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Build a Developer's Linux Workstation - Complete Guide

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codecage
(@codecage)
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@rajames429

Here are some links.

NUC:  Intel NUC 10

Memory:  2x32GB of DDR4 RAM

SSD:  1TB M.2 SSD

SteveG


   
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(@rajames429)
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@codecage Thank you for this.  This is a great help. 


   
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TheOutlander
(@theoutlander)
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I've used portions of this excellent guide to help select & install some additional tools. That said, I opted for continuing with the RPI and/or an older laptop rather than add a NUC to my network. I'm a bit spoiled, I do have a T1700 Win10 machine I used for CAD type work, so my Developer's Workstation is a subset of the extensive list provided by Bill in the video.

"Hardware eventually fails. Software eventually works." - Michael Hartung


   
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Wm64
 Wm64
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I too followed the excellent guide and build one of these Linux workstations.  I made a less powerful version using the Intel NUC 10 i3, 32 GB of Ram, and 500 GB solid state drives for both the primary and secondary drives.  I use the UBUNTU operating system. 

Question: is anyone else having difficulties with sound?  I have so far been unable to get sound out of the speakers.  Tested the speakers, and they are operational.  I am wondering if this is a Linux permission thing.  

Anyone else have this problem?   


   
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(@outoftheblue1949)
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a work station is a great idea but why linux bill, tried mint & ubuntu found them hard work also endless passwords. surely better with windows 10 (since the death of 7).


   
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(@dronebot-workshop)
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Topic starter  
Posted by: @wm64

Question: is anyone else having difficulties with sound?  I have so far been unable to get sound out of the speakers.  Tested the speakers, and they are operational.  I am wondering if this is a Linux permission thing.

Did you check the Settings to see which sound device has been set to the default output device?

Ubuntu sound

There is a TEST button as well that will help you check it out.

Also, some Linux applications (i.e. Audacity) don't always default to the default output device, which is somewhat bizarre but it does happen.

Finally, if you don't see your Default device you can try "Pulse Audio", that often is the default setting anyway.

😎

Bill

 

"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak


   
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(@emersok)
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I followed Bill's excellent tutorial and built myself a more modest version based on a NUC i5. I loaded ubuntu and have recently added ROS Noetic. I now have this acting as the remote visualiser for a Pi4 loaded with Ubuntu and ROS melodic coupled to a RPLidar. ROS was something of a mystery to me but I'm getting there. I'm really hoping that Bill will continue with his robot build and bring some of his outstanding clarity to the mysteries of using ROS.

By the way I think that I followed a process similar to that outlined by Bill above and sound works fine

Keith

 


   
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Wm64
 Wm64
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I have tried getting sound following your advice, still not a peep.  I have managed to get the default output to show something other than "Dummy Output".  It is now HDMI digital sound.  Different, but not much assistance as the speakers are analog and not HDMI.  

I have also tried the solutions offered on the Itsfloss(dot)com website, and learned that Ubuntu has been having sound output issues since version 14. 


   
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(@ironman)
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Built the workstation Bill described in the article and am enjoying learning Linux. But, am having issues trying to load programs to ESP32 boards in both the Arduino IDE and Platform IO. Decided the best thing to try first was to delete and reinstall both programs. However, Arduino IDE doesn't show up as installed in ubunto software. The icon is in the apps and it does launch. How do I uninstall?


   
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noweare
(@noweare)
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This may not be the answer but you can give it a try

As far as loading programs you have to be part of the group dialout for access to serial ports.

 

usermod -a -G dialout MY_USER_NAME

   
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(@mark-bolton)
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I built this project last night, but for reasons too boring to go into I used Kubuntu rather than vanilla Ubuntu.

I have had a play / dabble with a few of the powerful tools like KiCAD and VSC as well as the IDEs. I have never devoted a single installation purely for Automation project work and think it is a great idea. Much tidier.

This next project will be much more sophisticated than the last and a nice tidy workplace will help me keep things clear and focused.

To use tools like a proper text editor and VSC and become fluent in them I imagine will make coding easier and more efficient once I get to the more in depth parts of the project.  I look forward to working through the tutorials.

Regards

M


   
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(@mark-bolton)
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Anger issues.  Kubuntu was angry about the idea of installing Angry IP Scanner. "Dependencies not satisfied". In the past I would have gone "too hard" but this time I stepped up. Turns out installing Java 8 and using dpkg on the CLI is the way to get this done. Wasn't so hard after all and I don't seem to have broken anything.

 My workshop messy?


   
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Ron
 Ron
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I thought I would build a new workstation just for arduino/pi stuff. I have an existing Pi4/4GB so thought I could use that. I did the usual steps, download, burn with Balena Etcher to SSD USB drive that I was using already with Raspbian OS but when I did the first boot, the last thing I see is the growing message to expand the file system to make use of the entire 512GB. Then the screen turns a weird patterned grey and although the light on the SSD still flashes nothing is happening now for at least 30 minutes. Just to check, I then did the same thing with the latest Raspbian OS and it worked fine, when I go back to Ubuntu it just stops. Any ideas? Any boot up keys to hold to get into some sort of debugging environment?

IMG 6657

 

First computer 1959. Retired from my own computer company 2004.
Hardware - Expert in 1401, and 360, fairly knowledge in PC plus numerous MPU's and MCU's
Major Languages - Machine language, 360 Macro Assembler, Intel Assembler, PL/I and PL1, Pascal, Basic, C plus numerous job control and scripting languages.
Sure you can learn to be a programmer, it will take the same amount of time for me to learn to be a Doctor.


   
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Will
 Will
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@ronalex4203 

I don't know anything about Linux, but I'm wondering if Ubuntu tries to "condition" the expanded disk space.

What happens if you create a 16GB partition on the drive and try to install Ubuntu into that and then expand it. If that works, then you know that Ubuntu isn't dying on the disk. Then you could try making a bigger partition to see how much longer it took than the 16GB to "expand".

Maybe it's just slow processing the drive and you just need to read War and Peace while it's working 🙂

Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're talking about.


   
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Ron
 Ron
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@will I did let it sit and think for quite a while the second time but I am not convinced that is it. In any case I have no way to create the partition, and I think *nix is smart in that it knows about the entire drive and uses all of it in any case. I might try an overnight wait if I don't get a clue from the Ubuntu forum. Also, it would be very strange for a modern OS to not display a progress bar for any long running process.

First computer 1959. Retired from my own computer company 2004.
Hardware - Expert in 1401, and 360, fairly knowledge in PC plus numerous MPU's and MCU's
Major Languages - Machine language, 360 Macro Assembler, Intel Assembler, PL/I and PL1, Pascal, Basic, C plus numerous job control and scripting languages.
Sure you can learn to be a programmer, it will take the same amount of time for me to learn to be a Doctor.


   
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