• SoftEgg Hobby Computer

    04/03/2017 at 06:30 0 comments

    I've been sick, and so NanoEgg work that requires thinking just makes me more ill. In my feverish delusions, I thought "wouldn't it be great if we had useless hobby computers like we had in the 80's, that were only good for games and puttering?" And so I somehow cobbled together this 3d model between coughing fits and blowing my nose.
    I mentioned the "hobby computer" to other people and they seemed to think it was a terrible waste of time, that nobody would want to program a computer that they couldn't sell anything on, that anything without a proper OS and internet access and 3d and polygons and web shops and ad revenue was worthless.
    Does anybody else harbor a secret desire to have a tiny computer that is only good for writing silly little games and demos, where you can hold the whole state of the machine in your head, and there is no real profit motive whatsoever?

    I felt that the "monitor keyboard combo" look was very iconic, even if it didn't reflect the reality of most 80's computing. Also, since the thing is going to run its own LCD display, this form works best to keep signal paths short.
    This is a first draft, of a project that may never see the light of day, but I was considering redesigning it with a removable joystick as part of the keyboard.
    I would probably put "floppy disk" SD card slots in the bezel next to the monitor, too. The back would have power, USB, audio, and MIDI jacks.
    Processor wise, it is tricky. I want to put an ARM in it, but it needs to be able to run code out of RAM, so a microcontroller is out. Also, I don't know that any LCD controllers work the way I will would like.