First things first: you will be required to purchase for
yourself a specific type of small computer (see below).
This *WILL NOT* be stocked by the bookstore, and
you must have it in hand by Thursday, September 25.

In the first lecture, I will walk you through installation
of the operating system.  You will then immediately begin
using your computer to follow along in class and to do your
homework.  Configuring an operating system and maintaining
a computer are covered in the course material.  You cannot
do the homework for this class on your laptop.

There will also be three textbooks, two required and
one optional.  One of the required textbooks is free,
and is available on the course web page (see below).

As a student, you are eligible for a heavily discounted
subscription to Amazon Prime, including a no-cost trial
period, which will give you free "two-day" shipping.
In many cases, you can get free one-day shipping if you are
willing to pick up your package at the Amazon storefront
in IV.  See here for more details:

Amazon Prime Student

You will need a Raspberry Pi 5 computer (RPi 5) and some
accessories.  Your RPi 5 should have at least 4 GB of
memory.  The Raspberry Pi 4 is about one third as fast as
the RPi 5, so I recommend against using it.  The RPi 3 and
earlier versions will not work.

More memory is better if you think you will want to do
data-intensive work on your RPi in the future and can
afford it.  You will also need:

1. A power supply.  The RPi 5 uses a 27 W USB-C supply.
   Earlier RPi power supplies are not compatible, even if
   they have USB-C connectors.

2. A case.

3. A micro SD card with at least 64 GB capacity and
   a speed rating of V30, V60, or V90.  I will exchange
   this with you on the first day of class for one with the
   most recent operating system preinstalled.  The card
   must be from one of the following brands: Kingston,
   Sandisk, or Sony.

4. A micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.

It appears that the best (least expensive) way to get these
things at the moment is to order 4 parts from Digikey and
the SD card from Amazon:

0. Raspberry Pi 5 board, 4 GB RAM
   or
   Raspberry Pi 5 board, 8 GB RAM
   or
   Raspberry Pi 5 board, 16 GB RAM

1. Raspberry Pi 5 power supply

2. Raspberry Pi 5 case

3. Micro HDMI to HDMI Cable

4. SanDisk 64 GB Extreme PRO microSD Card

Usually the best choice for shipping from Digikey is USPS
Priority Mail.  If you choose to go with an alternate
supplier or different parts, be sure they are in stock
and ready to ship before placing your order.

Another option is to buy a complete Raspberry Pi 5 kit
from Amazon.  Two reliable brands are Vilros and CanaKit.
If you decide to do this, be sure that the kit you
are ordering contains all of the parts listed above.
This option will probably ship faster, but will probably
cost more.

I strongly suggest ordering your board and
accessories right away.

If you want to use the RPi before classes start, buy a
separate micro SD card (preferably at least 32 GB) and
save the 64 GB one to exchange in class.

To load the operating system on a micro SD card, go here
and follow the instructions to install the latest version
of Raspberry Pi OS.

Do not try to use the Raspberry Pi with a cheap off-brand
SD card.  The RPi is very hard on the card, and we
typically have several failures per quarter, even with
high-quality cards.

To use the Raspberry Pi at home, you will need to have
a USB keyboard and mouse, and a monitor or TV with an
HDMI input.  Here is an option for the keyboard and mouse:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017M4J1BU/

Inexpensive monitors can be found on eBay, Craigslist,
and sometimes at UCSB Surplus Sales.  Make sure to get
one with 1080p (1920x1080) or 4k native resolution.  A TV
with HDMI is a good option since it will also have sound.

It is possible to connect the Raspberry Pi to a laptop
using a wireless network or ethernet cable, but this can
be challenging, and you will need to figure it out on your
own if you decide to do this.

The textbooks for Physics 129, also not at the
campus bookstore, are as follows:

Required:

1. The Linux Command Line, Sixth Internet Edition
   By William E. Shotts, Jr.
   Free electronic version

2. A Student's Guide to Python for Physical Modeling, second edition
   ISBN 978-0691223650 (0691223653)
   By Jesse M. Kinder and Philip Nelson
   Princeton University Press
   http://www.amazon.com/dp/0691223653/

   Note: do not buy an older edition!

Optional:
   
1. Introduction to Computation and Programming Using Python:
      With Application to Understanding Data, third edition
   ISBN 978-0262542364 (0262542366)
   By John V. Guttag
   MIT Press
   http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262542366

Our coverage in Physics 129 of programming fundamentals
will necessarily be somewhat superficial because of limited
time.  This optional textbook is meant to fill in the gaps
if you are interested in becoming more skilled and better
trained than the average physics student (or professor,
for that matter).

Finally, this additional book is beyond the scope of
the course, but would be a next logical step if you are
interested in AI and other types of machine learning:

   Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow
      Concepts, Tools, and Techniques to Build Intelligent Systems, 3rd edition 
   ISBN 978-1098125974 (1098125975)
   By Aurelien Geron
   O'Reilly Media
   http://www.amazon.com/dp/1098125975