Obscure computing device fantasies
- Thread starter Binky
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In the similar devices you have not mentioned both the SII (Seiko Intruments Inc) Ruputer, nor the Seiko Chronobit.
I had the American version of the ruputer (Matsucom onHand PC). You can see it in the following image, with some other watches and a phone. From left to right: the Matsucom onHand PC, the MetaWatch, a Casio DataBank 300 and a Motorola FlipOut:
The Ruputer had a 16-bit MCU with a DOS clone, 128KB of RAM, 4MB of Flash, a serial port, a joystick and four buttons. Ir was programmed in C with a patched version of the GCC (the oficial SDK was for windows, but there were instructions on the net to compile it for BSD, and I sucessfully compiled it for linux, where I did my programming for the watch).
Alas, it didn't have the 20 buttons you would like, and the battery only lasted 1 month and a half (and that was using an out of specs 2xCR2032 instead of the recommended 2xCR2025).
The chronobit was similar, only with a lesser MCU (it was programmed in assembler) but IIRC it had more RAM. And instead of the joystick it had a rotating crown along the edge of the front of the watch.
It really was a wonderful watch, it's a pity that mine broke (well, both of them). More information at:
pconhand.com
Ruputee
Japanese page with the ruputer
Japanese page with the Chronobit
I had the American version of the ruputer (Matsucom onHand PC). You can see it in the following image, with some other watches and a phone. From left to right: the Matsucom onHand PC, the MetaWatch, a Casio DataBank 300 and a Motorola FlipOut:
The Ruputer had a 16-bit MCU with a DOS clone, 128KB of RAM, 4MB of Flash, a serial port, a joystick and four buttons. Ir was programmed in C with a patched version of the GCC (the oficial SDK was for windows, but there were instructions on the net to compile it for BSD, and I sucessfully compiled it for linux, where I did my programming for the watch).
Alas, it didn't have the 20 buttons you would like, and the battery only lasted 1 month and a half (and that was using an out of specs 2xCR2032 instead of the recommended 2xCR2025).
The chronobit was similar, only with a lesser MCU (it was programmed in assembler) but IIRC it had more RAM. And instead of the joystick it had a rotating crown along the edge of the front of the watch.
It really was a wonderful watch, it's a pity that mine broke (well, both of them). More information at:
pconhand.com
Ruputee
Japanese page with the ruputer
Japanese page with the Chronobit
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http://www.esp8266.com/
I got mine for about 7€ each. You need a 3.3V hardware UART to flash them, though, and their SDK was a bit complicated to set up.
or
http://vocore.io/
20$, Edit:free shipping, runs openwrt and is a pretty capable router, I'm using it a lot for my robotics classes.
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Lafazar
Member
The watch described in the OP would be my dream watch as well. Since this is for now impossible I settled for the next geekiest option: A solar powered (no recharging or changing batteries ever), radio controlled (no need to ever manually set the time anymore) watch with barometer, thermometer and compass, the Casio PRW-3000, it can calculate sunrise and sunset as well:
http://hackaday.com/2015/04/25/the-digistump-oak-an-esp8266-on-kickstarter/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/digistump/oak-by-digistump-wi-fi-for-all-things-arduino-comp
http://digistump.com/oak/
Oak is based on these 7$ Chinese wifi-boards esp8266 that have been well documented by now, so you can get the same functionality in other ways (cheaper but more work):
http://hackaday.com/2015/05/01/review-huzzah-is-the-esp8266-wifi-setup-you-need/
http://hackaday.com/tag/esp8266/
I backed this as well, but the delays are getting a bit ridiculous now. I still hope for the best.
How about the Oak by Digistump at 13$ per piece (10$ if you get 5 or more)? You just missed the Kickstarter, but you can soon order them from their page:
http://hackaday.com/2015/04/25/the-digistump-oak-an-esp8266-on-kickstarter/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/digistump/oak-by-digistump-wi-fi-for-all-things-arduino-comp
http://digistump.com/oak/
Oak is based on these 7$ Chinese wifi-boards esp8266 that have been well documented by now, so you can get the same functionality in other ways (cheaper but more work):
http://hackaday.com/2015/05/01/review-huzzah-is-the-esp8266-wifi-setup-you-need/
http://hackaday.com/tag/esp8266/
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Some ideas I had and wanted to build someday were:
A Google Glass like wearable computer. I have the screen (from an old camcorder), the hardware (Raspberry Pi, though I'll probably use the Pi 2) and the battery, I just have to put everything together, come up with comfortable I/O and probably write some kind of software interface. I thought about a one-handed keyboard on my belt or on the straps of my backpack…
Apropos keyboard, I thought about building myself an ergodox with USB and BT and a few additional features, like using it as a one handed keyboard, integrating a small computer (maybe a USB armory) and display, and emulating the German NEO layout over qwertz or qwerty.
A dive computer addon for the Pebble Time. (Although I didn't preorder the Time and I'm not sure how well the external port will work under water…)
German link, but someone is building a 114mm x 200mm x 318mm case, which will fit a dual slot GPU, a mini-ITX mainboard and a SFX PSU. Will probably be at about 200€, though. Edit: Oh, that's what lunchbox computers are… Yeah, it doesn't have a keyboard and a monitor, though you could use something like a lapdock?
A Google Glass like wearable computer. I have the screen (from an old camcorder), the hardware (Raspberry Pi, though I'll probably use the Pi 2) and the battery, I just have to put everything together, come up with comfortable I/O and probably write some kind of software interface. I thought about a one-handed keyboard on my belt or on the straps of my backpack…
Apropos keyboard, I thought about building myself an ergodox with USB and BT and a few additional features, like using it as a one handed keyboard, integrating a small computer (maybe a USB armory) and display, and emulating the German NEO layout over qwertz or qwerty.
A dive computer addon for the Pebble Time. (Although I didn't preorder the Time and I'm not sure how well the external port will work under water…)
http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/casemods/304695-dan-a4-sfx-das-kleinste-gaming-gehaeuse-der-welt-update-1-post-12-05-15-a.html
German link, but someone is building a 114mm x 200mm x 318mm case, which will fit a dual slot GPU, a mini-ITX mainboard and a SFX PSU. Will probably be at about 200€, though. Edit: Oh, that's what lunchbox computers are… Yeah, it doesn't have a keyboard and a monitor, though you could use something like a lapdock?
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WizardStan
Mega GP Mania
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Now that's the stuff. Awesome, exactly what I was looking for. If the VoCore was about $5 cheaper that'd be perfect but still might work well. I'll have to investigate the Oak and esp8266 but they look like they'd work as well.
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rygD
Nihilistic Mystic
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DrHAX
T̶h̶e̶ ̶A̶u̶t̶h̶o̶r̶ The Artist
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Just to add onto my wishs of computers. I really wish for device to have the same feel as old typewriter keys... I know I could freaking ruin a typewriter to get keys and glue them on but the way laptop keys (or keymat keys) work don't really support his, also with screen closing as well.. I like solid mechanical things.. and even as i type on my laptop *I don't have to use my injured finger. I would love a little metal computer that felt and looked like something from the turn of the century or up to the 1930's Think cigar case but computer.... Or steampunk pandora, art deco pandora, 1930's pandora...
Okay, wow, that's interesting… And at 250$ incl. shipping it's about as expensive as building my own. Definitely an alternative to consider.
rygD
Nihilistic Mystic
Keep in mind that you don't need to buy new, and they also have a couple of older versions. The price may be much cheaper for a used one of those. It seems good keyboards are a bit expensive, though. If not I would be a keyboard collector, amongst all the other excess stuff I have (actually there are only a few I want). I have never used this keyboard myself, and it was brought to my attention by someone who was using one with his wearable rig. I was also looking for a one handed keyboard for myself for a similar reason, but nothing I found beats this for portability. In the end I just decided on palmtops and such since I don't really need to be staring at a monitor in every moment of my free time, and I am really starting to enjoy getting away from them.
WizardStan
Mega GP Mania
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The ESP-07 is exactly what I've been looking for: $4, 32bit MCU, wifi. I don't know if the CPU is quite fast enough for what I really want to do but I'm going to find out: my companies software runs on an ARM as low as 60Mhz but no idea how that would translate to this mysterious "32bit MCU".
The toolchain is for the Tensilica Xtensa lx106. What exactly do you want to do?
WizardStan
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Voice recognition. I don't actually expect it to work, raw reads of an ADC don't make for the best microphone though I have done it. It depends on whether the ADC is interrupt based or if I need to wait for it making 8000 reads/second impossible while doing anything else.And of course the CPU itself may not be powerful enough to work, but I won't know that until I try it. I can make an apples/oranges estimate and say it *should* work but that's not the same thing.
WizardStan
Mega GP Mania
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Also this $10 Cortex-M3 with Wifi
That'd definitely do what I want it to. At three times the cost of the ESP I'm going to put that on the "buy one to play with but no more unless I find a really good use for the extra power" pile.
That'd definitely do what I want it to. At three times the cost of the ESP I'm going to put that on the "buy one to play with but no more unless I find a really good use for the extra power" pile.
