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Several sites have articles about the PocketCHIP, a handheld computer that was funded through Kickstarter. It seems to have shipped to its sponsors, or at least to review sites, but the company's Web site displays "Estimated Shipping October 2016" for the rest of us.
The device is built around the CHIP computer, which has a 1 GHz ARM Cortex-R8 processor, Mali 400 GPU, 4 GB of flash, 512 MB of RAM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4, and USB 3.0. The PocketCHIP adds a plastic case, keyboard, lithium polymer battery and 480-by-272-pixel touch screen. It comes with Debian Linux and the PICO-8 software suite, which allows one to create and play video games.
The PocketCHIP is being sold for $69 ($49 for those who sponsored it), and the CHIP for $9.
Accessories are also offered to add VGA or HDMI output to the CHIP. It appears that owners of the PocketCHIP would have to take it apart to use those.
Articles:
Further information:
manufacturer's blog
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hemocyanin on Thursday September 01 2016, @05:26AM
This kickstarter was very well run -- I got all the stuff I was promised in a timely fashion. I can't say exactly when I got my PocketChip , but I feel like it was around the early part of summer -- maybe Juneish, certainly by July. Based on date stamps of files on my desktop, I started receiving the chip boards in November of 2015 and I've gotten five of those over time, in addition to the PocketChip more recently. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, this is a reputable group with a good product.
I'm really impressed by the devices -- they're well put together and pretty speedy for something that totals about the size of 10 stacked up credit cards (mostly due to the headers you can just plug jumpers into). I haven't been fooling with them this spring and summer because I usually do less (i.e., no) electronic stuff during these seasons, but when it starts getting dark early, I'll go back to them -- probably put together a monitoring system for my boat so I can get messages if it starts sinking.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday September 01 2016, @05:32AM
I scanned the articles and it seems they miss the point to some degree. I didn't notice prominent mention of the exposed GPIO, power, and ground pins on both the Chip and the PocketChip, although on the PocketChip, you'll want to solder on a header.
(Score: 2) by JNCF on Thursday September 01 2016, @06:41AM
How do you feel about the PocketCHIP's keyboard? I find it incredibly hard to type incorrectly on, but also slow. I think it's totally usable as a portable terminal for writing code and running remote tasks, certainly preferable to a tablet with a soft keyboard. And the screen can comfortably fit 80 characters across, at least for my Millenial eyes.
(Score: 3, Informative) by joshuajon on Thursday September 01 2016, @02:47PM
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday September 01 2016, @03:33PM
Those problems are more likely a result of differences between your printer and the designer's depending on what you mean by "skewed". If the holes are angled vertically, then your printer is printing layers that don't line up. If the holes don't align with the keys, it just means there is a subtle difference between your printer and his and there is no guarantee that Shapeways prints would fit. You could try shrinking the object to get the tabs to become snappy, but that shrinks everything and might offset the button holes. For example, if the original was designed for a 0.5mm nozzle, and you have a .35mm nozzle, it won't snap because there is always some degree of sideways ooze and the larger the nozzle diameter, the more of it you get. More side ooze with a wide nozzle would make the snaps work, too little and they will be loose and fail.
You could try shrinking in your slicer but then you get the possibility of having buttons offset because everything shrinks. I think it is a shame that most people only release STL files but keep their source files private -- it would make objects such as the one you want much more widely usable. You can always reinvent the wheel and make your own design to match your printer's quirks. If you haven't already settled on CAD software and don't want to spend a bundle, you might want to try FreeCAD: http://www.freecadweb.org/ [freecadweb.org]
(Score: 2) by joshuajon on Thursday September 01 2016, @04:11PM
It seemed like on one side of the keyboard the holes are perfectly vertical, but as the print progressed the became more and more angled. It's possible that it was caused by the issues you described, but like I said I'm also a bit of an amateur. I've on pretty old firmware for my device and relatively low print speeds so it might be caused by jitter introduced in to the build plate by the extruder movement. I'm also using free software for slicing at the moment, but plan to upgrade to Simplify3D soon as I've read that it makes a world of difference.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday September 01 2016, @11:03PM
If you try S3D, be aware that they have a 10 or 15 day return policy. I tried it -- hated it for printing ABS due to the way it set up the first layer of supports (no hash underneath and so they often came unstuck and ruined the print).
The problem might also be in the STL on thingiverse. One thing I'd try is making a cube with a hole in the center -- very simple shape. Then scatter that around your buildplate. If you get angled holes, there is probably some tuning to do on your printer. If you don't, the file from TV is probably flawed. If you want to test that, I made a file you could use: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1748959 [thingiverse.com] After printing it would be informative to measure the height, length, width and diameters with calipers.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday September 01 2016, @03:17PM
I tried using the keyboard -- it works in a pinch, to actually write anything I had to connect a regular keyboard. The screen is fine but as in all things, my early GenX eyes require reading glasses.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 01 2016, @05:33AM
Well now this just reads like an invitation to vandalize your monitoring system and sink your boat.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday September 01 2016, @05:19PM
For Science!
(Score: 2) by Yog-Yogguth on Saturday September 03 2016, @09:48PM
And cookies :)
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(Score: 3, Funny) by DECbot on Wednesday September 14 2016, @04:48PM
In my generation, we settled for nothing less than hookers and blow.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base