Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Update Raspbian OS on the Raspberry Pi

I have an early Raspberry Pi model running the Raspbian OS "jessie" release (which lacks Python 3.6 and its useful "f-string" format syntax.) So, I wanted to upgrade to the contemporary "buster" release to resolve that issue. Here's what worked:

  1. Follow these excellent instructions (Use the section "Update Raspbian to the Latest Version") to manually update OS releases sequentially. So, in my case, I upgraded from "jessie" to "stretch" and then from "stretch" to "buster."
  2. You'll likely want to upgrade the Docker packages, too. To do it, refer to the following steps:
Now, "You're Good to Go" with the latest release ("buster" in this example!) Enjoy 😀👍

Friday, November 6, 2020

Simple and useful VPN solution

Historically, VPNs have been difficult to set up, required client and service side configuration, tricky to start and fickle when in service. Now, Mozilla has partnered with Mullvad to offer a low-cost, simple to use VPN solution for up to five devices via a single $4.95 USD / month subscription. I've been using it while traveling the past week and have found it easy to use, network performance is hardly affected, and reassuring to know that I have an encrypted tunnel through an open hotel or coffee bistro network. Check it out 😀👍