Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

raspberrypi.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

391–400 of 776 posts

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#391

Post by gcc42 »

phamilton4 wrote: post #376

This is really cool! I'm going to pick one up just to have a linux box on my desk that's separate from my laptop and not a VM. It's a little unfortunate that you can't pick a 8GB option, but 4GB is PLENTY. I remember my first RPi had 256MB!!

Do it. I have a cheap Linux server (non pi) running in my home, and it's immeasurably useful. It functions as a combination of a backup server (with an attached 8tb drive), Plex server (another 2 Tb media drive), PiHole host and MITmproxy etc.

Today I figured that I need to setup periodic email backups from my Gmail, and guess where that cron is going! I use Windows + WSL as my home machine so having a pure Linux machine locally SSHable is a godsend.

I though of getting a Pi but I'm just doing too much with the server.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#392

Post by ilrwbwrkhv »

codysan wrote: post #349
ineedasername wrote: post #265

This blows my mind. I know, it's much more incremental than it is revolutionary, but I think the form factor achieves a much greater degree of access for many people than a typical Pi whose bare hardware may be a lot more intimidating. Now, it's "just" a computer, which happens to expose a 40-pin connector for the standard Pi hardware fun. And unlike other options you might find, this has the massive built-in communi…

It reminds me of what Apple does when it redefines a product category by "just" bringing together existing technology into a more convenient form factor and UX. That's a wonderful observation. The form factor is as clever as it is logical. Stuff like this makes me really optimistic for the future of Raspberry Pi (and widespread computing!).

and it is british. anecdotally in terms of longevity and development i have seen they do the best job.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#394

Post by seg_lol »

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #335
flyinghamster wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These days, even a low-end Android phone, taken back forty years, would be a supercomputer beyond anything that existed then. Unfortunately, layer after layer of framework on abstraction on framework on abstraction sometimes means that we need a supercomputer to render a user interface, and still end up with perceptible lag. :) Regarding elsewhere where I mentioned running BOINC on a Pi 4B, I'd also note that (at lea…

microSD cards don't really cut it for a general-purpose desktop in terms of lifespan and reliability and SSD over USB is an awkward workaround at best. Hopefully the RPi 5 will have NVMe or a SATA port at least.

I believe a CM4 module could fit in the same space. They were probably developed in parallel, so they couldn't afford to gate the Pi 400 on the CM4 timelines.

Also, don't under estimate the performance of future SD cards.

v0, get it shipped

v1, improve

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#395

Post by zajio1am »

vngzs wrote: post #379
zajio1am wrote: post #309

Although i grew up in era of home computers like ZX Spectrum, i think that this form factor has no real advantage today, compared to some miniature brick form factor (with external keyboard), like NUC (or brick with Rasberry Pi). I see several reasons: - External keyboards are super cheap, there is wide variety of designs to choose based on personal preferences, while when integrated in computer you are stuck with on…

Laptops are basically computers inside keyboards, and people still buy them.

Laptops have key advantage over ultra small form factor PCs (e.g. NUC) that they are fully self-contained computers that could be used anywhere without any other component. For many people, such advantage can be more important than other disadvantages.

This is clearly not true for this kind of keyboard computers, they require monitor a and power like ultra small form factor PCs or other desktop PCs. So my point is that i do not see any advantage for them to outweight disadvantages of such setup.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#396

Post by Firehawke »

It rather reminds me of the old TRS-80 Color Computers I used to use, though the keyboard on those old beasts was far better than this.

It might be neat to get one to turn into a C64/CoCo/etc emulation box that you "just plug into the TV" like the old days..

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#397

Post by leoc »

geerlingguy wrote: post #290
numlock86 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Pi Keyboard was decent. I would expect this to be the same just with the Pi integrated.

This is literally the exact same keyboard surface and mechanism as the Pi Keyboard, so it's good, not amazing. I can type fine on it, though I still prefer an Apple Magic Keyboard (latest version) for daily typing since the body of it is slightly more solid. I'm not a mechanical keyboard fan, though I know many would like that kind of keyboard here, and it would be more fitting for the nostalgia!

Some of the '80s home micros like the Sinclair ZX81 and ZX Spectrum and the Atari 400 had keyboards which were dire by modern standards, or in fact by contemporary standards. Even the "mechanical" keyboards with full travel tended to be disappointing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNa2UdagTGU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN8WHp_QmoE . In comparison the RPi 400's keyboard is probably well above the mean. Still we might see some third-party replacement cases with mechanical keyboards, like the ones which came out for the ZX81: https://k1.spdns.de/Vintage/Sinclair/80/Peripherals/Keyboard... https://k1.spdns.de/Vintage/Sinclair/80/Peripherals/Keyboard... .

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#398

Post by satysin »

bofh23 wrote: post #282
FerretFred wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>simple RPi branded monitor with a Pi built in Oh, I'd definitely be up for that!!

I’d rather have a miniPC-sized Raspberry Pi computer like an Intel NUC or Mac Mini* mounted on the back of a monitor instead of an all-in-one. Monitors have a much longer useful life so all-in-ones (e.g. iMac) eventually become paperweights or e-waste. If they go the all-in-one route they should include an external HDMI port and a switch to choose between it and the internal Raspberry Pi. *: But upgradeable and repai…

This is pretty much how I had things setup but it isn't ideal as getting to the Pi is a pain and it doesn't work well with any hats so it didn't last long.

My thinking for a Raspberry Pi monitor would be to have the ports in an easier to access location on the rear of the monitor so hats, etc. can be made to a standard design.

Of course the monitor will likely out last the Pi inside it but there is nothing to stop it being used as just a monitor one the Pi instead is no longer useful.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#399

Post by colejohnson66 »

curryst wrote: post #255
FerretFred wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>simple RPi branded monitor with a Pi built in Oh, I'd definitely be up for that!!

You could probably DIY that with an RPi case pretty easy, using the VESA mount holes on the back of the monitor. Most of my monitors have two different size VESA mounts, and my monitor mounts use the smaller size, meaning I have 4 extra screw holes on the back of all my monitors, and conveniently nearly all the VESA mounts take standard M4 bolts. If your VESA mounts are close enough together, you can just drill holes…

Of course, that requires that your monitor have VESA mounts. It seems the big brands have segmented the market by making VESA mounts a “premium” feature. Which is ridiculous if I can get a TV with a bigger screen for the same price that comes with VESA built in to any of them.[a]

[a]: Ignoring the obvious differences between a TV-as-a-monitor and an actual monitor

Post reply on HN