  ------
  Pop up on mainscreen:
  invalid config
  
  The following components and platforms could not be set up:

  • rpi-gpio

  • switch.rpi_gpio

Please check your config.
------

• Camera:  Never figured out howto define local USB cam.  JUST worked on Hass on Dietpi

Home Assistant (DietPi)

• Overall - Testing Paused.  Looks pretty good, but lots of tweaking that will need to be redone on hass.io.
  My gut feel is that Home Assistant will deserve a Pi of its own, not simply a service on an existing Dietpi box. 
  Will take what I've learned to Hass.io and see if its any easier

• Home Assistant using an existing DietPi (Home Assistant is a DietPi option)

  • Install took a while - HASS is Python

  • Appears to be v0.73.1

  • Web interface came up GREAT, also discovered a few of our 'Things'

  • Configuration is a tad complicated (yaml) - it's a techie gizmo, you will tweak

  • Discovery is a little flaky (just me?) - sometimes things show, other times not?

• Motivation:  I need to cleanup Home Automation in our home - also investigating using RPI GPIO to interface an existing (old) home security system - many hardwired sensors.  Curious if I can use existing Dietpi box

• Notes as I go...

  • Switched from RPI 3 to RPI 2 w/ edimax Wifi adapter - added to an existing dietpi system.  Seems OK

  • Came right up, discovered a couple of wifi 'things' (like WeMo, Roku, Sony TV!)
    // discovered devices seemed to work right out of the box - turned on the TV in chromecast mode //

  • Access via browser @ http://<ip or host>:8123

  • Walked through UI config options - looks like it will be brute force mods to config files

  • Attempting to sing-a-long with links in "Welcome Home!" box on web interface

    • Configuring Home Assistant:  Hmmm, dietpi not listed, this will not be as easy as hass.io
      Doesn't seem to match https://www.home-assistant.io/docs/configuration/

      • found only 1 config file @  /mnt/dietpi_userdata/homeassistant/configuration.yaml

      • Shot a toe off with first mod to configuration.yaml (setting timezone!) 
        Had to restore original yaml file to get it back up and running - probably my tyep-o's

      • Runs as a service on dietpi:   journalctl -u home-assistant.service to see whats up

      • yaml appears to get complicated, plenty of samples but lots of rummaging around

      • Displays "failed to call service homeassistant restart" when I restart via web frontend, but does seem to restart

      • Web UI is a tad confusing - "Discovered" vs "Configured"

      • Have to be a careful editing yaml.  I'm steering clear of tabs

      • Looks like many devices are registered and working on multiple hubs! 
        e.g. Hue Lights via Smartthings or HA, WeMo too!  Not sure if this is good or bad yet

    • Our World/Things

      • Detected a few 'things' I didn't expect - these seem to be detected each time, not added to yaml

        • Smart TV - periodically discovered

        • Roku 

      • Philips Hue Hub (v1) - Bridge was discovered came up fine. playing with config 

      • WeMo Switch detected and functioned right  out of the box

      • WeMo Motion seems to take a bit to be detected (motion?), but worked

      • GPIO:  It works BUT ... I had to make a little tweak to user homeassistant and add him/her to the gpio group.  I noticed this in Manual Install documentation
        
        The Mod was simple:  

usermod -a -G gpio homeassistant

My test yaml:

# GPIO - an led in GPIO 4 and a push button @ GPIO2 in my breadboard
switch:
  - platform: rpi_gpio
    ports:
      4: Blue Light

binary_sensor:
  - platform: rpi_gpio
    ports:
      2: Button

• • Cameras:  

    • Remote stream from network mjpeg didn't work, but I think its my net/cam

    • Local Cam (usb web cam) - seems to work out of box 

• My ToDo's

  • Automations ... just beginning to play w/ automations and scripts

  • Check "Porosity" of Home Assistant on DietPi using Hass.io Porosity Guide

  • Dashboard looks promising - https://appdaemon.readthedocs.io/en/stable/DASHBOARD_INSTALL.html

  • EASY UI for family - a BIG Button on screen to turn on Coffee in morning!

  • Nest:  https://www.home-assistant.io/components/nest/

  • Homekit:  https://www.home-assistant.io/components/homekit/

  • Need z-wave/zigbee adapter - looking at this one because it does zigbee+z-wave and may work with Home Assistant and/or OpenHAB - GoControl Linear HUSBZB-1*

  • Smarthings looks doable, may be kludgy/cloud chatty. 
    ST Thread @ community.smartthings.com/t/home-assistant-can-now-control-smartthings

    • Github project @ https://github.com/stjohnjohnson/smartthings-mqtt-bridge

  • Cameras/motion detection:  http://queen.run.montefiore.ulg.ac.be/~barbette/home-assistant-live-camera-feed-and-motion-detection-with-a-usb-camera-using-motion/