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Having trouble installing a piece of hardware? Want to know if that peripheral is compatible with Linux?

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Old 03-08-2023, 04:58 PM   #1
apolinsky
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suggestions needed for minimal computer


I am a retired computer programmer who has slowly been converting and storing a sizeable classical compact disc collection to my NAS. Disc images are stored as 320k MP3 versions. The NAS can be reached by WiFi. Ideally I would like a small computer with a disc, WIFI capability, and a usb port to connect to my stereo. My preferred version of Linux is Slackware, though I also use Debian. What would you suggest? Think minimal rather than maximal.
 
Old 03-08-2023, 05:52 PM   #2
jefro
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I might consider one of the business refurb's
??
 
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Old 03-08-2023, 06:31 PM   #3
michaelk
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What do you mean by minimal, size or cost?

My first preference would be a Pi but only if you want to pay a small ransom to get one. Hopefully there will be some available sometime soon. Odroid-N2+s are nice but no built in WiFi although a USB wireless adapter is not very expensive these days. Another SBC worth a look is the Asus Tinker Board S R2.0 but they are not very cheap either.

A NUC might be worth a look but there are lots of them around and their prices and specifications very all over the range. I also like the idea of a refurbed PC of the small form factor type but usually no built in wifi.
 
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Old 03-08-2023, 06:37 PM   #4
apolinsky
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I must admit I thought of the Pi, but noticed that since I retired prices have gone through the roof. So far I've gone with the idea suggested by Jefro, but was wondering about other alternatives. Michaelk specifically asked about size and cost parameters. In terms of cost, I would say as low as possible. Size must be able to fit into the cabinet housing the stereo. The smalleer the better.
 
Old 03-08-2023, 07:21 PM   #5
michaelk
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Here is some light reading...

https://linuxgizmos.com/150-open-spe...s-under-200-3/
 
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Old 03-08-2023, 09:16 PM   #6
slac-in-the-box
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slackware's arm port and aarch64 port run well on pine64 boards.
 
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Old 03-08-2023, 09:39 PM   #7
jefro
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$60-$100 gets a pretty good refurb office system.
 
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Old 03-09-2023, 12:55 AM   #8
pan64
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Even an RPi3 (or RPi2 ?) can play music, so most probably any similar SBC will do the job. (and also you can buy a hifi sound card if you wish).
Also you may look for htpc.
 
Old 03-09-2023, 04:51 AM   #9
fatmac
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Thin clients are cheap, especially used, (can be got on Ebay for £10~£50).

They come with a small internal disk, more than ample for a distro installation, & often with 4GB ram & a moderate speed processor, & are silent in operation.

Adding a USB wifi stick, & a USB CD/DVD drive, should be all that you need.
 
Old 03-09-2023, 05:17 AM   #10
apolinsky
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Thank you everyone for your excellent suggestions. I'll mark the question as solved.
 
  


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