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Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

raspberrypi.org

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Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#721

Post by cstross »

interestica wrote: post #716
codysan wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!).

The one weird thing to me is their mouse placement decision. Their promo photos and videos show it on the left side because of the most convenient usb port. I have never actually seen a left-placed mouse in the wild. Having it all look so clean and organized in the promo is a bit disingenuous. In reality, the mouse will be on the right, and the cable will have to cross over top of all cables except the ethernet and u…

> I have never actually seen a left-placed mouse in the wild.

Then you've never seen my desk! (About 10-15% of the population is left-handed)

But really, the Pi 400 supports Bluetooth 5. So I expect many/most folks will go wireless for their rodents.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#722

Post by yodelshady »

TimTheTinker wrote: post #607
chmod775 wrote: post #520

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>In developed nations, I think families in poverty usually have a TV. That was a fair assertion 1997. Nowadays you will easily find a bunch of computers too. >The brilliance here is that a kid in a poor family can get started with just a single piece of hardware that's available cheaply. $100 isn't cheap when you're poor. A poor family that has any sense certainly won't buy brand-new hardware. When you have to save m…

> $100 isn't cheap when you're poor. I meant if they somehow got ahold of one (community program, kind person from across town, local school getting rid of them, etc.). The discussion was more about whether a child in a poor family who gets one can actually use it without any extra hardware, not how affordable $100 is to a family in poverty. Most parents in poverty don't have the brain space to think about buying one…

> Most parents in poverty don't have the brain space to think about buying one of these for their kids.

You're absolutely right, and that's why the pi foundation includes schools as a target market. Schools deliver the greatest, and certainly the most equally distributed, value, and cheap computers mean more money to spend on that brain space.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#724

Post by macintux »

ascagnel_ wrote: post #643
code4tee wrote: post #478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people’s TVs at this point are basically a 1080 monitor hooked up to a computer (cable box) so I don’t see this as a big challenge. If a monitor is needed they are quite inexpensive at this point compared to what they used to cost.

The issue is that the Pi uses a relatively uncommon port (mini-HDMI) for their devices, and while the “Christmas Morning” kit that they’re selling includes the correct cable, it would’ve been nice if this larger device upgraded to use the far more common full-sized HDMI port. This way, they could’ve used a cable they likely already had available instead of needing something special or keeping track of a new cable.

And HDMI itself isn’t a great choice if you’re hoping to let people use old monitors.

I have an old one with DVI and VGA, so I have a DVI-HDMI dongle and HDMI-HDMI mini cable and my first dongle didn’t work because the form factor of the monitor case didn’t allow it to fit. Quite a pain.

Of course DVI would rule out old TVs, so I don’t know what the “best” choice is, if there is one.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#725

Post by ddingus »

core-questions wrote: post #583
ddingus wrote: post #548

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it comes with community, is relevant, etc... Sure, smarter people can literally dumpster dive and get going. I literally did that as a kid. N9 big deal. Tons of people will buy this and get a lot out of it.

> I literally did that as a kid. Wicked, would love to hear the story.

I have two experiences to share. Watch this space. Maybe writing about good times is good therapy for what is otherwise a painful election...

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#726

Post by ddingus »

hexadec wrote: post #713
core-questions wrote: post #583

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I literally did that as a kid. Wicked, would love to hear the story.

No the parent, but I did this a bunch as we grew up poor. I got an oooooold IBM PS2 notebook with 6 Windows 3.1.2 floppies from the school IT discard pile. My friends and I also created the cheapest PC we could. It was a cardboard box with a small box fan and then all the Pentium 4 guts duct taped inside.

Awesome sauce. I'm an 80s kid so I basically had two rounds of this. I'll share later. But thanks for getting it started.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#727

Post by ddingus »

ben_w wrote: post #706
ddingus wrote: post #656

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Writing code means not requiring Linux apps.

Pis don’t require Linux, they support Linux. If you want to teach kids on RISC OS like I was in the late 90s, there isn’t anything stopping you.

You were that is all true. I was speaking more to the Chromebook model, not so much what someone wants to or needs to run on a Pi.

I don't feel all that good about developments on things like iPads and Chromebooks. Not for stem type tasks.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#729

Post by Aicy »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #687

The comments in this thread appear to focus on form factor. What makes this offering interesting IMO is that this a PC sold without a HDD and without an OS pre-installed. Although the "kit" may supply an SD card with a "recommended" OS, there is no obligation to use it. There are plenty of other options. Users can use multiple OS on the same computer without the inconvenience of "dual-boot". Although some of the firs…

That is all true, the reason people aren't mentioning it is that it was true for all former raspberry pi PC's - the form factor is what's new.
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