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DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

clockworkpi.com

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Re: DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

#161

Post by yourapostasy »

GekkePrutser wrote: post #137
yourapostasy wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never in my fevered dreams while wrestling with this kind of display gear and accompanying terminal experience in the dark ages of computing, cursing the foul limitations and wishing I could jump forward a few decades, did I ever imagine people would pay to get the same experience I was going through back then. Sure, today there is a nostalgic twinge for my long-trashed yute, but not so nostalgic to pay for reliving…

When I studied, X-Terminals were rare, and always in use as people used them to explore this wonderous new World Wide Web. At the same time, we had rooms full of green text terminals that nobody bothered with anymore. You could just jump on one at any time. And because they were distraction-free, they were really great at getting actual work done. No facebook or yahoo or whatever crap it was at that time to distract…

> ...we had rooms full of green text terminals that nobody bothered with anymore... > ...I've been looking to replicate that experience for a long time.

I am gobsmacked that eBay sellers are fetching $200+ USD on "vintage" DEC and similar terminals (there was a time they were going for $50 a pop, and if you got your timing right, you could haul them away for free from a university that was transitioning away from them), but if you can afford a big room, then you can afford a herd of terminals to stuff into them, and the serial multiplexer.

Handling distractions got easier when I identified the kind of tasks I really didn't personally like to do and what in my personality caused that antipathy, and set up reward systems for doing them at first, and later delegate them to an employee.

Re: DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

#162

Post by jack_riminton »

drcode wrote: post #143
jack_riminton wrote: post #136

I don't get it, what would you use it for? (apart from trying to look retro cool at the nearest overpriced coffee place)

When you know you have to spend the next couple of hours thinking hard about something, so you go somewhere contemplative to work it out. In that case, you just need a compact, reliable device to take a couple of notes or code up a simple algo.

Like a laptop with wifi off?

Re: DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

#163

Post by greyhair »

Tandy did this many years ago, with better ergonomics.

[edit] It was really a Kyocera machine branded by Tandy (and others) I knew a Bell Labs department head that owned one back in the late 1980s and used it while traveling. The ergonomics on them was really quite good.

Re: DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

#164

Post by tym0 »

moron4hire wrote: post #59

I wish Clockwork would make a batch of the GameShells again. I've been wanting one for a while, but they've been out of stock every time I check https://www.clockworkpi.com/gameshell

I'd like them to make a V2 with proper triggers, the V1 seems to be the best made console out of all of these linux handheld.

Re: DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

#165

Post by incanus77 »

GekkePrutser wrote: post #139

That trackball with the buttons miles away looks really unergonomic. And why go for the Rpi 3 CM when the 4 is out now? That's sad as it leaves a lot of upgradability behind. PS: What are those wheels on the side? They look a bit typewriterish but I assume they are for something else?

The CM4 was only announced in November and the form factor completely changed compared to all the previous generations. I think the design improvements are positive, but it was a shock for those who have designed around the <=CM3+ with long-term plans in mind.

Re: DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

#166

Post by [deleted] »

drcode wrote: post #74
pantalaimon wrote: post #13

Looks pretty neat! But what's the point of the thermal printer? Is this supposed to be used as a portable cash register?

I think there's lots of creative use cases for it, I could imagine printing out chunks of my source code as I'm programming, to reference as I work on other parts.

[deleted]

Re: DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

#167

Post by moron4hire »

tym0 wrote: post #164
moron4hire wrote: post #59

I wish Clockwork would make a batch of the GameShells again. I've been wanting one for a while, but they've been out of stock every time I check https://www.clockworkpi.com/gameshell

I'd like them to make a V2 with proper triggers, the V1 seems to be the best made console out of all of these linux handheld.

Yeah, I just got mine in hand a couple of days ago.

First impressions: the default setup is surprisingly good, for what it is. Works a lot better out-of-box than my Ouya ever did, for what it's worth.

Buttons are a little squishy. Not every app supports the menu button. I've had to hard-power-off the device to get out of certain apps. The back-side strip of buttons is a little awkward, though I understand why they did it that way (it's meant to be an add-on).

There is a port next to the USB port that isn't labeled or documented on the website. I think it's HDMI Type D "Micro".

Hooooly hell, there is ZERO documentation for this thing. How do you actually write games for it? I guess you just make a standard GTK application, from what I can see in the forums. There's support for a few popular fantasy consoles and emulators, but making a native app is not clear.

Also, it has an SSH server on by default, but I've yet to be able to get connected to it. Nothing on the forums about it. They just say "you just SSH in over the WiFi".

EDIT: LOL, whoever put this together before me put the speakers in upside down.

Re: DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

#168

Post by lewsid »

moron4hire wrote: post #167
tym0 wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd like them to make a V2 with proper triggers, the V1 seems to be the best made console out of all of these linux handheld.

Yeah, I just got mine in hand a couple of days ago. First impressions: the default setup is surprisingly good, for what it is. Works a lot better out-of-box than my Ouya ever did, for what it's worth. Buttons are a little squishy. Not every app supports the menu button. I've had to hard-power-off the device to get out of certain apps. The back-side strip of buttons is a little awkward, though I understand why they di…

It's really easy to connect to the device over SSH. Just open the tiny cloud app and read the directions on the screen. On my macbook I just open terminal, type 'ssh cpi@' and the password is also just 'cpi'. There's loads of information on the forums for this as well, but you can start here: https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/how-to-transfer-files-with-t...

As for creating native games, that's not really the intention with this thing. It's more for running fantasy consoles on or running any of the many included emulators. I use mine to playtest my Pico8 games and play new releases.

Re: DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

#169

Post by lewsid »

pbronez wrote: post #68
moron4hire wrote: post #59

I wish Clockwork would make a batch of the GameShells again. I've been wanting one for a while, but they've been out of stock every time I check https://www.clockworkpi.com/gameshell

agree. I just discovered it browsing around from this article, and was disappointed to see you can't actually buy one. Would have made a great Christmas gift!

They had some manufacturing delays due to covid: https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/gameshell-out-of-stock/5864

Re: DevTerm - An Open Source Portable Terminal for Every Dev

#170

Post by lewsid »

moron4hire wrote: post #59

I wish Clockwork would make a batch of the GameShells again. I've been wanting one for a while, but they've been out of stock every time I check https://www.clockworkpi.com/gameshell

You're not the only one to notice. They had some manufacturing delays due to covid: https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/gameshell-out-of-stock/5864
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