MagicMirror VS DietPi

I use MagicMirror to do this. It's a great piece of software. I'm a bit shocked nobody has mentioned this yet. https://magicmirror.builders/

The most used solution it’s https://magicmirror.builders/

I’m planning on using MagicMirror (https://magicmirror.builders/) to do this in my kitchen but without the mirror part (just a TV mounted in a niche on the wall). Did you build your software from scratch?

Check out Magic Mirror. Could be what you're looking for. https://github.com/MichMich/MagicMirror

Would this work with magic mirror?

https://magicmirror.builders/

If so I will order right away

Have a look at the Magic Mirror project https://magicmirror.builders/

You could also look into something like MagicMirror. not sure if you have a server to host, or looking for just local on iPad.

The final option seems to be basically homebrewing a solution using a program like MagicMirror and local image files installed on the pi. There quite a few guides out there on different ways to do this. But

You can still participate in distributed computing projects, just check out Science United which is one that uses BOINC for the project management. I've got it running on my Raspberry Pi (which primarily runs Magic Mirror so its nice to let somebody else get some benefit since its primarily a relatively static display). Also, Folding@Home did do some of the research into COVID, so it is staying up to date.

DietPi is a lightweight Debian based Linux distribution for SBCs and server systems, with the option to install desktop environments, too. It ships as minimal image but allows to install complete and ready-to-use software stacks with a set of console based shell dialogs and scripts.

The source code is hosted on GitHub: https://github.com/MichaIng/DietPi

That's a good point, but the array of devices supported by the DietPi team is extensive: https://dietpi.com/

Before someone starts the usual yadda yadda about the RPi biger community, the OS not having long time support etc. I would repeat one more time: do not rely on board vendor supplied images; this is valid for pretty much all boards. Just go to Armbian or DietPi pages and you'll almost certainly find one or more images that work on your board and forums to discuss about them with very knowledgeable people.

https://www.armbian.com/download/

https://dietpi.com/#download

Those projects are well worth a contribution, as they don't have a giant like Broadcom behind them.

> bananapi do a lot of boards but their software story has been a bit poor

This is quite common with other board manufacturers too. I'd rather suggest to ignore completely their cobbled together distros, often also tainted by proprietary modifications, that become unmaintained in a few years, and see if they're among the many supported by Armbian or DietPi.

https://www.armbian.com/download/

https://dietpi.com/#download

The full release notes can be found at: https://dietpi.com/docs/releases/v8_25/

RPi OS = diet pi https://dietpi.com/ - initial config via text file - SDcard burning out partially mitigated as writes log files to ram then flushes to SDcard reducing write cycles

You could also try very minimalistic distros like TwisterUI or DietPi which are most known for their use in the RasprebbyPi / SBC computers but which also have editions for desktop / laptop.