Some thoughts about the size of a Raspberry Pi
#RaspberryPi
There’s a bit of nuance I don’t see being talked about their size and portability that I noticed after going back to mine after a while - they may seem larger due to accessories/cables, but they still take less space than a laptop PC.
Having used mainly laptops so far, I’ve yet to see any that doesn’t take at least 50% more space than a Raspberry Pi in the same conditions, and laptops afaik are historically the portability option for a desktop-oriented experience.
Also, yet to test with a portable screen, so I don’t depend on available TVs, but from what I checked on them, they barely seem to affect the space taken either.
Worst part is organizing the cables, specially when using the device, the difficulty to do so causing visual polution which gives the impression of a bigger setup.
But putting tidely in a backpack/bag/etc., and if managing to figure out how to organize the setup when having to use it, makes it still much better for portability than a laptop imo.
And sharing this because, if my impression is correct and there isn’t much talk on this part indeed, some people interested because of the size/portability may get disheartened when they see the cables/accessories situation. But it’s not bad, but is perfectly manageable and also, repeating myself, possibly the best option around.
Laptops use USB PD chargers now. Those are small.
Otoh I’m annoyed that the Pi 400 and 500 have no built in pointing device like laptops have. They want you to use a mouse instead, which means a desk and additional desk space for the mouse to move in.
The 400 is also uselessly slow at running a web browser. The 500 has its own issues.
A faster distro and browser the 400 is usable, i use one.