[HN Gopher] How to configure an Ethernet connection between iPad...
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       How to configure an Ethernet connection between iPad and
       RaspberryPi with USB-C
        
       Author : andreagrandi
       Score  : 68 points
       Date   : 2024-10-26 15:14 UTC (7 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.andreagrandi.it)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.andreagrandi.it)
        
       | ssmmiles wrote:
       | This is thanks to USB On-The-Go support, really handy feature -
       | can also use it to get a serial connection:
       | https://trac.gateworks.com/wiki/linux/OTG
        
         | leetrout wrote:
         | This is core to how pikvm / tinypilot work as well!
        
       | amelius wrote:
       | Nice. Is there a user-friendly way to open a webpage that is
       | running on the RPi? (I.e. without bothering the user with IP-
       | addresses and such)
        
         | ajb wrote:
         | Raspberrypi.local normally works; (using the bonjour/avahi
         | protocol for local DNS on both sides, which is set up by
         | default on raspbian). Might be more tricky to get a proper
         | certificate for https
        
           | Uehreka wrote:
           | mkcert can help with this!
           | https://github.com/FiloSottile/mkcert
           | 
           | As one-time-setup you'll need to serve the ROOTCA.pem from
           | the Pi and download and install it on the iPad, but once
           | you've done this once, any certs you generate on the Pi will
           | be accepted by the iPad.
           | 
           | mkcert has enabled so many crazy setups and workflows for me
           | over the years, it's truly fantastic.
        
         | suralind wrote:
         | I have all my devices in a Tailscale network with MagicDNS
         | enabled. This way you can just open http://RPI:8080 and that
         | should just work.
         | 
         | (I am not affiliated with Tailscale in any way.)
        
           | amelius wrote:
           | I should have been more specific. I mean user-friendly in the
           | sense that I give my RPi to a family member, they take it
           | home, attach it to their iPad and open the web-page.
        
       | moffkalast wrote:
       | Pretty interesting. The Turtlebot 4 educational robot also uses
       | this approach to power/ethernet interface the Pi 4 and the
       | microROS controllers that run on the roomba. Before seeing that a
       | while back I would've never imagined it possible.
        
         | int0x29 wrote:
         | Sounds much better than what they used to do which was glue an
         | eePC to a roomba via a terrifying number of dongles
        
           | moffkalast wrote:
           | Ha yes, definitely better in that regard. Also they now have
           | a lidar too so navigation is trivial, but the M0 controllers
           | and the Pi 4 are all really underpowered for ROS 2 so...
           | there are still various issues lol.
        
       | terhechte wrote:
       | This is kind of the best way to do software development using an
       | iPad. You can SSH or VNC into the Pi and then use all the tools
       | available to the system. I've thought more than once about gluing
       | a Pi to the back of my iPad so I can just take one device on
       | longer travels and not have to take the iPad and the Mac (reason
       | for the bringing the iPad is that all big streaming services
       | typically have an iPad app that allows downloads, but no macOS
       | app. I like having downloads for no / bad wifi situations).
        
         | skydhash wrote:
         | While I like the iPad's screen (pretty great for reading pdfs),
         | I'd much prefer something like the Starlite [0] for a more
         | versatile usage. The iPad has nice app, but they're too
         | constrained both by the platform and Apple's policy.
         | 
         | [0]: https://us.starlabs.systems/pages/starlite
        
           | terhechte wrote:
           | but that doesn't run the official Netflix, Disney+, Apple+
           | etc apps, does it? Or via something like Waydroid?
        
             | layer8 wrote:
             | It can run Windows 11. Presumably you could also dual-boot.
        
           | wpm wrote:
           | This looks great but god I cringe anytime I seed micro-HDMI
           | being used for anything but a case study of a pointless,
           | terrible port. I'd rather not have any display-out at all vs
           | a port that is probably going to fail right when I need it
           | to, if I can remember the stupid adapter.
           | 
           | Should've just been another USB-C port. Let me break it out
           | to what I need, since I'm gonna need a dongle anyways.
        
           | porcoda wrote:
           | I bought one of those for this reason. I really like starlabs
           | and want to support them, but the keyboard cover for that
           | device is .. not great. If it had a keyboard similar to the
           | apple ipad keyboard (the expensive one with backlighting - I
           | forget their name for it), the starlite would be a much more
           | compelling device. At this point mine just sits in a desk
           | drawer and may find its way to eBay.
        
             | skydhash wrote:
             | I don't have much hope for these types of keyboards and for
             | the price of a Magic Keyboard, i'd prefer a better keyboard
             | (not a high bar there) and some kind of stand even though a
             | bit more cumbersome.
        
       | MBCook wrote:
       | Not what the author is doing here, but you can also connect them
       | over standard Ethernet. Any standard USB-C to Ethernet adapter
       | will work with the iPad automatically.
       | 
       | Came as a surprise to me a few years ago when I first ran a that
       | it.
       | 
       | Makes sense, I had simply never considered it.
        
         | walterbell wrote:
         | It's so convenient to have USB-c power, audio, storage &
         | network on a single cable. iPadOS can't detect headphones that
         | are unplugged from 3.5mm audio jack on a dock, so it's better
         | to connect headphones to dock via USB, to enable quick switch
         | to speakers. There are right-angle and U/180 degree USB-c
         | adapters to keep the cable out of the way.
         | 
         | RPi 400 keyboard + iPad VNC also works, or HDMI-to-USBc via
         | iPad app,
         | https://www.reddit.com/r/ipad/comments/utvfcu/my_ipad_mini_r...
        
         | askvictor wrote:
         | The author is plugging a USB-C to USB-C cable between an ipad
         | and an RPi, and having them speak Ethernet.
        
       | jeroenhd wrote:
       | I don't really get the iPad + RPi combo. I see it a lot, but why
       | not simply run a web server on the iPad itself? Do that many
       | people use the Pi's GPIO pins in combination with web dev?
        
         | walterbell wrote:
         | Apple doesn't allow much beyond static web pages on iOS.
        
       | rcarmo wrote:
       | I've done this for years via Bluetooth PAN or USB Ethernet. Notes
       | here for both methods:
       | https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2023/09/09/1820
        
       | rahimnathwani wrote:
       | In case you're like me and were wondering how IP addresses are
       | being assigned, apparently the NetworkManager's 'shared' IPv4
       | method starts dnsmasq, which acts as a DHCP server.
       | 
       | (It also enables masquerading (NAT) and IP forwarding, but of
       | course that's not relevant in this context.)
        
       | coin wrote:
       | Tech Craft: My Favourite iPad Pro Accessory: The Raspberry Pi 4
       | (November 2019) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR6sDcKo3V8
        
       | eqvinox wrote:
       | Nice article on how to configure a RasPi into USB Ethernet gadget
       | mode... doesn't really have anything to do with iPads. I guess
       | it's good to know it works with iPads? It'll also work with
       | Android devices, and plain old PCs... anything that accepts USB
       | CDC Ethernet...
        
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       (page generated 2024-10-26 23:02 UTC)