How about an "Expert" designation in the user profiles?

[mrvco]

I wonder how many newbie questions could be answered using the FAQ page. Other than the latest equipment, how many different questions come up? If it's a manageable number, perhaps the FAQ should be expanded with a sectioned content page, then heavily advertised to newbies.

 

One of the issues I've seen on other message boards over the years with making it policy to send newbies to FAQ or Sticky posts is it doesn't encourage participation from new posters. You end up with a lot of militant "Read the FAQ n00b" posts (regardless of whether the FAQ actually addresses the specific question or not) and new participants end up hesitant to post anything and move on to more inviting, vibrant online communities. This is not to say that FAQ and Sticky posts aren't valuable, especially if they're kept up to date.

[mrvco]

Don't get me wrong, I fully support the "Industry Member" designation. I've just seen arbitrary designations granted by moderators devolve into popularity contests over time that have little to do with merit. Show me Join Date, Post Count and a link to Post Activity and I can determine what weight to give to poster's recommendation, opinion, etc. if I feel that it is necessary. And I think the Like, Dislike and Thanks flags will be helpful once everyone gets in the groove of using them.

 

Post count has nothing to do with expertise and this isn't the only forum on the internet. Forum users as a group are here because it's their hobby, not because they are experts at audio. With some exceptions, most of the experts are just too busy and absorbed in their work to be posting on internet forums. I bet if a list was made of the top 100 most influential audio pioneers most of them haven't posted once on the internet.

 

Why hi-fi experts disagree (dated 1963):

[semente]

One of the issues I've seen on other message boards over the years with making it policy to send newbies to FAQ or Sticky posts is it doesn't encourage participation from new posters. You end up with a lot of militant "Read the FAQ n00b" posts (regardless of whether the FAQ actually addresses the specific question or not) and new participants end up hesitant to post anything and move on to more inviting, vibrant online communities. This is not to say that FAQ and Sticky posts aren't valuable, especially if they're kept up to date.

I also believe that a noob question may very well become fertile land for an interesting technical discussion.

 

R

[Jud]

Ok you two, I think you both just qualified yourselvs as "EXPERTS" (since I have no clue what you are talking about) and as "NON-HELPFUL" (at least as far as this thread is concerned).

 

Sounds to me like you want to know more about it!

 

A script of course is just a pre-packaged series of commands you'd otherwise have to type into your computer one by one. (These commands are typed into the "terminal" in Linux and OS X, the "Command Prompt" in Windows.) I was trying to get a script made for Linux to run on my MacBook Pro. (The script is to write stuff to an SD card. To do this, the script first has to identify where all the storage, including drives, SD cards, USB, etc., is on the system.) Very often, OS X and Linux have enough in common that this will work without a hitch.

 

However, in this case the Linux command to identify the storage, "lsblk," isn't understood by OS X. So I tried installing some Linux utilities to my MacBook, hoping the "lsblk" command would be included and the script would then work. No dice.

 

Instead, Bill is telling me to modify the script, substituting for "lsblk" a command OS X will understand as telling it to identify storage locations, possibly "diskutil list" or "df -h."

 

Now you too are an expert!

 

OK, back on topic, couldn't resist having a little fun....

[AudioDoctor]

How about we argue less and enjoy music more...

 

Crazy idea, I know...

[wgscott]

OK, back on topic, couldn't resist having a little fun....

 

So, is it working?

[wgscott]

How about we argue less and enjoy music more...

 

Crazy idea, I know...

 

Are the two mutually exclusive?

[Gary.D.Olson]

I like to think (maybe I am deluded) that a few of them have been extremely helpful to some people with a specific problem (usually a Mac OS X issue).

 

IIRC, you were very helpful to me with integrating AppleTV into my rig. Thanks!

[accwai]

[...] in this case the Linux command to identify the storage, "lsblk," isn't understood by OS X. So I tried installing some Linux utilities to my MacBook, hoping the "lsblk" command would be included and the script would then work. No dice.

 

Instead, Bill is telling me to modify the script, substituting for "lsblk" a command OS X will understand as telling it to identify storage locations, possibly "diskutil list" or "df -h."

 

It probably depends a lot on what the script does with the lsblk output. Lsblk's output format is quite different from the other two. For example, it can display relationship between disk/partition and logical volume. Diskutil list probably and df certainly can't. Anything that tries to capture the output of lsblk and extract the device entries will choke on the other two commands. If a straight substitution doesn't work, you'll probably need to try and adapt the original script to work with the lowest common denominator, e.g. df, everywhere.

[AudioDoctor]

Are the two mutually exclusive?

 

Apparently...

[wgscott]

It probably depends a lot on what the script does with the lsblk output. Lsblk's output format is quite different from the other two. For example, it can display relationship between disk/partition and logical volume. Diskutil list probably and df certainly can't. Anything that tries to capture the output of lsblk and extract the device entries will choke on the other two commands. If a straight substitution doesn't work, you'll probably need to try and adapt the original script to work with the lowest common denominator, e.g. df, everywhere.

 

I was thinking the same thing.

 

Jud, email me the script, and I will see what I can do...

[sdolezalek]

Sounds to me like you want to know more about it!

 

A script of course is just a pre-packaged series of commands you'd otherwise have to type into your computer one by one...

 

Now you too are an expert!

 

OK, back on topic, couldn't resist having a little fun....

 

Ok, lets increase the fun/controversy component a bit. I assume you are taking the time to learn about and write scripts because you believe that either a) it will improve your listening experience or b) give you a better user experience? On the one hand that makes me curious about what you are achieving, but on the other hand, I realize that my finding the time to learn scipting is a "journey too far" even if it brings sonic nirvana...

 

But there are a lot of things I have learned in my 5 years on this site that I never thought I really wanted to figure out. Examples include dealing with mixed fiber/ethernet networks, dealing with NAS-based systems, learning about upsampling and filtering technologies, learning about how vibration-isolation works, learning about room equalization software techniques, learning about how DSD and PCM work and how musical information moves from the analog to the digital and back to the analog world, and on and on.

 

Every step involves a decision as to whether the added time and/or expense is worth it in terms of sonic improvement and overall listening pleasure. Arguably the more I have learned, the more I know about how far I am from an optimal listening experience. Therefore, it is possible that I am less "happy" now than I would have been had I stayed blissfully ignorant.

 

It is my growing sense that for a lot of people, not just here on CA, the tradeoff needed to "get to the next level" is either just not worth it, or just too hard in the face of all the other things they/we have to deal with. Over and over, I have heard the advice: "If your system makes you happy, enjoy it, don't worry about the opinions of others."

 

But there seems to be a growing volume of people, on a whole variety of subjects, and your reference to Climate Change immediately came to mind, where people don't just not want to learn or know, but they aggressively want to believe and insist that their view is the right view and the only right view. I think it is part of why people don't like the term "Experts," because an expert might disagree with what I think and I'd rather not have to question my own thinking.

 

Bottom line, I'm wondering how much of this is:

a) just the ever present reality about art and music, in particular;

b) just a phenomenon of the Internet Age, but not otherwise meaningful; or

c) a growing tension with the rate of change and volatility of the world around us that makes us crave certainty wherever we can find it?

 

Let the fun begin!

[Jud]

Ok, lets increase the fun/controversy component a bit. I assume you are taking the time to learn about and write scripts because you believe that either a) it will improve your listening experience or b) give you a better user experience? On the one hand that makes me curious about what you are achieving, but on the other hand, I realize that my finding the time to learn scipting is a "journey too far" even if it brings sonic nirvana...

 

What I'm trying to do is actually something pretty simple: make this cute little BeagleBone Green Wireless board I got into an NAA for HQPlayer, which means installing Miska's network audio daemon on it.

 

OK, now the complications: The daemon needs to be installed on either a Debian or Ubuntu Linux system. It is very simple to get the current "stable" version of Debian Linux, called "Jessie," onto the BBGW. Unfortunately, the daemon requires a newer version of Debian, "Stretch." (For the Linux/Unix/coding aficionados out there, the daemon needs the newer version of the C++ library that's on Stretch.) This is slightly more complicated to get onto the little micro SD card one uses to install operating systems on the BBGW, which is where the script comes in. The script would run just fine on Xubuntu Linux, which is one of the systems I have on my office desktop. But that machine has no SD card slot. The MacBook Pro does have an SD card slot, which was the reason for my question about adapting the script to run on that machine.

 

Why not just install Ubuntu, then? Because I've found Ubuntu on the BeagleBone to be less user-friendly, lacking conveniences like automagic configuration of wireless (necessary for an NAA) that the Debian version has.

 

When my wife came home, I borrowed the USB-to-SD card adapter she uses to offload photos from her camera into the computer, ran the script on the Linux machine, and did the installation to the SD card. However, it turned out there were problems updating the BBGW from the SD card, which I won't go into. Where I am now is that I've reinstalled Jessie on the BBGW and have set it up to update itself to Stretch (for Debian and related Linux distro folks, I've edited /etc/apt/sources.list). Will see if that works this evening.

 

But there are a lot of things I have learned in my 5 years on this site that I never thought I really wanted to figure out. Examples include dealing with mixed fiber/ethernet networks, dealing with NAS-based systems, learning about upsampling and filtering technologies, learning about how vibration-isolation works, learning about room equalization software techniques, learning about how DSD and PCM work and how musical information moves from the analog to the digital and back to the analog world, and on and on.

 

Every step involves a decision as to whether the added time and/or expense is worth it in terms of sonic improvement and overall listening pleasure. Arguably the more I have learned, the more I know about how far I am from an optimal listening experience. Therefore, it is possible that I am less "happy" now than I would have been had I stayed blissfully ignorant.

 

I actually *enjoy* learning about these obscure and esoteric things as an end in itself, entirely apart from the effect on SQ. For me, ignorance is often irritating. I like to know how stuff works. Of course when it results in better SQ, that's pretty nice too.

 

It is my growing sense that for a lot of people, not just here on CA, the tradeoff needed to "get to the next level" is either just not worth it, or just too hard in the face of all the other things they/we have to deal with. Over and over, I have heard the advice: "If your system makes you happy, enjoy it, don't worry about the opinions of others."

 

But there seems to be a growing volume of people, on a whole variety of subjects, and your reference to Climate Change immediately came to mind, where people don't just not want to learn or know, but they aggressively want to believe and insist that their view is the right view and the only right view. I think it is part of why people don't like the term "Experts," because an expert might disagree with what I think and I'd rather not have to question my own thinking.

 

Bottom line, I'm wondering how much of this is:

a) just the ever present reality about art and music, in particular;

b) just a phenomenon of the Internet Age, but not otherwise meaningful; or

c) a growing tension with the rate of change and volatility of the world around us that makes us crave certainty wherever we can find it?

 

Let the fun begin!

 

I vote a combo of (b) and ©. We've always had ©, but (b) (along with hundreds of cable and satellite radio channels) enables two things:

 

(1) People can live in their own bubbles as never before. Thus if you hold a view on climate change that is not shared by 97% of the people who've spent a lifetime learning about and researching the subject, it's OK - there are tens if not hundreds of websites, cable channels, radio stations, etc., where you can ensure no one will disagree with you.

 

(2) The web can easily give people a sense of instant expertise. What I find as an attorney is that people will read about some law-related topic and without the background of law school and a legal career, they will apply whatever specific principle they've read about far, far more broadly than they should, because they lack the proper context for this bit of knowledge (if it *is* real knowledge, and not some bogus screed they found). We're all familiar with the same happening here (tying back to the original topic) - people who've read an isolated bit about an audio topic, very possibly from someone's marketing department, who then feel empowered to challenge folks who've spent a lifetime of education and experience in audio and electronic engineering and/or software. "USB is crap!" "USB is the greatest!" "DSD is the best!" "PCM is much better than DSD, which is crap!" Folks get hold of a tiny bit of knowledge, or marketing masquerading as knowledge, and suddenly the entire audio world becomes clear to them in its light. As Isaiah Berlin said, "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one great thing." Lots of hedgehogs around, all knowing one great (different) thing, all failing to see the larger context.

[Paul R]

Whoops -

[Gary.D.Olson]

Every step involves a decision as to whether the added time and/or expense is worth it in terms of sonic improvement and overall listening pleasure. Arguably the more I have learned, the more I know about how far I am from an optimal listening experience. Therefore, it is possible that I am less "happy" now than I would have been had I stayed blissfully ignorant.

 

It is my growing sense that for a lot of people, not just here on CA, the tradeoff needed to "get to the next level" is either just not worth it, or just too hard in the face of all the other things they/we have to deal with. Over and over, I have heard the advice: "If your system makes you happy, enjoy it, don't worry about the opinions of others."

 

But there seems to be a growing volume of people, on a whole variety of subjects, and your reference to Climate Change immediately came to mind, where people don't just not want to learn or know, but they aggressively want to believe and insist that their view is the right view and the only right view. I think it is part of why people don't like the term "Experts," because an expert might disagree with what I think and I'd rather not have to question my own thinking.

 

Bottom line, I'm wondering how much of this is:

a) just the ever present reality about art and music, in particular;

b) just a phenomenon of the Internet Age, but not otherwise meaningful; or

c) a growing tension with the rate of change and volatility of the world around us that makes us crave certainty wherever we can find it?

 

Let the fun begin!

 

 

You've touched upon an issue I've been pondering about audiophiles for a very long time. This is only my opinion, and it is most certainly not directed at you but rather all of us.

 

A colleague once unexpectedly put me on the phone with her husband who had recently become an audiophile convert. She's American but he's very Russian with a heavy accent. Still, I understood the very first words he said to me: "How deep are you into this illness?"

 

One of the first things I learned in 45 years of this pursuit is there are no sane audiophiles. Some (in MY book) come close enough, but too many don't. Another thing I've learned, and this took much longer, is that it isn't just audiophiles; NOBODY is entirely sane. The few who seem to come the closest are either a. boring, b. secretly crazier than the rest of us, c. pathological liars, or d. a combination of all three. Thankfully, there's one more group: e. those who accept their imperfections and have taken enough steps toward improvement that they are comfortable with it.

 

I submit this last group represents the sanest people of our world, so much so that their mental illnesses are rarely problematic to the those around them. These people tend to be very forgiving and empathetic and are almost always deceptively smart. Several are right here at computeraudiophile. What I'm trying to say is this:

 

1. We're all crazy; it's only a matter of degree, and by "all", I mean all humans, not just audiophiles

2. Just because we're all crazy doesn't automatically mean nobody needs help

 

When our joy of listening to music begins to lose out to the obsession of finding sonic nirvana, this is no longer garden variety crazy; it's a sign we may need help. Not necessarily professional help, but we should at least take a step back and reevaluate what it is we're "really" looking for and what we feel is missing in our lives (love, respect, success, religion, whatever).

 

It's just my opinion, and maybe the only crazy one around here is me. Heh, that actually wouldn't come as a total surprise.

[bluesman]

What I'm trying to do is actually something pretty simple: make this cute little BeagleBone Green Wireless board I got into an NAA for HQPlayer, which means installing Miska's network audio daemon on it.

 

OK, now the complications: The daemon needs to be installed on either a Debian or Ubuntu Linux system. It is very simple to get the current "stable" version of Debian Linux, called "Jessie," onto the BBGW. Unfortunately, the daemon requires a newer version of Debian, "Stretch."...Where I am now is that I've reinstalled Jessie on the BBGW and have set it up to update itself to Stretch (for Debian and related Linux distro folks, I've edited /etc/apt/sources.list). Will see if that works this evening.

I don't know if you're aware of it, but there's now a Stretch image for BBs, Jud. Just run this to retrieve it:

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-06-09/elinux/debian-stretch-console-armhf-2016-06-09.tar.xz

 

I prefer to boot and run from the SD card with the file system expanded to the full capacity (I use a 32 or 64G uSD), which gives you much more flexibility. But you can run this to get the flasher image if you want to burn it to your eMMC (assuming there's room - I don't know because I stopped using the MMC when I discovered how easy it is to expand the file system on the card):

 

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-06-09/flasher/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.5-console-armhf-2016-06-09-2gb.img.xz

[Jud]

I don't know if you're aware of it, but there's now a Stretch image for BBs, Jud. Just run this to retrieve it:

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-06-09/elinux/debian-stretch-console-armhf-2016-06-09.tar.xz

 

I prefer to boot and run from the SD card with the file system expanded to the full capacity (I use a 32 or 64G uSD), which gives you much more flexibility. But you can run this to get the flasher image if you want to burn it to your eMMC (assuming there's room - I don't know because I stopped using the MMC when I discovered how easy it is to expand the file system on the card):

 

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-06-09/flasher/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.5-console-armhf-2016-06-09-2gb.img.xz

 

I'm very familiar - that first link is the "image" I needed to run the script for. I put "image" in quotes because as you see from the URL it's not actually a Linux img file but a tar'd filesystem, unlike the xz-compressed img file at the second link you posted.

 

I have no problem installing the system image from the second link (or other img files like it), but they are Debian version 8.5 - Jessie. Using the script to install the tar'd Stretch filesystem worked to get it onto the SD card. But it wouldn't boot for me, unlike all the img files I tried. So I've reinstalled Jessie from an img and modified /etc/apt/sources.list so I can hopefully get the system to upgrade itself to Stretch this evening.

 

Edit: Thanks to everyone who has made suggestions. They're appreciated. If I actually knew anything about Linux/Unix, I'm sure I would have been able to convert the tar'd filesystem to an img file, or modify the script, or know what I was doing wrong to make the filesystem on the SD card not bootable, but since I'm operating at such a low level of knowledge it's taking longer than it should.

[Paul R]

I'm very familiar - that first link is the "image" I needed to run the script for. I put "image" in quotes because as you see from the URL it's not actually a Linux img file but a tar'd filesystem, unlike the xz-compressed img file at the second link you posted.

 

I have no problem installing the system image from the second link (or other img files like it), but they are Debian version 8.5 - Jessie. Using the script to install the tar'd Stretch filesystem worked to get it onto the SD card. But it wouldn't boot for me, unlike all the img files I tried. So I've reinstalled Jessie from an img and modified /etc/apt/sources.list so I can hopefully get the system to upgrade itself to Stretch this evening.

 

Edit: Thanks to everyone who has made suggestions. They're appreciated. If I actually knew anything about Linux/Unix, I'm sure I would have been able to convert the tar'd filesystem to an img file, or modify the script, or know what I was doing wrong to make the filesystem on the SD card not bootable, but since I'm operating at such a low level of knowledge it's taking longer than it should.

 

(grin) I don't know of any way to make a tarred file system (which is like a zip archive) into a bootable file system myself and I first hit UNIX in the 1970s. The tar file might contain a dd image or something, but that would still require copying the dd image to the raw disk device, which is easy but who would know to do that unless they have been mucking about in Unix/Linux for a few decades?

 

Personally, I am impressed with how well you (and other folks around here) pick up Linux/Unix and just run with it. It isn't hard, but it isn't Windows either. And MacOS has been caramelized into a very sweet process that doesn't expose the underlying Unix.

 

Just my $0.02.

 

-Paul

[Jud]

but that would still require copying the dd image to the raw disk device, which is easy but who would know to do that

 

-Paul

 

I considered it, but dd-ing the filesystem to the board's eMMC (stands for "embedded Multi-Media Card," a slow, cheap form of flash storage, part of the reason why I could get the BBGW for under $40) would just get me an unbootable filesystem on the eMMC instead of the SD card. So I'd still have to figure out what I did to muck things up to make the system unbootable.

[bluesman]

(grin) I don't know of any way to make a tarred file system (which is like a zip archive) into a bootable file system myself and I first hit UNIX in the 1970s. The tar file might contain a dd image or something, but that would still require copying the dd image to the raw disk devicel

You should be able to unpack and install the Stretch image from the tarball right onto the 'bone running Jessie. You may need to load xz-utils to unzip it:

sudo apt-get install xz-utils

 

and then you can unpack and install it:

 

tar xf myfile.tar.xz

 

You just have to cd to the directory in which the tarball was placed, then run

 

tar xf debian-stretch-console-armhf-2016-06-09.tar.xz

 

Good luck!

[Jud]

You should be able to unpack and install the Stretch image from the tarball right onto the 'bone running Jessie. You may need to load xz-utils to unzip it:

sudo apt-get install xz-utils

 

and then you can unpack and install it:

 

tar xf myfile.tar.xz

 

You just have to cd to the directory in which the tarball was placed, then run

 

tar xf debian-stretch-console-armhf-2016-06-09.tar.xz

 

Good luck!

 

Can you try it and see if this boots for you (got a spare micro-SD card?)?

[christopher3393]

...Folks get hold of a tiny bit of knowledge, or marketing masquerading as knowledge, and suddenly the entire audio world becomes clear to them in its light. As Isaiah Berlin said, "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one great thing." Lots of hedgehogs around, all knowing one great (different) thing, all failing to see the larger context.

 

 

Given the way you used "hedgehog", you've named a real problem, but I'd like to try a different reading. Here's Berlin:

 

"For there exists a great chasm between those, on one side, who relate everything to a single central vision,

one system, less or more coherent or articulate, in terms of which they understand, think and feel – a single, universal,

organizing principle in terms of which alone all that they are and say has significance [hedgehog]– and, on the other side, those who pursue

many ends, often unrelated and even contradictory, connected, if at all, only in some de facto way, for some psychological or

physiological cause, related to no moral or aesthetic principle [fox]. These last lead lives, perform acts and entertain ideas that are

centrifugal rather than centripetal; their thought is scattered or diffused, moving on many levels, seizing upon the essence of a

vast variety of experiences and objects for what they are in themselves, without, consciously or unconsciously, seeking to fit them

into, or exclude them from, any one unchanging, all-embracing, sometimes self-contradictory and incomplete, at times fanatical,

unitary inner vision."

 

Quite a mouthful, but let's consider one type of hedgehog here that could be positive: keeping in mind the overarching guiding principle that Chris often reiterates, "enjoyment of this hobby", and I'll add "for myself and other members. Now this could mean many things to many foxes, but some mindfulness of this is helpful:

 

When our joy of listening to music begins to lose out to the obsession of finding sonic nirvana, this is no longer garden variety crazy; it's a sign we may need help. Not necessarily professional help, but we should at least take a step back and reevaluate what it is we're "really" looking for and what we feel is missing in our lives (love, respect, success, religion, whatever).

 

Putting this a little differently, the goal of this hobby, its telos, is the enjoyment of music. The hobby is meant to contribute to this enjoyment, but is far from the sole ingredient. This does not mean that one can't enjoy learning computer and audio technical things along their way. But it suggests to me that if you lose sight of the goal, and if you are not attending to some of the other ingredients that go into good music listening experiences, it doesn't really matter how expert you are in the techne involved. You've lost the thread, the big picture, the purpose, the prize. For me personally, this means that I prefer a pragmatic approach to this hobby--it is a means to getting a better listening experience. But I suppose that's hedgehog thinking.

 

(p.s. A true hedgehog has to ask: what is the purpose of enjoying music, or is it an end in itself?)

[Jud]

 

Putting this a little differently, the goal of this hobby, its telos, is the enjoyment of music. The hobby is meant to contribute to this enjoyment, but is far from the sole ingredient. This does not mean that one can't enjoy learning computer and audio technical things along their way. But it suggests to me that if you lose sight of the goal, and if you are not attending to some of the other ingredients that go into good music listening experiences, it doesn't really matter how expert you are in the techne involved. You've lost the thread, the big picture, the purpose, the prize. For me personally, this means that I prefer a pragmatic approach to this hobby--it is a means to getting a better listening experience. But I suppose that's hedgehog thinking.

 

Nice post.

 

The Music is definitely The Thing (Thang?). I just enjoy puttering around with this stuff along the way. Now, as for pragmatism - if I get the NAA up and running, I'll be able to run HQP on a Linux desktop upstairs that has better oomph than my laptop downstairs, and may possibly be able to get DSD512 going into my main system DAC without having to hear fan noise (which DSD256 on the 2009 vintage MBP often leads to), all for an additional expenditure of around $75 (BBGW and an iFi iPower bought used to power it). I'd say that's being pretty practically minded (if not downright cheap).

[christopher3393]

Nice post.

 

The Music is definitely The Thing (Thang?). I just enjoy puttering around with this stuff along the way. Now, as for pragmatism - if I get the NAA up and running, I'll be able to run HQP on a Linux desktop upstairs that has better oomph than my laptop downstairs, and may possibly be able to get DSD512 going into my main system DAC without having to hear fan noise (which DSD256 on the 2009 vintage MBP often leads to), all for an additional expenditure of around $75 (BBGW and an iFi iPower bought used to power it). I'd say that's being pretty practically minded (if not downright cheap).

 

I hope it goes smoothly for you. Since I understand what you wrote, I think I've moved from Beginner to Advanced Beginner status!

[mac_and_dac]

I'm very familiar - that first link is the "image" I needed to run the script for. I put "image" in quotes because as you see from the URL it's not actually a Linux img file but a tar'd filesystem, unlike the xz-compressed img file at the second link you posted.

 

I have no problem installing the system image from the second link (or other img files like it), but they are Debian version 8.5 - Jessie. Using the script to install the tar'd Stretch filesystem worked to get it onto the SD card. But it wouldn't boot for me, unlike all the img files I tried. So I've reinstalled Jessie from an img and modified /etc/apt/sources.list so I can hopefully get the system to upgrade itself to Stretch this evening.

 

Edit: Thanks to everyone who has made suggestions. They're appreciated. If I actually knew anything about Linux/Unix, I'm sure I would have been able to convert the tar'd filesystem to an img file, or modify the script, or know what I was doing wrong to make the filesystem on the SD card not bootable, but since I'm operating at such a low level of knowledge it's taking longer than it should.

 

Happy to help, if need be. You've certainly helped me a lot in the past. I've been working with *nix for years, mostly in the telco sector, but have set up several Linux versions for my various Raspberry Pi's. A new thread with a clear exposition of the challenge would help ... if the current approach isn't working, there may be another way to skin the proverbial cat.