Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

spectrum.ieee.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 299 posts

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#131

Post by ElCheapo »

rowanG077 wrote: post #127
ElCheapo wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was my post confusing? Nothing you've written can't be done with an Android phone with a keyboard attachment. When is this super important general purpose computing thingy supposed to come into play?

You can transmit FM radio on Android with a keyboard attachment? How?

How is the presence of an antenna in any way demonstrative of the general purpose computing capabilities of the N900 as opposed to "not pocketable PC" Androids? I believe that if I were to attach a USB radio module to my phone I could write an Android app to make use of it as a trasmitter.

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#132

Post by kratom_sandwich »

Let me add this to my list - Has any of these made it ever into the hands of customers? I believe the only device that actually came out is the Cosmo Communicator (https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/cosmo-communicator)

There's also

Lisperati1000 - https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/comments/lbu4di/my_shiny_...

Devterm - https://www.clockworkpi.com/devterm

Popcorn Pocket - https://pocket.popcorncomputer.com/

Teenyserv - https://expanscape.com/teenyserv/the-teenyserv-prototypes/

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#133

Post by tluyben2 »

ElCheapo wrote: post #92
yosamino wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. It's not a fantasy. The Nokia N900 was amazing . It functioned as a phone with a touchscreen to deliver the experience that had now become the dominant one. But also, by sliding up the screen, it had a fully featured keyboard, and essentially transmogrified into a "pc that fits into your pocket". So you could with a one handed push go from the touchscreen-only experience back to edit documents by using a combinat…

It was amazing at doing.... what? You've just listed a bunch of hardware functionalities without actually saying what you managed to use it for.

When I travelled a lot, I just brought a pocket Linux machine with keyboard (first the Zaurus, then Pandora, then GDP Pocket 1) and that was all a lot more comfortable hauling along than my laptop. I didn't have to do stretches of programming, but for small changes, or some server management, it was great. I am waiting for the Astro Slide with Linux to arrive.

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#134

Post by dspillett »

ElCheapo wrote: post #129
tmikaeld wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key is the keyboard is integrated and foldable, it's the convenience and portability that is key. With an android (with two exceptions), you have to have two separate pieces, something to put them on and then pair and charge both parts. In short: You can pull it out of your pocket anywhere, type something with both thumbs on a full keyboard, then fold it down again in seconds. There are Android phones with a full…

Your reply is baffling. First you say that with "android" (as if they made hardware) you can't have an integrated keyboard. Then you say that Android phones with a full integrated keyboard actually exist. But then you move the goalpost saying that they aren't open source/hardware. Which is false, by the way, since this device [ https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/pro1 ] runs LineageOS, and phones with completely free…

> But then you move the goalpost

Let us be fair here: you moved the goalposts first by going from “it is an absolute fantasy” to, once people pointed out that they already exist, “but I can't see a use for one”.

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#136

Post by vladvasiliu »

ElCheapo wrote: post #89
badsectoracula wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Can we stop with this absolute fantasy about PCs that "fit in your pocket"? No, because it isn't fantasy and i want those PCs that "fit in my pocket" - after all they do exist, see GPD's pocketable PCs. > Smartphones have been "pocketable PCs" for more than a decade already Smartphones have their on OSes, UX, applications, etc. The point of projects like GPD Win or the one linked above is to run the same programs,…

I think you're being extremely vague about the things you are using your GDP for. Nothing you've written strikes me as something that couldn't be achieved with a proper I/O module attached to a smartphone.

I think the point is this:

> Smartphones have their on OSes, UX, applications, etc. The point of projects like GPD Win or the one linked above is to run the same programs, OS, etc as you'd run on a regular laptop or a desktop PC.

Sure, an Android device could probably be hacked to do that. But most Android devices are usually locked-down, whereas the GDP & friends make it a point to be open.

I guess we should probably push for more openness from smartphone vendors (including Apple) instead of having yet another different device. Especially since now everything and the kitchen sink connects via USB-C. I'd absolutely love to be able to plug my phone in the USB-C dock at work instead of lugging around a laptop (which I use on top of a desk tethered to some fat screen and external keyboard like 99% of the time anyway).

At one point, I remember Samsung had something like that on their Galaxy line (DEX? can't remember the name). I was actually ready to pull the trigger on a tablet with that feature. Luckily, I found out they had just or were about to remove it.

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#137

Post by kop316 »

kratom_sandwich wrote: post #132

Let me add this to my list - Has any of these made it ever into the hands of customers? I believe the only device that actually came out is the Cosmo Communicator ( https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/cosmo-communicator ) There's also Lisperati1000 - https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/comments/lbu4di/my_shiny_... Devterm - https://www.clockworkpi.com/devterm Popcorn Pocket - https://pocket.popcorncomputer.com/ Teenyserv…

While this device has yet to be released, their full size laptop, the MNT Reform, is available: https://www.crowdsupply.com/mnt

Personally, the fact that they have released a HW device already gives me a lot more confidence that this will succeed.

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#138

Post by yosamino »

ElCheapo wrote: post #121
yosamino wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the things you would use a phone for in the early 2010s: * Phone calls * Video calls over XMPP * Text/XMPP messaging * Web browsing * Document editing * Writing and receiving email * Playing music ( it had a built in FM transmitter - how cool was that!) * Setting Alarms * weather widgets * Writing PHP programms * Writing python programms * ssh-ing into servers * gps navigation * take and share pictures * multi-co…

Was my post confusing? Nothing you've written can't be done with an Android phone with a keyboard attachment. When is this super important general purpose computing thingy supposed to come into play?

> Was my post confusing?

I possibly misunderstood what you were getting at. You are right - an android with a a keyboard is certainly not all that different.

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#140

Post by heliostatic »

kratom_sandwich wrote: post #132

Let me add this to my list - Has any of these made it ever into the hands of customers? I believe the only device that actually came out is the Cosmo Communicator ( https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/cosmo-communicator ) There's also Lisperati1000 - https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/comments/lbu4di/my_shiny_... Devterm - https://www.clockworkpi.com/devterm Popcorn Pocket - https://pocket.popcorncomputer.com/ Teenyserv…

I've got a Devterm, so it has shipped to at least some folks. Took about a year?
Post reply on HN