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But the original bare-bones device was somewhat intimidating. You needed to hunt down a set of
cables, a mouse, a keyboard and a monitor.

Now, apart from a monitor or TV, you can get all of that in one kit.

And the Pi 400 already appears to be selling very well, with some distributors out of stock.

Disadvantaged children

There has always been a danger that the commercial success of the tiny computer would divert the
organisation away from its core educational mission.
But Eben Upton is clear about the audience this product is really aimed at.

"Seven hundred thousand kids got sent home from school in March without a PC," he explains.

"This is a machine for anyone who needs a PC. And [if] there's one thing we've learned this year -
there are still vast numbers in society who need a PC."

While most children are now back in school, says Upton, the problem is definitely not solved.

The government did launch a programme to get laptops to disadvantaged children in homes with-
out computers, but head teachers have said there are still not enough to go round
"We've known for ages that the digital divide is very real for kids," says Philip Colligan, who runs
Raspberry Pi's charitable arm.

He says that was brought into sharp relief during the first lockdown, when for some children
online learning became an almost impossible challenge.

"There were lots of stories about kids using their parents' mobile phones and interacting with soft-
ware that was not designed to work on a phone," he says.

Others unconnected to the effort are also optimistic about its role in closing the digital divide.

"Affordable new computers with exciting form-factors like the Raspberry Pi 400 have real poten-
tial to close this gap," said Julia Adamson, director of education at the Chartered Institute for IT.

"But to do that, they need to be supported by content, guidance and resources, used to enrich chil-
dren's and parents' knowledge, understanding and skills."

Old monitors
Raspberry Pi has launched a programme called Stay Connected with School.

It worked with voluntary organisations to provide families not just with a Raspberry Pi 4, but with
all the kit and software needed to connect to a school's online learning environment and telephone
support, whenever they needed it.

But that only reached a thousand families. It is now hoped that the Pi 400 can be the platform for a
wider initiative.

There will still be a problem in some homes, because plugging a computer into the family TV for
hours on end will not always be popular.

And how many of us have an old computer monitor in the attic?