feat: raspberry pi pc for my son

content/posts/2020-03-29---raspberry-pi-pc-for-my-son.md

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+---
+title: "Raspberry PI: A PC for My Son"
+date: "2020-03-29T13:36:57"
+template: "post"
+draft: false
+slug: "raspberry-pi-a-pc-for-my-son"
+category: "Software"
+tags:
+  - "raspberry pi"
+description: "I wanted to help my son to manage his time better, expose him on technology and let him discover anything related to tech
+              himself in a controlled environment. I have a few options, but ultimately, I am experimenting with Raspberry PI setup
+              first. This post is to share my considered options and the challenges I faced."
+socialImage: "/media/rasberry-pi-black-at-home.jpeg"
+---
+
+![](/media/rasberry-pi-black-at-home.jpeg)
+
+I wanted to help my son to manage his time better, expose him on technology and let him discover anything related to tech
+himself in a controlled environment. I have a few options, but ultimately, I am experimenting with Raspberry PI setup
+first. This post is to share my considered options and the challenges I faced. 
+
+## Considered Options
+
+There are a lot of options out there. I am trying to stick to my goal at manageable cost. If any of the setups above
+does not work out well, I also want to plan for alternative plans.
+
+1. iPad
+    - Price range: RM 1500 - RM 2000
+    - Given the price range, I'd expect total cost of ownership will be excellent throughout the years. I have been a
+      very happy Apple customer with their excellent support.
+    - It would work well with my existing Apple ecosystem (iCloud especially).
+    - Conducive for learning with lots of apps and services.
+    - Yet if not well managed, can be quite a distraction for the kids.
+    - Honorable mentions:
+        - [Google Classroom](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-classroom/id924620788)
+        - [Swift Playground](https://www.apple.com/swift/playgrounds/) - My son is already doing this on my Macbook.
+        - All the things that I already like: [Airmail](https://airmailapp.com/), [Fantastical](https://flexibits.com/fantastical) and [1Password](https://1password.com/). 
+
+2. Raspberry PI setup as PC
+    - Price range: RM 600 - RM 800 (Raspberry PI kit and a monitor) 
+    - I prefer PC setup for learning, than tablet.
+    - Practically, I expect this to serve as "dump terminal" that leverages cloud services. 
+    - It is not x86 arch (arm-based running on linux), meaning I need to be prepared to do workarounds.
+    - If things doesn't work out, probably I can use it for IoT purpose to my house or any other fun project?
+    - For the most of things, I'll be relying on the Raspberry PI communities, not supported by a particular vendor.
+
+3. Actual PC
+    - Price range: More than RM 3000 (for a decent machine)
+    - If money is not a problem, this is the best option, but also the most expensive.
+    - While you can get cheaper machine, I think the law of diminishing returns applies here. My advice, if you can
+      afford to get a well designed machine from a trusted vendor, do that. My mid-2012 MBPr is still running till now.
+      My sister just replaced the battery and it runs pretty well. 
+    - I still like Mac OS, I was looking at Macbook variants, but seems too expensive for this purpose alone.
+    - Linux/Windows options from [Illegear](https://www.illegear.com/) looks quite decent.
+    - My son has been using my Macbook to build his own games in Roblox. Looks like a fun activity to get him exposed
+      more on tech in general. So, if he's learning to code in Swift, it might not be hard to do simple Lua later.
+
+## Raspberry PI Setup: An Explanation
+
+### Buying the Hardwares and Making It Run
+
+In order to replicate a typical PC setup, I ordered these from lazada. Note: I already have keyboard + mouse.
+
+![](/media/raspberry-pi-kit.png)
+![](/media/samsung-monitor-24inch.png)
+
+Just to keep it run with sensible defaults, these are what I did:
+
+- They ship with older version of [NOOBS](https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/noobs/), thus I have prepared the
+  micro SD card with the latest version.
+- I decided to keep it simple and use [Raspbian](https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/raspbian/) because this is 
+  for general purpose machine and I want to spend least time tinkering.
+- I need full access (at least in local network) and thus I want my sensible terminal/shell setup. I provisioned these
+  simple setup at [github.com/faizhasim/starters-raspberry](https://github.com/faizhasim/starters-raspberry).
+
+### Problem 1: Google Family Link Does Not Work
+
+I configured a child google account for my son and it works well enough on multi-user setup on my Macbook. Minimally, it
+serves the purpose without spending too much money and effort. My son has a working email gmail account, a calendar that
+is shared to mine and additionally managed youtube account. All of these can be managed from the
+[Google Family Link](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-family-link-for-parents/id1150085200) app.
+
+I thought it will work on Raspberry PI, given that it work on my Mac, but Google says this...
+
+![](/media/family-link-restriction.png) 
+
+In other words, for Linux distro, perhaps it is impossible to enforce this anyway. Perhaps, Google is bound to legal
+implications but, it would be nice if they can ask parent's permission to override this and allow full access. Regardless,
+I still can't fix this. There might be 3 possible options:
+
+#### Install ChromeOS on Raspberry PI
+
+- There is a post on how to install Chromium OS at [Chromium OS on Raspberry Pi 4 Installation and Working](https://pcmac.biz/chromium-os-on-raspberry-pi-4/).
+- If this works, I wonder if Family Link works too?
+- This is not officially supported by Google, so there is always chances that this will not work tomorrow.
+
+#### Don't use Family Link
+
+- Self-explanatory.
+- I can't control as easily.
+
+#### Private Mail Server
+
+- There are subscription-based services like Office 365 and GSuite (maybe Apple iCloud too?). But, that would
+  fixed expense for me. I do not think the value for us is worth the price. If you're reading this and know any good
+  services for kids, do let me know. 
+- Another possible solution is to self-managed. Perhaps, using [DSM MailServer](https://www.synology.com/en-my/dsm/packages/MailServer).
+  I will not recommend this for business requirements, but I wonder if this is ok for my family usage?
+
+### Problem 2: Lack of Native Apps
+
+- Not really a problem. But, this is something that I'm aware of and I'm willing to experiment.
+- Effectively, majority of the apps/services must be cloud first.
+- The idea of running ChromeOS does sound interesting.
+
+## Last words...
+
+The journey is still early. I am not too surprised if this doesn't work well, but I'm happy to see how far I can go.
+If it doesn't work well, maybe the raspberry pi can be used to turn on the heater unit in the morning for a nice warm shower.  
+