Sneak peak.
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@Kroc We have 3d printers, SoCs, OLEDs and orderable switches. Where are the products?
oops there they are: https://nerdculture.de/@bonkers/116483156961842289 https://oldbytes.space/@Kroc/116483216416855524
@dichotomiker No comparison I’m afraid. As much as I love to see new palmtop devices available (#PocketMage hasn’t even shipped yet), there’s still nothing that comes close to the Psion, both in terms of hardware or software. Nobody is seriously going to write a book on a PocketMage with a membrane keyboard. I _am_ writing a book on the #Psion however, in the here and now, not in future promises.
Trust me, I want an affordable, open, palmtop writing platform more than most but it’s still an issue of design and intent before we even get to the hardware. A complete replacement for the Psion is still several years away.
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A British classic
@Kroc how old is this machine back in Russia the calculators used to be the size of our main frames and you would line up to use one
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Before I set up #Patreon, are there any recommended platforms to do similar that are less... US-based...?
@Kroc ooh, excuse for a political economy infodump! The short version is that under Bush II and Obama, the USA took control over international electronic payments to 'fight terrorism' (and let Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, and Stripe collect rents). The EU is undermining that but right now the crowdfunding services like liberapay, subscribestar, and ghost are wrappers around a few American financial services companies. 1/2.
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@Kroc ooh, excuse for a political economy infodump! The short version is that under Bush II and Obama, the USA took control over international electronic payments to 'fight terrorism' (and let Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, and Stripe collect rents). The EU is undermining that but right now the crowdfunding services like liberapay, subscribestar, and ghost are wrappers around a few American financial services companies. 1/2.
@Kroc Unsurprisingly, this means that the alternatives have not taken off (USD $100k/mo in donations on Liberapay, $25m/mo in publicly visible donations on Patreon so 250 times greater). Patreon also poisoned the well by pivoting from "donate to keep something free online, possibly get something cheap in exchange" to "sell your whole back catalogue or services as a subscription." This is because Patron took VC money and the money men wanted a big payout, but it makes some patrons needy.. 2/2
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A British classic
Grabbing lunch. Included a side-shot this time to give you an idea of the device’s profile: it doesn’t simply open calm-shell style but instead slides the keyboard tray outward and brings the centre-fold inwards to give it a more comfortable typing position, and stability — the centre-fold is *not* at the back of the device! Psion won a design award for this piece of engineering.
No modern device is doing this.
They did it in 1997. -
Grabbing lunch. Included a side-shot this time to give you an idea of the device’s profile: it doesn’t simply open calm-shell style but instead slides the keyboard tray outward and brings the centre-fold inwards to give it a more comfortable typing position, and stability — the centre-fold is *not* at the back of the device! Psion won a design award for this piece of engineering.
No modern device is doing this.
They did it in 1997.@Kroc Always was a piece of GORGEOUS design, that.
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@Infoseepage Let’s not forget the leather!
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@Infoseepage This is why I refuse to give up my #Kindle 3 & 4. Can’t bloody stand the touch-screen ones, what a massive step backwards — for what!? A few cents of plastic? I’m only using an old Paperwhite 3rd gen because I got it free from a family member and the backlight is useful but they should never have gotten rid of the buttons.
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Grabbing lunch. Included a side-shot this time to give you an idea of the device’s profile: it doesn’t simply open calm-shell style but instead slides the keyboard tray outward and brings the centre-fold inwards to give it a more comfortable typing position, and stability — the centre-fold is *not* at the back of the device! Psion won a design award for this piece of engineering.
No modern device is doing this.
They did it in 1997.@Kroc I loved my 5 so much! Still a bit sad that I sold it all those years ago.
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Grabbing lunch. Included a side-shot this time to give you an idea of the device’s profile: it doesn’t simply open calm-shell style but instead slides the keyboard tray outward and brings the centre-fold inwards to give it a more comfortable typing position, and stability — the centre-fold is *not* at the back of the device! Psion won a design award for this piece of engineering.
No modern device is doing this.
They did it in 1997. -
@Kroc the screen on the Psion looks much better! It always amazes me how expensive these distraction free writers are!
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@Kroc Why can't we get the people bending over backwards to make the thinnest mobile phone with the bulkiest cameras revisit the Psion form factor?
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Grabbing lunch. Included a side-shot this time to give you an idea of the device’s profile: it doesn’t simply open calm-shell style but instead slides the keyboard tray outward and brings the centre-fold inwards to give it a more comfortable typing position, and stability — the centre-fold is *not* at the back of the device! Psion won a design award for this piece of engineering.
No modern device is doing this.
They did it in 1997. -
Grabbing lunch. Included a side-shot this time to give you an idea of the device’s profile: it doesn’t simply open calm-shell style but instead slides the keyboard tray outward and brings the centre-fold inwards to give it a more comfortable typing position, and stability — the centre-fold is *not* at the back of the device! Psion won a design award for this piece of engineering.
No modern device is doing this.
They did it in 1997.@Kroc
I love that design. -
Grabbing lunch. Included a side-shot this time to give you an idea of the device’s profile: it doesn’t simply open calm-shell style but instead slides the keyboard tray outward and brings the centre-fold inwards to give it a more comfortable typing position, and stability — the centre-fold is *not* at the back of the device! Psion won a design award for this piece of engineering.
No modern device is doing this.
They did it in 1997.This is the book I’ve been writing using the #Psion: https://camendesign.com/nomad
It’s about a nomad from an uncontacted tribe crossing a desert to see civilization for the first time, except this is a sand-glass the size of Earth… the #worldglass
You can download the free PDF / ePub with 60 pages. If you want more, I’ve just posted the current manuscript with an additional 100 pages on the Patreon, ~45’000 words total written over the last 5 months.
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Grabbing lunch. Included a side-shot this time to give you an idea of the device’s profile: it doesn’t simply open calm-shell style but instead slides the keyboard tray outward and brings the centre-fold inwards to give it a more comfortable typing position, and stability — the centre-fold is *not* at the back of the device! Psion won a design award for this piece of engineering.
No modern device is doing this.
They did it in 1997.You’re probably real tired of these same-same photos but I am still working on the book (https://camendesign.com/nomad) despite less crowing about it. It is very nose-to-the-grindwheel stuff and abating the distractions is paramount to getting anything done, which is why this 25 year old AA-powered palmtop slams your average Android tablet to the floor.
#worldglass #writing #fiction #fantasy #psion
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You’re probably real tired of these same-same photos but I am still working on the book (https://camendesign.com/nomad) despite less crowing about it. It is very nose-to-the-grindwheel stuff and abating the distractions is paramount to getting anything done, which is why this 25 year old AA-powered palmtop slams your average Android tablet to the floor.
#worldglass #writing #fiction #fantasy #psion
@Kroc Bring moar photos.
