Raspberry Pi 400 - Computer in a keyboard!

[Robbie]

Wow! We all thought that Clive Sinclair was insane, but he got it right... just 40 years too soon...

It's fascinating that computer designers and manufacturers have gone pretty much full circle to end up at the place that we never left!

https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-400

[English Invader]

Wow! We all thought that Clive Sinclair was insane, but he got it right... just 40 years too soon...

It seems to be a matter of some dispute as to which micro the Pi takes after. My first impulse was the super cheap Sinclair systems but the Acorn lot also claim it because of the ARM processor and I think some people have even tried to claim it as a 21st century VIC-20 (though I don't really see a connection between the two myself).

Sinclair's main failing is that he set out to design a computer with no understanding or experience of using a computer (or even a typewriter judging from the keyboards!). The Pi 400 clearly doesn't share that failing and they seem to have done everything they can to provide an out-of-the-box, user friendly experience.

I have a Pi 3B+ which I use to run Amibian (an Amiga specific distro that focuses solely on running UAE) in a 3D printed A500 style case but I haven't done much else with the Pi. The 400 seems like a good opportunity to right that wrong.

Don't know if you've seen Micro Men (BBC docudrama about the Sinclair-Acorn rivalry) but it's well worth a watch if you haven't:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM

[English Invader]

This is a review of the 400 from Explaining Computers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1E5xszQqV8

[joshuadenmark]

In need of an underpowered all-in-one computer this would be my first choice

[English Invader]

In need of an underpowered all-in-one computer this would be my first choice

It's only under-powered if you make an unfair comparison to a desktop PC and don't embrace the system for what it is - a toy for computer hobbyists.

Some people didn't embrace the micros of the early 80s because they couldn't identify a tangible purpose for them. What happened to buying a system on impulse and going along for the ride?

[Schlowski]

Looks nice, but doesn't have the charm of the good old micros. It's just another Linux machine.
Still waiting for the Commander X16 and/or the Mega 65...

[Noizer]

Looks nice, but doesn't have the charm of the good old micros. It's just another Linux machine.
Still waiting for the Commander X16 and/or the Mega 65...

I agree. There is nothing more comfortable than a warming Speccy keyboard

[English Invader]

Looks nice, but doesn't have the charm of the good old micros. It's just another Linux machine.
Still waiting for the Commander X16 and/or the Mega 65...

It doesn't just run Linux. It can also run RISC OS.

[beamrider]

It looks nice and evokes those feelings of early micros, but I've had to stop myself from buying this as I don't know what I'd do with it other than using it as an emulation machine. I already have real hardware, a TheVic20 and a MiSTer FPGA, so this is one step too far for me.

[English Invader]

Been using the Pi 400 for a few days now and I'm completely hooked on Python homebrews. I love how it's so easy to tweak the code for a game in the IDE and the ideas for improving and changing games just keep on coming. What better toy is there than a gamer-friendly programming language that can run high speed arcade games in the manner we're accustomed to? The best way to describe it is that Python and Pygame give you loaves of bread while BASIC expects you to specify the ingredients you need to make your own bread.

The Pi 400 truly is a ZX-80 for the 21st century. I know Python and Pygame can be run on most platforms but there is something to be said for having a dedicated development system right in front of you.

[rhurst]

Got a second one yesterday (makes for a nice $100 Christmas gift) after installing the latest Lakka (Pi 4 aarch64) and loading 1000s of titles up from my personal digital retro archive.

For a DIY project, I am very pleased with its cores running like butter, even with a simple CRT-pi shader to render a reasonable phosphor display or using built-in bloom effects for vector graphics. So far:

• VICE: vic, x64, plus4, x128
• PUAE: Amiga 1000/500/600
• DOSBox-Pure: MS-DOS
• GCE: Vectrex
• Genesis Plus GX: Sega console
• MAME 2010: arcade classics
• Stella: Atari 2600
• ProSystem: Atari 7800

And Retro Arch allows for easier modding in-menu but also remote with Linux services (ssh and Samba file sharing). It offers options I haven't fully explored yet, such as Netplay and Achievements. Then, switch it into Kiosk mode and set it up on the big screen.

[akator]

I've been running Lakka on RPi systems for a while and highly recommend it. IMO Lakka is more stable than RetroPie. I don't have a 400 but I've got several other RPi systems doing various things:

• Rpi 1 running Diet Pi and Pi Hole. Diet Pi is a lightweight Debian distro without GUI, perfect for a limited computer. Pi Hole is an ad blocker and I'm also using its DHCP server abilities because they're way better than any of my routers.
• RPi 2 running a USB webcam and MotionEye in a window. Every day my server retrieves the snapshots created each minute and creates a time lapse of the day.
• RPi 3 powering a Lakka Console in the bedroom with wireless 360 controllers. This can play everything up to PlayStation 1 without a problem, even some pretty impressive arcade games.
• RPi 3 powering a Lakka Handheld with a Game HAT and custom 3D printed case. This is a nice system but I rarely use it so I'm giving it to my brother the next time I see him.
• RPi 1 running Lakka powering a modded ColecoVision Flashback. I haven't finished this yet. It's basically just a plug and play emulated ColecoVision, but it's significantly better than the original guts in the Flashback and has HDMI output, which the unmodded Flashback did not.

I've got an extra RPi 3 I keep around for tinkering and testing. One day I'll probably find a permanent use for it. At one point this was running my home automation until everything outgrew the RPi 3 capabilites, then I moved everything to a docker container on the server. The RPi 3 could still run the home automation, only there was so much stuff that the interface and general responsiveness grew too much lag for my patience.

While the RPi boards are not desktop replacements, they can certainly be used for a ton of interesting stuff.

EDIT: Forgot one of the coolest things ever: the PiTrex. This is a RPi Zero mounted to a custom board that inserts into a Vectrex cart slot. The RPi Zero offloads all the processing from the original Vectrex processor, speeding up vector display, providing software screen calibration, loading ROMs, and arcade emulation for stuff the Vectrex could never do before. It even adds network and USB. Seriously cool, I love this thing.

[crusti]

I have 2 pi4s (4 and 8gb) and a pi3 and a pi400.
great for tinkering with and ofcourse retro gaming.
Have u seen the pi 2 being used a BCC co-processer not to mention accelerating/ gfx boards for amigas!.

https://youtu.be/gq5RBJ4FPHM
http://www.retroclinic.com/docs/PiTube_Kit.pdf

https://youtu.be/e8brkYFoO9I

the possibilities are endless, just like when some of us got our first Vics to play with.

[rhurst]

Yup, I just added NES, SNES, and PS1 without difficulty. It's a pleasant surprise to see these run so smoothly all the while keeping Lakka fixed using the Vulkan driver.

[doug_in_nc]

I’ve found one of the best uses for a Raspberry Pi (up to version 3B) is the P1541 - an accurate emulator of a Commodore 1541 floppy drive. Admittedly it isn’t really any better than an SD2IEC if you don’t have copy protected disk images, but for many C64 images it’s a great way to load software without having to rely on 40 year old floppy disks that are getting increasingly difficult and expensive to source.