4 ms·

A self-powered computer in actual credit-card size (~1mm thick)

100 points by gnabgib 5mo ago

thebruce87m 5mo ago
Slight clarification: It’s battery powered and has no energy generation or harvesting capability.
- majorchord 5mo ago
  If we're going to gatekeep "self-powered" this hard, might as well clarify that energy cannot be created.
  - malfist 5mo ago
    Let be honest though. Do you really consider something like your phone "self powered"? I know I wouldn't. My light switches that are powered by the click, those I would.
    - Terr_ 5mo ago
      [dead]
    - ForOldHack 5mo ago
      Pfft, this thread got derailed rather quickly; Lets get it back on track! I welcome our new Credit Card sized computer overlords. I would pay dearly for a credit card sized eink display, that could feed HN, from Wifi, and even with a 2Lb lead acid battery, it would be a joy, and head and shoulders above my current ball and chain type android cell phone. Make it so.
  - aaron695 5mo ago
    [dead]
  - NDlurker 5mo ago
    I thought it was going to be like a solar powered calculator
  - thebruce87m 5mo ago
    I feel like “slight clarification” and “gatekeeping … this hard” are at opposite ends of the pedantry scale and I didn’t say it wasn’t “self-powered”, I merely clarified its capabilities.
niccl 5mo ago
There's much more information in the linked github repo at https://github.com/krauseler/muxcard https://github.com/krauseler/muxcard It even includes an eInk display as well as the battery.Insane, but really impressive.
sargstuff 5mo ago
Now just needs an x86 simulator port.[0] [0] : https://86box.net/ https://86box.net/
- rbanffy 5mo ago
  Doom runs on ARM.
bigfatkitten 5mo ago
Reminds me of the REX PDA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REX_6000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REX_6000
- rbanffy 5mo ago
  I still have one. Sadly, not really useful anymore.
  - bigfatkitten 5mo ago
    I really wanted one in the late 90s. They’re still available in sealed boxes on eBay, amazingly enough. I’m tempted to pick up one and see if I can reverse engineer the serial protocol, to make it interoperate with something more modern.
    - rbanffy 5mo ago
      The protocol was reverse engineered. I remember a Tcl program that sent calendars and schedules to the device.

100 points by gnabgib 5mo ago

thebruce87m 5mo ago

Slight clarification: It’s battery powered and has no energy generation or harvesting capability.

majorchord 5mo ago
If we're going to gatekeep "self-powered" this hard, might as well clarify that energy cannot be created.
- malfist 5mo ago
  Let be honest though. Do you really consider something like your phone "self powered"? I know I wouldn't. My light switches that are powered by the click, those I would.
  - Terr_ 5mo ago
    [dead]
  - ForOldHack 5mo ago
    Pfft, this thread got derailed rather quickly; Lets get it back on track! I welcome our new Credit Card sized computer overlords. I would pay dearly for a credit card sized eink display, that could feed HN, from Wifi, and even with a 2Lb lead acid battery, it would be a joy, and head and shoulders above my current ball and chain type android cell phone. Make it so.
- aaron695 5mo ago
  [dead]
- NDlurker 5mo ago
  I thought it was going to be like a solar powered calculator
- thebruce87m 5mo ago
  I feel like “slight clarification” and “gatekeeping … this hard” are at opposite ends of the pedantry scale and I didn’t say it wasn’t “self-powered”, I merely clarified its capabilities.

niccl 5mo ago

There's much more information in the linked github repo at https://github.com/krauseler/muxcard https://github.com/krauseler/muxcard It even includes an eInk display as well as the battery.Insane, but really impressive.

sargstuff 5mo ago

Now just needs an x86 simulator port.[0] [0] : https://86box.net/ https://86box.net/

rbanffy 5mo ago
Doom runs on ARM.

bigfatkitten 5mo ago

Reminds me of the REX PDA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REX_6000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REX_6000

rbanffy 5mo ago
I still have one. Sadly, not really useful anymore.
- bigfatkitten 5mo ago
  I really wanted one in the late 90s. They’re still available in sealed boxes on eBay, amazingly enough. I’m tempted to pick up one and see if I can reverse engineer the serial protocol, to make it interoperate with something more modern.
  - rbanffy 5mo ago
    The protocol was reverse engineered. I remember a Tcl program that sent calendars and schedules to the device.