Live data from Hacker News

Trying to build the ultimate Raspberry Pi computer – Zero Terminal V3

n-o-d-e.net

21–30 of 80 posts

Re: Trying to build the ultimate Raspberry Pi computer – Zero Terminal V3

#21
HN has given N O D E love for the design aesthetic of the presentation and video format recently, but it feels like I'm being fed the details via Morse code. It's infuriating! There is no summary, no overview, no block diagram, just a wall of transcribed prose and gamble on a non-indexed, un-subtitled 8 minute video. I imagine many people (myself included!) will just go "Okay, there a black brick and screen thing with an RPi zero (or is it a different model?) in it ... or something" and move on.

Perhaps this is intentional in the same way the OpenBSD homepage is purposefully ugly, to scare off people and create a small effort-moat.

Re: Trying to build the ultimate Raspberry Pi computer – Zero Terminal V3

#22

HN has given N O D E love for the design aesthetic of the presentation and video format recently, but it feels like I'm being fed the details via Morse code. It's infuriating! There is no summary, no overview, no block diagram, just a wall of transcribed prose and gamble on a non-indexed, un-subtitled 8 minute video. I imagine many people (myself included!) will just go "Okay, there a black brick and screen thing wit…

Well, patience is key. Just read the transcript and you'll notice that the project is not finished.

Re: Trying to build the ultimate Raspberry Pi computer – Zero Terminal V3

#25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume so; I would not replace my proper well working phone with a makeshift device like this at all. And there are plenty of options out there already; No need to wait for this setup.

>And there are plenty of options out there already; No need to wait for this setup. Like? The only current mainstream Linux capable smartphone with physical keyboard I know of is Planet Computer devices[1]; even there, the first party support is for android and so the hardware is closed like any other android device out there. [1] https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/

I'm not sure if i missed it but you did mention physical keyboard;

Without this physical keyboard, you have phones like https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/#overview

Also there are plenty of non google service based android phones and alternatives.

You can also use Linux on most Android Phones as well.

A Pi Zero or a Pi in general is very very far away from what a Android based Phone does and can do. Alone for Security.

What is your thought why you would assume a lot of people could get beind this setup? I do like the project, its nice though but for me probably for different reasons then for you.

Re: Trying to build the ultimate Raspberry Pi computer – Zero Terminal V3

#26

Now this, this is a project we can all get behind. Adding radio with kill-switch and getting PostmarketOS working on this will essentially make this a smartphone replacement to reclaim mobile computing from the duopoly. Also, N-O-D-E publishes all the requisite files; Essentially making this a 'Build your own smartphone' project and those who don't want to get their hands dirty could order one from the website when a…

This will be a niche product and for that I’m sceptical it’s sustainable on the long run. There’s no way this would even make a dent to Apple’s or Google’s marketshare. Sure, it’s a nice device for tech-people, but general consumers will most likely not use this.

>There’s no way this would even make a dent to Apple’s or Google’s marketshare.

That's the bane of monopolies or duopolies; no good for anyone except for the 'Investors'.

Re: Trying to build the ultimate Raspberry Pi computer – Zero Terminal V3

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And there are plenty of options out there already; No need to wait for this setup. Like? The only current mainstream Linux capable smartphone with physical keyboard I know of is Planet Computer devices[1]; even there, the first party support is for android and so the hardware is closed like any other android device out there. [1] https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/

I'm not sure if i missed it but you did mention physical keyboard; Without this physical keyboard, you have phones like https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/#overview Also there are plenty of non google service based android phones and alternatives. You can also use Linux on most Android Phones as well. A Pi Zero or a Pi in general is very very far away from what a Android based Phone does and can do. Alone for Security…

'Without physical keyboard' there are about half-dozen alternative mainstream options now[1] for Google/Apple ecosystem, Thankfully.

[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24072868

Re: Trying to build the ultimate Raspberry Pi computer – Zero Terminal V3

#28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume so; I would not replace my proper well working phone with a makeshift device like this at all. And there are plenty of options out there already; No need to wait for this setup.

>And there are plenty of options out there already; No need to wait for this setup. Like? The only current mainstream Linux capable smartphone with physical keyboard I know of is Planet Computer devices[1]; even there, the first party support is for android and so the hardware is closed like any other android device out there. [1] https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/

PinePhone has a keyboard attachment based on N900 keyboard (landscape slider) on the way supposedly. It also runs PostmarketOS, Mobian, and other mobile Linux distros natively so we'll see...

Re: Trying to build the ultimate Raspberry Pi computer – Zero Terminal V3

#29
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, supposedly[0] the next iteration of the CM will be based on the Pi 4 guts, and expose the PCIe capabilities. The maker of the hardware being discussed also mentions that they might try the compute module (it probably makes a lot of sense from the custom PCB side of life?). 0: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-nvme-support-...

Oh finally . That's good news especially for people who'd like to tinker with advanced stuff requiring PCI-E chipsets who don't really have the nerve to risk wrecking a hundreds of dollars worth of x86 mainboard/CPU...

> tinker with advanced stuff requiring PCI-E chipsets

What sort of things are you talking about here, out of interest? The only way you're going to wreck hardware is if you're attaching something completely incompatible at the physical level (wrong levels, shorts, etc.); if you're "tinkering" you almost certainly don't have the resources to bring up your own PCIe PHY (there's pretty much no way to do this without custom silicon) so presumably you have some preexisting hardware in mind?

If you just want to play around at the TLP level (for example by using the hard PCIe core in a cheap Xilinx Series-7 chip) then this is all pretty safe: (temporary) catastrophic system instability is one thing (I learned this the hard way when I accidentally had my FPGA spamming MSIs every free cycle), but real hardware damage is pretty tricky.

Re: Trying to build the ultimate Raspberry Pi computer – Zero Terminal V3

#30

Now this, this is a project we can all get behind. Adding radio with kill-switch and getting PostmarketOS working on this will essentially make this a smartphone replacement to reclaim mobile computing from the duopoly. Also, N-O-D-E publishes all the requisite files; Essentially making this a 'Build your own smartphone' project and those who don't want to get their hands dirty could order one from the website when a…

> will essentially make this a smartphone replacement to reclaim mobile computing from the duopoly I think it’s a bit too thick to reclaim anything, to be honest, but its nerd cred is off the charts.

I find my phone way too thin, I can barely use it as-is. Thankfully I have a thick case which quadruples its depth (to about 1cm), which is very usable and still fits in any reasonable pocket.

From the video, it looks like the Zero Terminal V3 is about the same size as my phone, so it would be great, at least for myself.

Post reply on HN