I wonder if using the built in Tachyon or the full version could be used as the foundation for a CPM or DOS like operating system. IIRC it is possible to access the built in functions.
For my own use, I'm likely to 3D print an enclosure, display, etc... and package it up as a bench computer. Working directly on it with keyboard / mouse or maybe touchpad, depending on what doing that actually takes, has it's merits. Something like that can have a battery, and some connectors that can be used to jumper into breadboards, or other things. Flick a switch, and it's ON. That, and:
...a device that can run some simple protocol and deliver a similar experience wirelessly is super compelling. Obviously, serial text makes a ton of sense. But, other things could too.
Smart phones are flat out amazing these days. I've a Note 8, and that thing runs at something like 2Ghz, has 5GB RAM, and several cores. (and it's old now)
Working directly on it via touch is a hit and miss affair. For general content create, yeah. Workable, and I do it all the time, often using voice input for blocks of text. For programming and other detail activities, I use a little bluetooth Keyboard / touchpad device. The moment it's paired, a pointer appears and the phone basically is an android PC at that point. I did run Windows in a VM on it once. Worked. Actually workable, but one better have the phone plugged in. Doing that, or CAD on the phone sucks a battery dry in about 30 minutes.
Younger people coming to this hobby will totally buy into something wireless that uses a phone as an interface.
It's my opinion many of them, once they gain sufficient skill, may well transition to something with keyboard / mouse, just to get a better UX experience. But, even if they don't, a whole lot more can be done with a touch interface than one would think.
For us?
I can say, just put the time in. Use the phone. Get one that has some guts, and just use the Smile out of it. Touch competency happens over about a month. Real mastery, as in it begins to feel transparent like keyboard / mouse / touch pad does, happens in a few.
For a sense of what it's like, if you do not currently use touch pad, that transition away from a mouse is very similar. But faster. I got good at touchpad a long time ago. Ended up doing some demo work on a machine that I had to use all the USB ports on. (storage, lots of storage) and the touchpad was there. So... I went for it, and it took only a couple weeks. I rarely need / carry a mouse with my laptop anymore.
I would definitely make use of both modes, particularly when I'm on the go.
At some point, P2 systems will happen. The chip is pretty much one now, but as people get interesting bits of software done, OS'es, maybe just shells to run things, all that plus some good support circuits should result in a board that can be interacted with as described in this thread.
Comments
That's certainly a more modern angle.
Google finds this,
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/26/a_usb_stick_as_a_file_server_weve_done_it/
which gives another angle to backup and storage, for those who are cloud averse, or on costly plans.
A P2 with large flash, (or mounted SD) could also appear as a P2 + Storage to a wifi host ?
For my own use, I'm likely to 3D print an enclosure, display, etc... and package it up as a bench computer. Working directly on it with keyboard / mouse or maybe touchpad, depending on what doing that actually takes, has it's merits. Something like that can have a battery, and some connectors that can be used to jumper into breadboards, or other things. Flick a switch, and it's ON. That, and:
...a device that can run some simple protocol and deliver a similar experience wirelessly is super compelling. Obviously, serial text makes a ton of sense. But, other things could too.
Smart phones are flat out amazing these days. I've a Note 8, and that thing runs at something like 2Ghz, has 5GB RAM, and several cores. (and it's old now)
Working directly on it via touch is a hit and miss affair. For general content create, yeah. Workable, and I do it all the time, often using voice input for blocks of text. For programming and other detail activities, I use a little bluetooth Keyboard / touchpad device. The moment it's paired, a pointer appears and the phone basically is an android PC at that point. I did run Windows in a VM on it once. Worked. Actually workable, but one better have the phone plugged in. Doing that, or CAD on the phone sucks a battery dry in about 30 minutes.
Younger people coming to this hobby will totally buy into something wireless that uses a phone as an interface.
It's my opinion many of them, once they gain sufficient skill, may well transition to something with keyboard / mouse, just to get a better UX experience. But, even if they don't, a whole lot more can be done with a touch interface than one would think.
For us?
I can say, just put the time in. Use the phone. Get one that has some guts, and just use the Smile out of it. Touch competency happens over about a month. Real mastery, as in it begins to feel transparent like keyboard / mouse / touch pad does, happens in a few.
For a sense of what it's like, if you do not currently use touch pad, that transition away from a mouse is very similar. But faster. I got good at touchpad a long time ago. Ended up doing some demo work on a machine that I had to use all the USB ports on. (storage, lots of storage) and the touchpad was there. So... I went for it, and it took only a couple weeks. I rarely need / carry a mouse with my laptop anymore.
I would definitely make use of both modes, particularly when I'm on the go.
At some point, P2 systems will happen. The chip is pretty much one now, but as people get interesting bits of software done, OS'es, maybe just shells to run things, all that plus some good support circuits should result in a board that can be interacted with as described in this thread.