{"id":9963,"date":"2021-02-06T16:14:04","date_gmt":"2021-02-06T06:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nsrd.info\/blog\/?p=9963"},"modified":"2021-02-06T16:14:08","modified_gmt":"2021-02-06T06:14:08","slug":"dreaming-of-8-bit-the-raspberry-pi-400","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nsrd.info\/blog\/2021\/02\/06\/dreaming-of-8-bit-the-raspberry-pi-400\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreaming of 8-Bit: The Raspberry Pi 400"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

8-Bit Memories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On November 15, 2020, I ordered a Raspberry Pi 400 kit<\/a><\/strong>. I’ve mentioned the order date because I finally received it on Thursday 4 February, 2021. It’s fair to say that 82 days is the longest I’ve waited for a computer since I first dreamed of replacing my Vic-20 with a Commodore 64.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is perhaps appropriate, because this computer definitely hearkens back to the days of 8-bit computing where the computer and keyboard were an all-in-one affair – all you needed to bring to the party was a TV and a tape drive, or if you were particularly lucky, a floppy disc drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t technically need<\/em> this computer, but I geekishly wanted it because it was such a reminder of my C64 days. Endless hours of an evening playing Bards Tale III or developing software in Pascal (yes, I had a Pascal compiler for my C64) are forever etched in my memory. (In fact, even though I work for Dell EMC, I’ll admit the only computer-related t-shirt I have in my wardrobe is a Commodore-64 themed shirt. I should note this is because no marketing team, no matter which company they hail from, produces t-shirts of an appropriate size for people of my girth.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when I saw the Raspberry Pi 400 photos, with a compact keyboard housing the entire computer, I knew this was a kit system I had to have. “We wants it”<\/em>, I may have thought Gollumishly to myself as I placed the order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ordered from Little Bird Australia<\/a><\/strong>, and to be fair to them, it seems their distributor in the UK dropped the ball, literally sending the kits over via the slowest ship they could find. I’ve ordered several things from Little Bird and they’ve always been exceptional – and even with the delays here they kept me informed of progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pi x 64<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of course, any modern computer will run rings around a Commodore 64. That said, I’ll admit there’s a lag when typing this blog post in the browser which I’d find intolerable on any other computer, yet I find pleasingly reminiscent of using GEOS 2.x to type senior high school essays on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pi 400 comes with 4GB of RAM and a Quad-Core 64-bit ARM processor, running of course the Raspberry Org take on Linux:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With 4 cores and 4GB of RAM it’s zippy within a well-managed set of expectations. (That is, you’re not going to be editing 4K video on this machine.) You can find a comprehensive list of specs here<\/a><\/strong>. Linux calculates 324 BogoMIPS for the Pi 400, compared to 89.6 for the Pi 3 I’ve had for a few years now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raspberry Pi 400 Appearance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Visually, it’s a cute little system, but it’s clearly built on a budget and isn’t going to win any awards for exceptional appearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Raspberry<\/a>
Raspberry Pi 400 Kit Box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the box, you’ll get:<\/p>\n\n\n\n