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This is certainly dead on arrival, right? Nobody wants or has ever wanted a computer with a screen flush with the keyboard. This was even known in the late 90s:

This is certainly dead on arrival, right? Nobody wants or has ever wanted a computer with a screen flush with the keyboard. This was even known in the late 90s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jornada_(PDA)#Jornada_720 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jornada_(PDA)#Jornada_720 Maybe someone can hack a longer flexible ribbon cable and a hinge? And sell it as an aftermarket kit? Please? (The thing looks pretty cool otherwise).

sp332 5y ago
They've been selling terminals with a similar form factor (and a different internals) for a couple years now.
bitwize 5y ago
> This is certainly dead on arrival, right? Nobody wants or has ever wanted a computer with a screen flush with the keyboard. The Tandy 100, whose design inspired this machine, was very popular among journalists as a note taking machine.
- kragen 5y ago
  Yeah, I saw a reporter typing up a sports story on a TRS-80 Model 100 in a Wendy's in San Mateo in 01996, 13 years after the machine's release. I think it had been discontinued for many years at that point. They're still around but I haven't seen one since then.
syntheweave 5y ago
I'd use it as a macro keypad. There's a mostly unaddressed use case for high-end macro users. You can get remotes with a few buttons, a knob and in some cases a screen capable of a bit of text labels(like Xencelabs Quick Keys). You can hack a dollar store keyboard and label it yourself, but then you have to maintain the software to keep it in sync. You can get the Elgato Stream Deck, which is effective but expensive and pretty one-of-a-kind between the button displays and the software integrations. And you can use some phone apps to get a touchscreen remote. But there are only a few examples of something like this device where you have a bunch of real keys plus a separate screen that can support high res graphics, without going all the way up to laptop form factors(too much screen).
lproven 5y ago
> Nobody wants or has ever wanted a computer with a screen flush with the keyboard. You are badly wrong here. I see others are pointing to the Tandy Model 100. I will add the Cambridge Z88: http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/4860/Cambridge-Z88/ http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/4860/Cambridge-Z88/ https://oldcomputers.net/cambridge-z88.html https://oldcomputers.net/cambridge-z88.html Still in use, OS still being updated, spares and addons available new. https://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/z88.html https://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/z88.html And the Amstrad NC100: https://www.ncus.org.uk/intro.htm https://www.ncus.org.uk/intro.htm I have both. I have written about them: https://www.theregister.com/2011/11/10/portable_writing_tool/ https://www.theregister.com/2011/11/10/portable_writing_tool... I also have both an AlphaSmart 3000 and a Dana Wireless: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart There was the QuickPad: https://www.techtoolsforwriters.com/tag/quickpad/ https://www.techtoolsforwriters.com/tag/quickpad/ ... and the DOS-compatible QuickPad Pro: https://www.victor-notes.com/qppro/ https://www.victor-notes.com/qppro/ And the Fusion Writer: https://www.at-udl.net/Writer-Fusion_2223 https://www.at-udl.net/Writer-Fusion_2223 And the Tandy Portable Wordprocessor range: http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/2720/Tandy-Portable-Wordprocessor-WP-2/ http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/2720/Tandy-Portable-W... In terms of contemporary modern kit... The Freewrite: https://getfreewrite.com/ https://getfreewrite.com/ There's this modern peripheral: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ficihp/ficihp-multifunctional-keyboard-with-126-inches-touchscreen https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ficihp/ficihp-multifunc... And this device: https://www.hackster.io/news/the-ready-computer-model-100-blends-80s-and-modern-aesthetics-to-expand-your-single-board-computer-b7d924aa7967 https://www.hackster.io/news/the-ready-computer-model-100-bl... As you can see this is an area of considerable interest for a lot of people, and I'd like an inexpensive modern one myself. For me, the DevTerm is too small.
- phendrenad2 5y ago
  We can exclude all of the 1980s DOS-based models you linked. In the 80s getting a computer made was a feat unto itself, a tilting LCD monitor would have sent the price to the moon. So that leaves the last 3 links you provide. #1: The screen is slightly tilted. So it isn't "flush with the keyboard" as I described. Also, this seems to have a typewriter-quality keyboard, which is the selling point there. I'm sure the users are touch-typists who are writing their novel, not someone trying to use BASH and VIM, which I'll have you note, is the target audience of this RISC-V computer. #2: ...This is a keyboard. Which you connect to an external monitor. Sure, it has an internal monitor, but you can clearly see from the demo that it's meant for preferences and settings. You don't use it standalone. On-the-go seems to be a feature, but it isn't the focus, so it isn't a good example. #3: ...This is a toy. This is a nostalgia talisman for people who want to go to a techno rave, or people who like the aesthetic of the Tandy 100. It isn't meant for practical use.

sp332 5y ago

They've been selling terminals with a similar form factor (and a different internals) for a couple years now.

bitwize 5y ago

> This is certainly dead on arrival, right? Nobody wants or has ever wanted a computer with a screen flush with the keyboard. The Tandy 100, whose design inspired this machine, was very popular among journalists as a note taking machine.

kragen 5y ago
Yeah, I saw a reporter typing up a sports story on a TRS-80 Model 100 in a Wendy's in San Mateo in 01996, 13 years after the machine's release. I think it had been discontinued for many years at that point. They're still around but I haven't seen one since then.

syntheweave 5y ago

I'd use it as a macro keypad. There's a mostly unaddressed use case for high-end macro users. You can get remotes with a few buttons, a knob and in some cases a screen capable of a bit of text labels(like Xencelabs Quick Keys). You can hack a dollar store keyboard and label it yourself, but then you have to maintain the software to keep it in sync. You can get the Elgato Stream Deck, which is effective but expensive and pretty one-of-a-kind between the button displays and the software integrations. And you can use some phone apps to get a touchscreen remote. But there are only a few examples of something like this device where you have a bunch of real keys plus a separate screen that can support high res graphics, without going all the way up to laptop form factors(too much screen).

lproven 5y ago

> Nobody wants or has ever wanted a computer with a screen flush with the keyboard. You are badly wrong here. I see others are pointing to the Tandy Model 100. I will add the Cambridge Z88: http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/4860/Cambridge-Z88/ http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/4860/Cambridge-Z88/ https://oldcomputers.net/cambridge-z88.html https://oldcomputers.net/cambridge-z88.html Still in use, OS still being updated, spares and addons available new. https://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/z88.html https://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/z88.html And the Amstrad NC100: https://www.ncus.org.uk/intro.htm https://www.ncus.org.uk/intro.htm I have both. I have written about them: https://www.theregister.com/2011/11/10/portable_writing_tool/ https://www.theregister.com/2011/11/10/portable_writing_tool... I also have both an AlphaSmart 3000 and a Dana Wireless: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart There was the QuickPad: https://www.techtoolsforwriters.com/tag/quickpad/ https://www.techtoolsforwriters.com/tag/quickpad/ ... and the DOS-compatible QuickPad Pro: https://www.victor-notes.com/qppro/ https://www.victor-notes.com/qppro/ And the Fusion Writer: https://www.at-udl.net/Writer-Fusion_2223 https://www.at-udl.net/Writer-Fusion_2223 And the Tandy Portable Wordprocessor range: http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/2720/Tandy-Portable-Wordprocessor-WP-2/ http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/2720/Tandy-Portable-W... In terms of contemporary modern kit... The Freewrite: https://getfreewrite.com/ https://getfreewrite.com/ There's this modern peripheral: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ficihp/ficihp-multifunctional-keyboard-with-126-inches-touchscreen https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ficihp/ficihp-multifunc... And this device: https://www.hackster.io/news/the-ready-computer-model-100-blends-80s-and-modern-aesthetics-to-expand-your-single-board-computer-b7d924aa7967 https://www.hackster.io/news/the-ready-computer-model-100-bl... As you can see this is an area of considerable interest for a lot of people, and I'd like an inexpensive modern one myself. For me, the DevTerm is too small.

phendrenad2 5y ago
We can exclude all of the 1980s DOS-based models you linked. In the 80s getting a computer made was a feat unto itself, a tilting LCD monitor would have sent the price to the moon. So that leaves the last 3 links you provide. #1: The screen is slightly tilted. So it isn't "flush with the keyboard" as I described. Also, this seems to have a typewriter-quality keyboard, which is the selling point there. I'm sure the users are touch-typists who are writing their novel, not someone trying to use BASH and VIM, which I'll have you note, is the target audience of this RISC-V computer. #2: ...This is a keyboard. Which you connect to an external monitor. Sure, it has an internal monitor, but you can clearly see from the demo that it's meant for preferences and settings. You don't use it standalone. On-the-go seems to be a feature, but it isn't the focus, so it isn't a good example. #3: ...This is a toy. This is a nostalgia talisman for people who want to go to a techno rave, or people who like the aesthetic of the Tandy 100. It isn't meant for practical use.