Where can I get an SD card preloaded with Gcompris for my Raspberry Pi?

Question

A little background: I'm an idiot who loves his kids. Now, my dilemma. I wanted to build a stand-alone computer that runs gcompris (English version) for my two sons. I bought a Rasperry Pi because its easy to tuck away and it was only $35. I have a mortgage, gotta pinch the pennies where i can...

Unfortunately I seemed to have gotten over my head with the programming aspect. I always considered myself pretty techno savvy, but was quickly humbled when I attempted to decipher the Linux language. Might as well have been Greek to me (I don't speak that either).

So... Here I am... Reaching out to the population and asking for help. Is there a step by step way to install gCompris (with all updated dependencies; whatever those are...); on a video format, preferably...

OR is there any website or expert out there that sells an SD card preloaded with such gCompris (English version) in it? My head hurts and I'm thinking of becoming Amish.

Answer 1

if i understand your question right what you want is an sd card preloaded with the linux OS Gcompris and pre-setup for the raspi ?

not sure if there is such an offer out there for it , but i'm sure it can be install onto the sd card but would prob. need to do it while the card is in the Pi and boot the pi from a live cd image on usb flash drive

i would check this out ... http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=596

seams some are working on it :)



good luck ! and happy new year

Answer 2

Hi

The raspberyPi is not good. Just get a old laptop and put a linux distro on and it will do everything that a Pi will do and is easier to install.

The Pi is low cost but to get it to run is expensive and the kids will be disappointed as its not like anything they have used before.



The PI is being pushed into schools by google but schools don't have the skills or the cash to buy. Its the screen, drive and other bits that push the cost up and its also bare electronics which some schools will not allow.



I have several clients who have got Pi for the kids and its been a wast of money.

Sell it and get a second hand laptop.



" install gCompris (with all updated dependencies; whatever those are...); on a video format,"

gComparis is not a video its a program.

Answer 3

If you are on a budget, why buy something you can get for free. I know you stated "I seemed to have gotten over my head with the programming aspect". I believe you are following not very correct instructions. The hardest part is writing the OS image to the SD, but there are a couple of programs that will take care of that.



Do you have an OS loaded on an SD card for the RPi?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi#Operating_systems



I would suggest to load RaspBian, the install Gcomprise.

http://www.raspbian.org/

Here is the zip file from Raspberrypi.org

http://downloads.raspberrypi.org/images/raspbian/2012-12-16-wheezy-raspbian/2012-12-16-wheezy-raspbian.zip



But don't expect it to run fast - RPis are not screamers (it will actually have a bad lag). If you are using a Windows machine you will need a program to copy Raspbian to the SD card in the proper way. Win32diskimager.

https://launchpad.net/win32-image-writer/+download



Once copied, you should be able to boot from it on your RPi.



If using Linux, you can use a program called Imagewriter. It should be in your repositories. You can use a command called dd, but imagewriter would probably be easier.



Once booted up, you should be able to type sudo apt-get install gcompris



It appears to be in the Raspbian repos:

http://ftp.acc.umu.se/mirror/raspbian/raspbian/pool/main/g/gcompris/



IF you are not happy with the performance of the RPi as a multitasker, I suggest to turn it into a HTPC with OPENelec. I am VERY happy with mine (with the Navi-X plugin).



@David,

Tell those clients that I would be MORE then happy to purchase their RPis from them, they are the best and cheapest HTPCs (with XBMC) - at a reduced cost of course, lol. Costing me only $3 a year to run 24/7.



Many people are assuming that it will work good as a multitasker. It does work great at a dedicated task.

Answer 4

You can download Gcompris here http://j.mp/1k3ZLkZ

It's a good free solution

Cheers.