This evening I presented a session on Raspberry Pi at The Ipswich Ruby User Group (IPRUG). I think the presentation went well, as dd the Q&A session which followed. Unfortunately, all my plans to demonstrate stuff fell through. Mainly this was due to my own lack of preparation rather than any problems with the hardware or software.

Lessons to learn from this:

• Connecting to a Raspberry Pi via ssh requires that both ends can get an IP address, so set up static IP in advance or provide DHCP
• If ssh is not available, either plug in and test a serial port adapter before the demo, or carry a pin diagram
• If relying on Wifi for DHCP, make sure that the Raspberry Pi has been set up with the SSID and password for the access point
• If you take a wifi access point or DHCP router to a demo, make sure you have the configuration login password
• If trying to connect a Raspberry Pi to a router to get an IP address, provide enough nearby power sockets so you can power both at once
• Just in case, always carry a USB keyboard and some display adapters, to get in and tweak settings
• As a final fallback, create an SD card which runs the demo software immediately on boot

Above all, prepare and test all the hardware, power and networking in advance.

Meanwhile, here’s the slides. They are quite brief – most of the presentation was talk and handing round Raspberry Pi boards and bits of hardware. Apparently someone recorded the presentation, so I hope to add a bit more if/when I get a copy.