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Pocket P.C. – Ships first dev units

cnx-software.com

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Re: Pocket P.C. – Ships first dev units

#31

Post by bsharitt »

pessimizer wrote: post #26
walrus01 wrote: post #11

The form factor I'd like to see come back is something like the oqo, but of course with modern hardware https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OQO

Same as the Nokia N900. A querty on a slide under a screen exchanges a little thickness for smallness (you can make a screen smaller if the keyboard isn't always taking up half of it.) As a bonue, you get a trustworthy, fast input device.

The Nokia N900 is simultaneously I really wish I had gotten my hands on when it was new and also a device I'm glad I ultimately didn't wast my money on. The landscape slider is still a form factor I miss though. Sure I've mostly adapted to onscreen keyboards, but I occasionally still yearn for something physical.

Re: Pocket P.C. – Ships first dev units

#32

Post by bsharitt »

rascul wrote: post #3

Not related to the Windows Pocket PC stuff. I thought for a second it might be making a comeback. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_PC

I admit I originally thought this post has omitted the (year) tag and was about the initial batch of Pocket PC dev devices in the 90s before I read the article.

Re: Pocket P.C. – Ships first dev units

#33

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

yosito wrote: post #2

This is a very interesting looking device, but the form factor seems completely impractical. It's kind of sad for the linux ecosystem to see people wasting their resources on such silly form factors instead of better touchscreen support and onscreen keyboards for linux.

> better touchscreen support and onscreen keyboards for linux.

We have those and they seem perfectly good to me other than lacking predictive text. What do you want that svkbd and your pick of https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Category:Interface don't cover?

Re: Pocket P.C. – Ships first dev units

#36

Post by squarefoot »

CameronNemo wrote: post #34
flitzofolov wrote: post #18

What is the use case for this thing? It costs $299: https://shop.popcorncomputer.com/products/pocketpc

Especially considering you could get a pinephone + qwerty keyboard back cover at a very similar price point.

This device was announced a lot before the PinePhone; too bad it took ages before they could show anything but renders on their site, and I guess the pandemic also didn't help. I hope they lower the price; a portable PC which also can work as LoRa terminal can be a serious tool, but definitely not at that price.

Re: Pocket P.C. – Ships first dev units

#37

Post by jcun4128 »

yosito wrote: post #2

This is a very interesting looking device, but the form factor seems completely impractical. It's kind of sad for the linux ecosystem to see people wasting their resources on such silly form factors instead of better touchscreen support and onscreen keyboards for linux.

Main thing I'm not digging is that keyboard... can you actually use that to do anything meaningful? Maybe if most things are voice controlled or something/copilot. I'm so used to my 1 ft wide mech keyboard.

Re: Pocket P.C. – Ships first dev units

#38

Post by yosito »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #33
yosito wrote: post #2

This is a very interesting looking device, but the form factor seems completely impractical. It's kind of sad for the linux ecosystem to see people wasting their resources on such silly form factors instead of better touchscreen support and onscreen keyboards for linux.

> better touchscreen support and onscreen keyboards for linux. We have those and they seem perfectly good to me other than lacking predictive text. What do you want that svkbd and your pick of https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Category:Interface don't cover?

> they seem perfectly good to me

> What do you want

Usability that compares to even the most basic Android or iPhone onscreen keyboards would be nice. A keyboard is far more than an array of key buttons. Swipe to type, predictive text, autocorrection, responsiveness are the basic features, and linux keyboards don't even have that.

Re: Pocket P.C. – Ships first dev units

#39

Post by yosito »

sophacles wrote: post #8
yosito wrote: post #2

This is a very interesting looking device, but the form factor seems completely impractical. It's kind of sad for the linux ecosystem to see people wasting their resources on such silly form factors instead of better touchscreen support and onscreen keyboards for linux.

Right - all these people using a free and libre OS for whatever they want to do rather than what you think would be best... so sad. Like you, I will never understand why anyone would choose to exercise their free will and do things that aren't pure submission to random "internet experts". (/s) If you actually want better support for touchscreens and onscreen keyboards, put effort or money of your own into it, and let…

I do put money and effort into Linux development, which is why I find it frustrating that so many people working on libre software / hardware don't have usability in mind, but only some ego-driven idea of how they think it should be. Freedom for the sake of "having things my way" is childish and annoying. Freedom that is used to improve the ecosystem for the entire community is what is valuable about libre software.

Re: Pocket P.C. – Ships first dev units

#40

Post by bArray »

bsharitt wrote: post #30
bArray wrote: post #27

One thing I will say about this, is don't expect tonnes of computation power. The Allwinner A64 is the same processor as in the PineBook (OG), PinePhone and PineTab - all of which are desperately begging for more processing power. That said, it will play back H264 videos just fine, you will be able to browse a limited number of tabs, listen to music, etc, etc. Just don't expect to replace your current desktop - it's…

I feel like these low spec ARM CPUs are basically the 6502 and z80 of the late 80s of our day. Still technically usable, but far outclassed by contemporary hardware, yet finding their way into the hands of hobbyists.

> I feel like these low spec ARM CPUs are basically the 6502 and z80 of the late 80s of our day.

For sure and don't get me wrong, somebody motivated to do so could get a lot out of it still. I'm still impressed on a (mostly) weekly basis by the progress being made for Linux on mobiles: https://linmob.net/

> Still technically usable, but far outclassed by contemporary hardware, yet finding their way into the hands of hobbyists.

Kind of reminds me of the early Raspberry Pi devices that were 'technically' able to replace a desktop - but would you? Probably not.

For $300-$400 it's probably a little on the high-end for a hobbyist device too. Bare in mind the early PineBook, PinePhone and PineTab were each $100 or so with similar specs.

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