What type of operating system can be used on the Raspberry Pi?

Raspbian, OSMC, OpenELEC, Windows IoT Core, RISC operating system? If you’re new to the Raspberry PI, chances are you’re wondering what are all these. These are the commonly known OSes, with some being provided by NOOBS.

You may be wondering about the ones I’ve listed, which is the best for you? In this guide, I’ll cover the ones on NOOBS and other commonly known OS. I’ll also provide recommendations to make your decision an easier one.

This guide will cover the following components:

• Raspbian, OSMC, LibreELEC, Windows IoT Core, RISC OS: What are they?
• Comparisons
• What about others: RetroPie, Ubuntu
• Recommended OS for Raspberry Pi 4, 4B
• So which one?

Understanding what you’re using the OS for

To select the most appropriate OS to use, you must first understand what’s your intended purpose. For some, it’s being able to execute basic tasks with a computer while for others it may be media creation/consumption.

To help find your intended purpose, I’ve listed out the common usage purposes with its recommended OS for comparison

For New Users: Raspbian, RISC

• 
  ref
• ref

Verdict: Raspbian or RISC?

With Raspbian being the official OS for the Raspberry Pi, it’ll be a better choice for new users to start with due to it being so widely adopted. With the wide adoption, you can easily find any solutions online if issues are encountered.

For turning your Raspberry Pi into a Media Center: LibreELEC or OSMC

• ref
• ref

Verdict: LibreELEC or OSMC?

If your sole purpose is to run Kodi, LibreELEC is a better choice for you with its efficient and smooth installation process. However, if you’re looking at a more complete/other usages, OSMC is the one for you.

For Developing and Prototyping on the Pi: Windows IoT Core

Grove Kit for Win10 IoT Core & Azure Platform

For quick understanding and learning on how to use Windows 10 IoT Core and Microsoft Azure services, this Grove Kit not only provides some Grove hardware modules that are designed for Microsoft Azure services, it contains a guide book as well.

Product Features:

• A guide book for five scenarios
• Support Azure IoT Hub and Azure Functions
• Based on Raspberry Pi and Windows 10 IoT Core

What about others?

RetroPie

• Purpose: Gaming Applications
• Builds upon Raspbian, EmulationStation, RetroArch, etc. to enabling gaming capabilities
• Over 50 Retro gaming systems supported, including Atari Lynx, Game Boy Advance, Gamecube, Nintendo 64, etc.
• Installable from Raspbian, RetroPie SD

Lakka

• Purpose: Gaming applications
• Lightweight and free OS run on libretro core
• Automatic joypad recognition, rewinding, netplay, and shaders
• User-friendly interface that resembles the PS4, Xbox, and Nintendo
• Support commonly known gaming systems, including Atari, Nintendo 64, Sega, etc.
• Installable on your SD card, able to run it live

Kid-friendly choice: Kano OS

Do the Icons look kid-friendly? This is the Kano OS, planned and designed for kids!

• Purpose: Teach kids how to build a computer, code apps/games
• Open-source OS
• Uses computer kits based on current trends to help you get started
• Applications such as web browsers, Minecraft, Youtube are available
• Many resources and instruction videos are available on their website
• Installable on a microSD card, Kano walks you through the process as well

Open Source Desktop Experience: Ubuntu

• Purpose: Cloud Computing (supports OpenStack), Developing and Prototyping
• Provides a similar PC OS experience
• FREE, open-source Linux distribution based on Debian developed by Canonical

Able to run on various platforms like:

• Desktop
• IoT
• Cloud
• Servers
• Containers

• Supports all Raspberry Pi models apart from 3A+

For security applications and high computational power: Alpine Linux

• Purpose: Building security network projects with apk tools
• Independent Linux distribution
• Small, simple, and secure; doesn’t occupy more than 50mb of storage
• APK management tool for easy building and upgrading of apps
• Able to work on XDCE, Firefox, and Linux software as well

Recommended OS for the Raspberry Pi 4, 4B

If you’re using the Raspberry Pi 4, or 4B, this portion of the blog is the one to look out for. I’ll be recommending the OSes that you can adopt.

Ubuntu 21.04

Ubuntu 21.04, also known as Eoan Ermine, is the latest release of Ubuntu which features new hardware support for AMD Navi GPUs, new ARM SoCs, ARM Komeda Display and Intel Speed Select on Xeon servers. This update brings compatibility with the newest models of Raspberry Pi.

Raspbian

Raspbian being the official OS for the Raspberry Pi does support the latest iteration. Users are required to download one of the following Raspbian images for it to work:

• Raspbian Buster Lite: A minimal text-only (CLI) version.
• Raspbian Buster with Desktop: Includes the Raspbian Pixel graphical desktop
• Raspbian Buster with Desktop and Recommended Software: Includes the Pixel desktop and some additional larger software packages

In Summary, which one is for you?

Based on my recommendations with their download links:

• New users: Raspbian
• Media Purposes: OSMC
• Development and Prototype: Windows IoT Core
• Gaming: RetroPie and Lakka
• Open-Source Desktop Experience: Ubuntu
• Kid-friendly choice: Kano OS
• For security applications and high computational power: Alpine Linux
• Raspberry Pi 4 Users: Ubuntu 19.10, Raspbian

Ultimately, picking which OS is the one for you ultimately comes down to what kind of projects/applications you’re looking for. I’ve provided my recommendations for your consideration. However, with that said, there are still other OSes in the market that you can take a look at.

Continue Reading