Raspberry Pi 400
The nerdiest thing in this issue, by a factor of 7.342 nanogeeks
DAY 01
There’s a whiff of nostalgia as I free the Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit from its cardboard confines. Being a computer inside a keyboard, it’s a bit of a 1980s throwback, recalling the long-lost days of the C64, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro and Commodore Amiga. But this is no chunky contraption: in fact, the device resembles nothing more than a modern (if cheap) PC keyboard that’s had the
Windows key swapped out for one with a Raspberry Pi logo.
Eagerly, I attempt to connect the computer to a swanky mobile display I bought specifically for this test… before realising the Pi uses microhdmi and ships with a cable that has standard HDMI at the other end. My display, natch, demands minihdmi.
Rats. My 22in office TV frantically waves from the subs’ bench – and this is arguably how the Pi 400 is intended to be used anyway: plugged into a telly.
Now feeling suitably old-school, I fire up the Pi 400. Immediately, it asks to download a gigantic software update, seemingly believing itself to be a Playstation 400. Several minutes of impatient thumb-twiddling later, I’m asked if there’s a black border around the desktop. Yep, I say. Restart! Now the edges of the desktop aren’t visible. Arrgh! Another trip to settings, another reboot, and we’re finally ready to rock.
You might question mentioning such gripes, but they are part of the Pi experience. This device is far more immediate in nature than a vanilla Pi, but its Debian-based Linux OS is a world of faff next to macos or Windows. However, that’s countered by what you can do with the unit.
For a taster, I spend the first afternoon exploring built-in software and delving into The Official Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide. This chunky tome – like the Pi 400 itself – is a fusion of old and new, welcoming you to the platform and providing ideas on how to make the most of it. It’s a far cry from the kind of pamphlet that explains how to turn a gadget on and then leaves you to it.
The Pi 400’s Linux OS is a world of faff next to macos or Windows, but that’s countered by what you can do with it
The Pi Foundation suggests using this computer as a ‘daily driver’. It fast becomes apparent the Pi 400 is no speed demon. Compared to my imac, it lags in a big way. But for the price of Apple’s cheapest Mac, you could buy ten Pi 400 starter packs – and its performance rivals a Chromebook’s. For being productive, Libreoffice does the job, as do browsers like Polarr.
For downtime, Chromium won’t play Netflix, but I find a simple workaround at blog.vpetkov.net.
DAY 04
Much of the bundled guide wants to get you coding. Its tutorials ease you in gently and are reminiscent of ’80s computer manuals, which urged you to create rather than consume. Two pathways are suggested: Scratch and Python. The keyboard is a bit cheap and spongy, but works fine as I create basic games in Scratch and insert rude words into Python tutorials. Because I am five.
DAY 09
Spin the Pi 400 around and you’ll see its ports, including a 40-pin GPIO. This allows you to plug in various bits of hardware. I try setting up some HATS (an LED matrix and a sampling pad) triggered with Python scripts. ‘HAT’ stands for Hardware Attached on Top, but since the port’s at the Pi’s rear, plugging HATS in directly isn’t an option if you want to see what you’re doing. A GPIO extension cable or Flat HAT Hacker helps, but both solutions prove awkward. Still, I’d sooner have the GPIO port than not.
DAY 14
As with all Pis, the OS for this one lives on a microsd card. Shutdown, swap the card, reboot and you have an entirely different machine… or, with Retropie, machines.
This software emulates a raft of hardware and the Pi is powerful enough to run many systems.
And with the keyboard-orientated form factor, you can move beyond arcade games to play old text adventures or mess around with DOS and BASIC.
I’m finding this Pi’s best thought of not for work (or your kids’ homework) but for what you can turn it into. For under £100, or £67 for just the main unit, it’s an affordable standalone programming rig, hub for electronics and stashable device that can become any classic home computer in seconds.