https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Model_100
Those Alphas were the upgrades. Fancy!
I had a Laser PC4 in the early 90s: https://oldcomputermuseum.com/laser_pc4.html
I wish I still had it just to noodle around on.
I picked up a Cambridge Z88 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Z88) at a Goodwill a couple years ago but haven't done much of anything with it. Apparently they have quite the following.
My main gripe with the freewrite (and to a lesser extent, this option) is the whole cloud/app/document management offering. I get that those features are important to several people, but I am happy to pull data from the device on occasion, or to back things up via git myself. Having to lock in to some vendor's cloud thing without any alternative is an instant way to make a device untenable for me personally.
Raspberrypi zero 2w + some stripped down OS that boots directly to an editor, lcd display and a nice case would be much cheaper. Also easier to implement other stuff, like different fonts, use your own 'cloud' to sync stuff (and not being forced into a subscription), etc.
At some point you ask yourself if it's worth it, and in both cases, for me, it isn't.
https://goat-story.com/collections/coffee-mugs/products/goat...
I know the idea is to be distraction-free but it’s hard to justify over a basic writing app on the phone you already own, which includes a nicer screen.
In the video they show the 3 text size modes. The smallest text size only shows 8 lines, even though the text on the screen claims it goes to 11: https://youtu.be/5hV8xfhdk7c?t=208 (3:28) I can't imagine 15 lines of text on a low resolution screen like that.
I like the concept of the device, but I must not be the target audience at all. I can't imagine spending time writing on a low-resolution, tiny LCD display like that for any extended period of time.
Even the response time of the LCD looks painfully slow in the video. The letters slowly fade into view as they're being typed. They only show the typing for a couple seconds so if you blink you'll miss it in the demo video. This is in contrast to the campaign's claims of zero latency and high responsiveness
Apparently there's a market for it, though, because they have a lot of Kickstarter backers.
There is a special place in hell for people who make hardware that runs static software, but still withhold ownership just so they can indefinitely bilk money from you.
Or just stop supporting altogether, a la Spotify Car Thing.
I have working keyboards in my possession that this thing cannot connect to.
- No ADB port for a Mac keyboard
- No Sun Type 5 Mini-DIN
- No PS/2 port
- No PC keyboard port
- No Newton serial keyboard port
- No RJ11 for an LK-201
So much for universal.
Do you have any interesting layout and language variations?
Not seeing the case for spending $175 and only getting half a word processor. If portability was the goal, an external keyboard goes against that. If the goal was better ergonomics, the screen wouldn't be the size and shape of a table tent. So... why?
DrillShopper•4h ago