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Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

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Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#631

Post by lostlogin »

sergeykish wrote: post #582
ineedasername wrote: post #519

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think about scalability. We need a solution for more than just one person. We need a solution for 1,000 kids in my town, 5,000 in surrounding districts, and I have no idea how many state-wide. How many such laptops can you find? How much effort will it take to source a dozen here, and dozen there, from hundreds of different sources? Repurposing old hardware only works at a small scale. If there were 50 kids in the sc…

That was an example. $1600 ultrabook costs $230 after 6 years. It includes display and there are cheaper models. Computing power has not changed much in the last ten years (just stay away from Intel Atom), maybe add some RAM and good to go. Bonus point — compatibility with x86 and x64 software, SATA. Raspberry Pi 400 is fine, but it is not cheapest.

Opening a brand new Pi and building up the environment is part of the attraction. An old machine that doesn’t support new features seems somehow inferior to a new machine that doesn’t support some stuff.

The satisfaction in making a tiny little computer board go is very apparent when you see a kid do it, even if it’s just to make some lights flash or boot into a Nintendo 64 emulator via a console. It all feels very close to the metal but without a great risk of damage.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#632

Post by soneil »

lostlogin wrote: post #628
NortySpock wrote: post #597

Earlier quoted context omitted.

official Raspberry Pi Sense HAT https://www.microcenter.com/product/453920/raspberry-pi-sens... 5x5 RGB LED matrix, gyro, accelerometer, magnetometer, thermometer, hydrometer, barometer, joystick sensor, all for ~$30 USD

Getting the POE hat in there somewhere, somehow, would be pretty neat.

The PoE hat - at least the existing one as we know it - won't work for the 400. Besides the 40pin header it also uses another 2x2 header behind the magjack, which is where it receives the input from the ethernet jack.

Oddly, this board spots a separate ethernet transformer which does support PoE, but there's no circuity to tap that, and nowhere to add it. Which begs for a modification, but seems like missed opportunity.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#633

Post by petejames »

I'm thinking about getting these for my nieces and nephews. What apps/bookmarks should I install for them to explore easily from the desktop. So far I'm thinking: - Scratch - Khan Academy - RetroPi - what else?

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#634

Post by socialdemocrat »

cactus2093 wrote: post #409
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…

> The district couldn't secure all of the necessary Chrome Books, and some students have been left attempting remote learning via their parent's phone, or simply left behind. A cheap mass market device has some truly amazing potential to fill in these gaps at the same time that it enables more advanced S(T)EM learning than you could get with a typical cheap Chrome Book. How many households in this situation have an e…

My impression of a lot of poor areas, is that one of the first things they invest in is a TV. So they likely have a TV already. Switching between different usages of the TV they have is probably doable. Use the computer connected during day time for work, and use the TV functionality in the evenings for recreation.

I agree tablets and laptops are more accessible. But I think when it comes to really learning how to use a computer and realize its full potential you want a proper desktop computer with mouse, keyboard, connection ports. I think it is useful to learn how to plug in different USB devices, monitors etc.

Unlike a Chrome book or Tablet, a "real" computer give you a chance to learn about how a file system works, organizing files into folders. Using multiple programs to work on a collection of files. The single task orientation of tablets make them very user friendly and low threshold but that also limit you in how far you can go.

My kids started out on tablets but now I try to push them more onto using a regular computer.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#635

Post by protomyth »

karmakaze wrote: post #568
protomyth wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a hard time believing there is a chiclet keyboard worse than the Atari 400 membrane. "Gen-x first computers" sounds like an interesting site

Actually there were differing qualities of these manufactured. I had one of the early ones and it was fantastic, I could run my fingers touching over the surface and lightly depress while dragging and the audible feedback had such low latency: joy. Sort-of regretted replacing it with mechanical keys. Later Atari 400s had barely registering keypresses that was a workout for your fingers.

I must have had a later one then.

Where did you find a replacement mechanical keyboard for the 400? I never found one. I was so envious of the Sinclair owners because they had tons of options.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#636

Post by dmje »

lostlogin wrote: post #627
forty wrote: post #608

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cannot resist the urge of sharing this wonderful sequence (also made in UK :) ): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1EBfxjSFAxQ

That show is just so good. “Have you tried turning it off an on again?” is close to a universal joke.

"Are you from the past?"

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#637

Post by _ph_ »

ineedasername wrote: post #519
sergeykish wrote: post #506

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or used notebook, 6 years old Dell Latitude E7440 costs $230. It is built like tank. Price of the latest model starts from $1600. https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/cty/pdp/spd/latitude-14...

Think about scalability. We need a solution for more than just one person. We need a solution for 1,000 kids in my town, 5,000 in surrounding districts, and I have no idea how many state-wide. How many such laptops can you find? How much effort will it take to source a dozen here, and dozen there, from hundreds of different sources? Repurposing old hardware only works at a small scale. If there were 50 kids in the sc…

This is a really great argument. While you can find used computers of all kind for $100, there is no guarantee what you will find in which condition. With the RP, you know you can buy a new machine for said price. This enables to plan availability as well as the curriculum, as the precise machine is known. This is the biggest value of the RP system anyway, the huge user base.

On the other side, it is perfectly reasonable to let the pupils find a screen on their own, most TVs or used computer screens will do.

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#638

Post by qz2 »

forty wrote: post #608
qz2 wrote: post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a British person we tend to tell everyone we do that and people believe it. However it’s not necessarily true. We produced a ridiculously large amount of crap to the point we nearly killed our manufacturing industry. If there’s anything to aspire to its Hewlett Packard’s test and measurement and computing offerings between 1960 and 1990.

I cannot resist the urge of sharing this wonderful sequence (also made in UK :) ): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1EBfxjSFAxQ

I was considering posting that. I'm glad you did :)

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#639

Post by qz2 »

mberning wrote: post #537
qz2 wrote: post #59

Can we please have a Pi without a crappy storage interface. It's either a microSD card or something dangling off USB. An M2 SATA or NVMe would make this credible but 99% of the problems I've had with the Pi platform is storage related, either being knackered microSD cards, terrible performance or USB power problems.

You are looking for in Intel NUC.

Yes. I already know what I'm looking for. I posted a picture of it yesterday: https://imgur.com/yjPMYaX

(M600, sort of a NUC)

Re: Raspberry Pi 400 Desktop PC

#640

Post by _ph_ »

thom wrote: post #615
dheera wrote: post #601

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish it had a trackpoint device in the middle instead of a separate mouse. That way everything would be in one box. One less thing to carry around.

Are there patent reasons this can’t be the case?

Unlikely, as Thinkpads had this for ages, any patent would have to be expired long ago.
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