Re: [orca-list] new user Raspberry Pi: what specific model and operating system can we install orca?

[Kyle <kyle free2 ml>]

My recommendation for the Raspberry Pi would be either the model 4B with 
8GB of RAM if you can find it, or the 400, which is similar, but is more 
like a screenless laptop form factor. The 400 only has 4GB of RAM 
though, and you will want to purchase a separate USB audio adapter, 
since the 400 has no 3.5mm jack. I like to recommend purchasing a USB 
audio adapter in any case, since although every Raspberry Pi computer 
except 400 includes 3.5mm audio output, none includes audio input, so 
you will need either a USB audio device or a USB microphone if you want 
to be able to record sound or use a voice assistant such as Mycroft.


All Raspberry Pi models take various operating systems, including Arch 
Linux, a slightly modified version of Arch Linux called Stormux that 
will come up talking once written to your memory card, Raspbian, which 
is Debian modified specifically for the Raspberry Pi, Ubuntu and others. 
Fedora from what I understand will not yet run on any model newer than 
3B+ however.


Although Raspberry Pi computers generally boot and run from MicroSD, it 
is also supposed to be possible to boot them from a thumb drive. In all 
cases, the life cycle is highly dependent on the device itself. Most 
MicroSD memory should now give you probably anywhere from 6 months to a 
year, but I wouldn't put money on it. USB thumb drives in many cases are 
similar. You can also get what they like to call high endurance devices, 
both USB and MicroSD, that will last much longer. It should also be 
possible to purchase a solid state hard drive and a USB enclosure that 
you can use to run your OS, and these generally last 3 to 5 years, and 
some of these indicate they can last even longer.

~Kyle