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Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

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Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#201

Post by Maraguy »

dhc02 wrote: post #144
lanewinfield wrote: post #8

As far as I can tell, this is a single individual that has done all of this work. I am floored at the design and intricacy of this project. Really, truly blown away. I'm sure there are plenty of edge cases to correct for but I haven't gotten so excited by a demo in a long time. I've obviously signed up to learn more.

The UI of the dashboard alone would be an impressive feat for a single person. The algorithm that chooses the most likely/useful application for infinite possible combinations of modules would be an impressive feat for a single person. The multidisciplinary coding required to get all of these pieces to work together in a hot-swap way would be an impressive feat for a single person. The design and implementation of a…

The UI got me too. I'm still dumbfounded at how amazing this really is.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#202

Post by arendtio »

> For this block's current version, I soldered circuitry directly taken from Google's dev board (10:57)

Best line ever :D

It is one thing to have the skill to solder a chip off an existing board without damaging it, but being able to reused the same chip with a completely different hardware interface is just impressive.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#203

Post by arendtio »

whartung wrote: post #138
afarviral wrote: post #13

So cool. Anyone criticizing the real utility of one of these (e.g. calling it a toy) is not thinking long term. Over time a single unit could be repurposed for any number of distinct and serious usecases (home automation being the most natural fit, but many others), and this and its software are important steps toward a more robust and useful devices and less waste. Minitirized, waterproofed, secure and many more mod…

Honestly, it is a toy. A very cool toy, a very sophisticated toy, but a toy nonetheless. There were in the past, and I think still today, electronic sets that let you click together modules with magnets to make circuits. It was a very handsy, easy way to play with electronics. But, in the end, that's what it was -- play and exploration. The beauty of the concept is the easy interchange of the parts and such, and that…

To me it feels more like, being the thing for home computing/automation, that the PC was for computing in general. A PC has not a clear single purpose, but is very modular and you have to spent some time to adjust it to your use-cases.

Similarly, the pockit has not that single use-case and you have to spent some time to adjust it to your use-case. However, especially with the Pockit-to-Pockit communication you can build so many cool things.

Maybe a PC is just a toy too, but IMHO it depends on how you use it.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#204

Post by xondono »

stormbrew wrote: post #185

If anyone else is curious, like I was, about what the signal bus is like on the pins, and couldn't find much detail on the website, the person behind this explained a bit on the reddit AMA someone linked: https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modu... So it seems like it's kind of like low-pin-count ISA-ish bus with direct pin connections to the cpu's pins. Presumably that limits how big a board you…

> So it seems like it's kind of like low-pin-count ISA-ish bus with direct pin connections to the cpu's pins.

SPI and I2C plus some generic pins. This are the typical interfaces used in microcontrollers.

If I were to build a “bigger” versions of this, I’d avoid PCIe altogether and jump to USB 3.x directly, since it’s a much better fit.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#205

Post by xondono »

motohagiography wrote: post #120

When you struggle to think of what can't be composed in this architecture, it's a whole new way of building. It's clearly the expression of an incredibly elegant mind. Watching that demo was a moment that reminded me of a now famous comp.os.minix usenet post from the early 90s.

> When you struggle to think of what can't be composed in this architecture

Anything requiring low latency or high-throughput will probably struggle here.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#206

Post by xondono »

vanderZwan wrote: post #139
izzydata wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you want it to have a better computer. The computer doesn't seem modular to me. You can't quickly add additional or better memory. You can't replace the processor with a better one. The computer itself is a single entity that in many ways is less modular than a traditional desktop computer. Wouldn't a desktop with 100 USB ports be a modular computer in the same sense as this thing?

It's a 25 dollar Raspberry Pi, not a 1000 dollar desktop.

So you are arguing this is better because you don’t have to throw it all together but then arguing throwing everything is not that bad?

At least USB has and will be supported for years. The next revision will likely be incompatible with this limited cross connector (which I admit is cool nonetheless).

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#208

Post by noisy_boy »

Solder_Man wrote: post #187
FR10 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TBH the linked demo video is really good, I was really amazed after each module. I feel the website is a bit empty in comparison.

The project has taken so much focus that I haven't had the time nor skill to heavily improve the website's CSS/aesthetics. Or if you mean just the content, any suggestions for what I could consider adding now (besides the existent timeline posts)? I'd love for the site to not feel 'empty'!

I think one approach to make the website "fuller" would be extract tiny 3-4 second gifs from the video and show them alongside text to immediately surface specific features with minimal interaction - that should be enough to whet people's appetite to make them jump to the video.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#209

Post by vanderZwan »

xondono wrote: post #206
vanderZwan wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a 25 dollar Raspberry Pi, not a 1000 dollar desktop.

So you are arguing this is better because you don’t have to throw it all together but then arguing throwing everything is not that bad? At least USB has and will be supported for years. The next revision will likely be incompatible with this limited cross connector (which I admit is cool nonetheless).

No, I'm saying the modularity has limits that are defined by the use-cases this is designed for. Which seems to be smart-home applications and/or quick prototyping. A 25 dollar compute module seems like a perfectly sensible compromise to me in that context.

If you need the modularity and power of a desktop computer so you can install a boat-load of RAM or upgrade the video card, get a desktop computer.

Re: Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

#210

Post by allisdust »

Solder_Man wrote: post #184
lanewinfield wrote: post #8

As far as I can tell, this is a single individual that has done all of this work. I am floored at the design and intricacy of this project. Really, truly blown away. I'm sure there are plenty of edge cases to correct for but I haven't gotten so excited by a demo in a long time. I've obviously signed up to learn more.

Hey HN, Solder_Man here. I am the guy behind Pockit. Thrilled to see this modularization effort has the support (and useful criticism) of so many deep thinkers in this thread. First, a clarification: Since people have brought up the topic of "hard to believe one guy handled all aspects", I want to state that while this is my concept and my project (and I've devoted nearly every waking hour since 2020 to it), I'm no j…

Are you doing this full time? Or is it a part time adventure.

How are you planning to commercialise this?

Awesome and Inspiring work!

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