Remote Desktop for Raspberry Pi

To access your Raspberry Pi through remote desktop, type the following commands at the Raspberry Pi terminal prompt:

sudo apt-get install tightvncserver

When installation of tightvncserver is complete, execute this command:

sudo apt-get install xrdp

When this is complete, the Pi should be running a remote desktop server.  To access the Pi on Windows, choose “Remote Desktop Connection” from the start menu.  The remote desktop client will appear and ask you for the IP address of the Pi.  My Pi is at 10.0.0.129.

Hit Connect.

A login screen will appear and ask for your username and password.  The default username for the Pi is “pi”  — and the default password is “raspberry”

Congratulations!  The Raspberry Pi’s desktop should appear.  Now, you can access the Pi from anywhere on your network and there is no need to lug around a monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables, etc.

 

Browser Add-ons — Read Terms and Conditions

I found this wonderful sounding add-on to Chrome this morning. It lets you select one or more Gmail emails to convert to PDF. Then, you can download the PDF or put it on Google Drive. I was quite excited and downloaded the add-on.
 
When I installed it, I learned that I have to create a CloudHQ account and give CloudHQ permissions to have read-only access to my emails.
 
No. Just no.
 
Always read Terms and Conditions when installing anything on your computer. The more companies that have access to your information, the more likely you will become a victim to a data breach and identity theft.
 

Cost of Goods (COGS) – or Cost of Sales

The terms Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), Cost of Sales, and Cost of Revenue are synonymous.  They describe the direct costs of producing a good or service that is sold to customers.   In this post, let’s just refer to this as COGS.

Direct costs include direct labor and materials, and facility or plant overhead that is directly tied to producing the good or service.  For example, the salary of a person assembling a television would be a direct cost.  Extra electricity used to run a machine used only to produce the good or service would also be included.

But, the salary of the janitor at a plant that makes televisions, phones, and alarm clocks would be an indirect cost.   The reason is that the cost of the janitor does not increase or decrease as a result of making more or less televisions.  The amount of floor space to sweep in the facility is the same regardless of the number of televisions produced (within reason.)  The janitor’s salary is an example of SG&A costs.  SG&A stands for selling, general, and administrative.  SG&A expenses occur when the company incurs an expense for

  • Promoting, selling, or delivering products and services
  • Managing the overall company

These types of costs will appear on the company’s quarterly (or annual) income statement for the period they were incurred.  More specific examples of indirect SG&A costs include sales commissions, advertising and promotional materials, management compensation, compensation for support staff, rent, utilities, and office supplies.

The general rule is that direct costs do not include general overhead or administrative expenses.  These expenses are not part of the COGS calculation.

COGS is key metric for cost analysis because shows the operational costs of producing a good and service. If cost of sales is rising while gross revenue is flat, net earnings (gross profit) will decrease.  Remember that:

(Gross Revenue) – (COGS) = (Gross Profit)

Note that for a service business without a tangible, physical, product, COGS is a bit of a misnomer since there is not a “good.”  That is why the term Cost of Sales is often used.  But, the terms mean the same thing.