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(This is the 46th of many promised articles which explain an idea in isolation. It is hoped that ideas may be adapted, linked together and implemented.)

Before PDAs [Personal Digital Assistants] and smartphones, people had paper diaries. Companies like Filofax made a fortune by selling modular stationary. Numerous companies made compatible stationary and it was possible to make your own stationary which fit in Filofax's miniture ring-binders. However, many people preferred to but the official branded products. Yes, before people boasted that they could animate a poo emoji with facial tracking, they would boast about carrying official Filofax graph paper. (Given the ornate designs of Bronze Age daggers, I suspect this type of boasting goes back many millennia.)

I believe that there is a market for a modular bag format in which any party is free to produce interoperable clones. Bag segments are self-contained and nominally cylindrical. All use one yard, YKK, metal tooth zippers. A bag segment may or may not have handles. One or more bag segments may or may not be used with end caps. An end cap may have functionality such as being a detachable toiletry bag.

Bag segments may include duffel bag, racksack straps, cool bag, vinyl LP bag or handbag. A handbag is one or more stubby cylindrical segments with end caps providing carry handles and/or shoulder strap. However, to be interoperable with the other segments, a modular handbag always is always has circular caps with a circumference of one yard.

If you wish to make modular bags then please have one small hole in each of the internal circular panels. This allows USB and/or the cell networking protocol to be threaded through any number of bag segments. Also, please place the hole near the seam of the zipper to minimize problems due to inadvertent ingress of water.

Common cabling, signalling and power allows a modular bag to connect to my ideal car and that can be connected to my ideal house using a protocol which does not tunnel outside of the PAN or LAN.

(This is the 45th of many promised articles which explain an idea in isolation. It is hoped that ideas may be adapted, linked together and implemented.)

The budget option for the ideal watch is the Casio F91-W terrorist watch with an additional mode for two factor authentication. It is possible to replace the F91-W motherboard with a custom design. This provides a standard strap, case, battery compartment, splash-proof buttons and screen. I doubt that a custom F91-W would be noticed in typical airport security theater. Regardless, make sure you get the Casio F91-W with blue trim to ensure special airport screening.

(This is the 44th of many promised articles which explain an idea in isolation. It is hoped that ideas may be adapted, linked together and implemented.)

The color of my ideal phone should be off-white to match my ideal laptop, tablet and watch. Screen aspect ratio should be 1:1 or 5:4 to match my ideal laptop and watch. Should be clamshell design to match laptop and tablet. Phone should have address book, clock, alarm, phone and walkie-talkie function. No camera. No SMS. No games. No apps and certainly no facial recognition or facial tracking. Off means off. Phone may tether to laptop or tablet over USB. Cell networking protocol does not extend to phone.

(This is the 43rd of many promised articles which explain an idea in isolation. It is hoped that ideas may be adapted, linked together and implemented.)

What's wrong with a laptop, you ponces? If you must have a tablet, I suggest a variant of the OLPC dual-screen touch-screen clamshell design but using e-ink on both screens. It could be used like a book or a clamshell laptop but it would be completely incapable of playing video. For that functionality, you are referred to the ideal laptop. However, tablet battery should exceed two weeks on stand-by and eight hours of heavy, continuous use. Tablet does not have any radio interfaces but can tether to ideal phone over USB.

(This is the 42nd of many promised articles which explain an idea in isolation. It is hoped that ideas may be adapted, linked together and implemented.)

My ideal laptop is something similar to an old Apple PowerBook or IBM ThinkPad and possibly with a similar level of processing power. It would be an off-white color, clamshell design with a 19 column, full travel, straight run keyboard, a centered track-pad with three buttons which use micro-switches which are easy to replace.

The laptop would have six bays which may be either battery or harddisk. (Sorry, no SSD yet due to concern about long-term storage - or even medium-term storage in hot conditions.)

It is very important to have a power connector which can be inserted in any orientation, unlike many of the numerous, incompatible Apple power connectors. Actually, it may be worthwhile to use Dell or IBM Thinkpad power connectors and power supplies. I presume Apple's clamshell case magnetic catch patent expires soon on the basis that it is deprecated from Apple products. My ideal laptop should have four USB connectors on the *side* of the laptop - not the rear. Should have one genuine serial port not tunneled over USB. No radio interfaces.

For my ideal laptop, I'd strongly consider my own vaporware processor and operating system. However, it must have ECC RAM. For a halfway practical implementation, there is enough space between bays for a Raspberry Pi. The is the least hateful option because motherboards would be available via retailers and motherboards would be completely replaceable in the field. To make field servicing as easy as possible, case should use screws of one length, one width, accessible with flat screwdriver and Philips screwdriver.

Ideal laptop should be off-white to match ideal tablet, phone and watch. Screen aspect ratio should be 1:1 or possibly 5:4 if VGA compatibility is required.

(This is the 41st of many promised articles which explain an idea in isolation. It is hoped that ideas may be adapted, linked together and implemented.)

This is not a troll to tell people to use the command line. When my focus was making better implementations of digital paper, my ideal GUI was a data-centric system where digital lined paper was for writing, digital plain paper was for drawing and digital graph paper was for diagrams and calculations. Sheets could be freely pasted and collated. However, this arrangement is completely incompatible with structured databases, streaming video and process control.

So, as a matter of practicality, my ideal GUI is a mix of twm and Windows95 with extensive tweaks. The most significant change is that all window widgets are at the bottom of a window. This makes the interface agnostic to pointer devices and touch-screens. The typical arrangement of window titles makes explanation of a GUI easier when enumerating from top to bottom. However, for daily use, window captions are more practical than window titles. Likewise, menu lists should spring from the bottom of a window. I am particularly annoyed by the inconsistency of tabs in user interfaces. For example, mIRC has tabs along the bottom whereas Firefox has tabs along the top. And if you use the spyware masquerading as the Chrome web browser, it puts the tabs in the window title.

Next, the clipboard should be a stack rather than a singleton. Some versions of Microsoft Word have nine separate clipboards but this doesn't work outside of the application. A stack of clippings potential allows unlimited items while legacy applications see the top item of the stack. This allows a user to copy multiple items, switch application and then paste in the reverse order. Clipboard functionality may include a firewall. A firewall generally indicates a design failure around a trust boundary. However, a clipboard firewall should prevent accidental pasting between corporate and personal applications.

HDR video and sychronized sound is the default window type. Remoting to other hosts is shown by differing decoration. For example, corporate colors for one window and pink for personal stuff. Restrictions may prevent clipboard pasting to and from corporate applications.

Multiple video planes allow QNX Photon functionality like tint, blur, fog, ripple and displace without leaking data between applications or event latency over network. Furthermore, this abstraction allows one window to appear on multiple desktops. It is possible to share a window among multiple users, possibly with time limits and possibly with read-only access. With device pairing, it is possible for a flick gesture to move or copy a window reference from phone to wall-mounted screen.

I've previously mentioned that it is possible to implement a text console within HDR video; possible to get HDR video through UDP; possible to get UDP through 24 byte cell networking; possible to get 24 byte cells through network nodes with 2KB RAM; and possible for network nodes with 96KB RAM or less to work with USB and/or VGA. Although data passing through micro-controllers at kilobit speed may be agonizingly slow, it is possible to have a fancy full-screen video system which is compatible with a trustworthy section which may provide industrial control, hydroponics, wine brewing or beer brewing (with alcohol yeast and/or opiate yeast). Between writing letters to grandma and watching films on the home entertainment system, it is possible to check the garden, wine and beer. Potentially, this could be one or more menu items in Kodi's menu hierarchy. However, this arrangement would compromise security.

(This is tangentially related to other topics and is here for completeness.)

A wise man said to always know the location of your towel. It is next most important to know the location of your plushie. Mant people fail in this regard. In addition to being a source of extra warmth, a fluffy pillow with a face is an extra pillow. Regardless, there is something about staring into a little face which oddly effective for certain stretching exercises. (This is relatively safe and sane compared to people who incorporate a baby into their exercise routine.)

Anyhow, my ideal plushie is about 12 inches tall (30cm) with stubby, chibi arms and legs. It is possible to design material templates of a common base plushie and then mae variants for bear, rabbit, cat, dog, fox, raccoon, badger, lion and suchlike. For example, bear and rabbit have a common short tail. Ears would either be long rabbit ears, short pointy ears or short round ears. All have a common body and paws and a white under-belly. Given common head size, Build-A-Bear headgear may fit but clothing may not fit.

(This is tangentially related to other topics and is here for completeness.)

Two Storey, Large, Conventional Design

              Downstairs                                     Upstairs
+-----------------------   ---+---------+     +-----------------------------+---------+
|                             |         |     |               |             |         |
|                             |         |     |               |             |         |
|           Kitchen           | Heating |     |               |   Bedroom   |         |
|             and             |   and   |     |    Bedroom    |             | Bedroom |
|           Dining              Storage |     |               |             |         |
|                             |         |     |               +-------   ---+         |
|                             |         |     |                                       |
+-------------   ---+------   +---------+     +---------------+   +         +---------+
|                   |         |         |     |                   |         |         |
|                   |                   |     |                   |                   |
|                   |         |         |     |                   |         |  Bath   |
|                   |         | Office  |     |                   |         |   and   |
|                   |  Hall   |         |     |                   |  Hall   | Shower  |
|    Living Room    |   and   |         |     |      Bedroom      |   and   |         |
|                   | Stairs  |         |     |                   | Stairs  |         |
|                   |         +---------+     |                   |         +---------+
|                   |         |         |     |                   |         |         |
|                               Toilet  |     |                   |           Toilet  |
|                   |         |         |     |                   |         |         |
+-------------------+---   ---+---------+     +-------------------+---------+---------+

Two Storey, Medium, Conventional Design

         Downstairs                           Upstairs
+---------+---------+---   ---+     +---------+---------+---------+
|         |         |         |     |         |         |         |
|         |         |         |     |         | Heating |         |
|         | Toilet  |         |     |         |   and   |  Bath   |
| Office  |         | Kitchen |     | Bedroom | Storage |   and   |
|         |         |         |     |         |         | Toilet  |
|         +---   ---+         |     |     +---+---   ---+         |
|                             |     |                             |
+---------+         +---   ---+     +-----+   +         +---------+
|         |         |         |     |         |         |         |
|         |  Hall   |         |     |         |  Hall   |         |
| Living  |   and   |         |     |         |   and   |         |
|  Room   | Stairs  | Dining  |     | Bedroom | Stairs  | Bedroom |
|         |         |         |     |         |         |         |
|                             |     |         |                   |
|         |         |         |     |         |         |         |
+---------+---   ---+---------+     +---------+---------+---------+

Other designs pending.

(This is the 40th of many promised articles which explain an idea in isolation. It is hoped that ideas may be adapted, linked together and implemented.)

Richard Buckminster Fuller was an inspiring crack-pot who often got details wrong but had a grand vision. One aspect was the Dymaxion car which had space for eight people, travelled at the speed of an airplane and had the fuel economy of a motorbike. While he was not present in the prototype, a fatal crash occurred. This restrained development. However, I wonder if something more like his buildings would be suitable for a vehicle. Specifically, the general plan was to keep heavy stuff at the bottom (generators, air conditioning units) and have a geometric structure above it for strength and safety.

So, perhaps it would be possible to make a pyramid car from tubular steel. It would be very much like a section of a crane but on wheels. There would be three versions: small, medium and large. The small version would just be a pyramid on wheels. The engine would be under the rear seats. The medium version would have a dedicated section at the front for an engine. The large version would have a hood and truck. Steering would be left, right or center. Center drive (like a McLaren F1) provides extra legroom for rear passengers.

Indicators and suchlike would use the cell network protocol and there would be no CANBus DRM. And there would be no iPhone dock or suchlike. Instead, the dashboard has 4U of racking on the left and right. 2U or more may be reserved statutory indicators, such as speedometer. However, 4U or more is available for customization. Perhaps you'd like a 1500W amplifier (and an auxillary alternator to power it)? Perhaps you'd like a dedicated war-driving unit and a more moderate jukebox? Unfortunately, there is no space for an 11U beer fridge.

Safety comes first. All seats have five point safety belts. Racking provides additional heat protection from engine fire. And in a collision with another vehicle, the tubular steel ensures that the other vehicle is the crumple zone. It may look ugly, it isn't particularly aerodynamic, but it is difficult to steal, difficult to roll and harder to injure or kill yourself.

(This is the 39th of many promised articles which explain an idea in isolation. It is hoped that ideas may be adapted, linked together and implemented.)

I doubt my ideal keyboard would ever be produced in significant quantities. However, with slowly advancing skill with micro-controllers and circuit design, I could make one or two for myself.

Cost is not the primary consideration. Therefore, it is possible to make a keyboard extra keys, full travel keys and possibly multiple interfaces. For example, USB, PS/2 serial and line serial. The keyboard would be a straight run keyboard to simplify layout. Staggered keys are a remnant of typewriter hammers. As is QWERTY layout. Given a free choice, I'd have dedicated upper case keys and lower case keys in alphabetical order. This would be of benefit to people who don't primarily use Roman script. It would also help people with dyslexia. Some people type in capitals because the text on the screen matches the letters on the keys. However, if the keys are labeled in lower case, the opposite problem occurs: Some people find it problematic to ever use upper case. Having dedicated upper case keys and lower case keys resolves this problem. For legacy reasons and convenience, shift keys and shift lock remains. In this scenario, cases are flipped.

The first row is 16 hot keys and macro keys. These provide functions such as volume control and application launching. The second row of keys is 16 function keys. These are specific to applications, although F1 typically raises documentation. The third row of keys has the escape key and 15 symbols. The fourth row of keys is digits and punctuation. The fifth and sixth row is upper case letters and punctuation. The seventh and eighth row is lower case letters, punctuation and the delete key. If this sounds like seven bit ASCII then that's entirely the idea. As described so far, keyboard decode is trivial unless legacy, raw codes are required.

We have six meta keys: [shift], [control], [alternate], [Greek], [Cyrillic] and [top]. These are at the bottom of the keyboard and mirrored on both sides with the exception that right [alternate] typically allows code-points to be dialled directly. One column of keys on the left provides [shift lock], [Greek lock], [Cyrillic lock], [top lock] and [tab]. What happens if [Greek] and [Cyrillic] are both used? Probably nothing but we have sufficient options for Amharic chording, Kanji and phonetic symbols. The keyboard controller may require a large ROM unless fnctionality is offloaded to a more capable host.

On a QWERTY keyboard, [undo], [cut], [copy] and [paste] are assigned to [control] + Z, [control] + X, [control] + C and [control] + V. If these keys are re-arranged then this cluster is broken. So, between the two clusters of meta keys, we have dedicated keys for [undo], [redo], [cut], [copy], [paste], [pop] and possibly other functions. [paste] and [pop] perform the same function in legacy applications. However, in applications where the clipboard is a stack rather than a singleton, [paste] applies the top of stack without side-effect and [pop] applies the top of stack before discarding it. This potentially allows an unlimited number of items to be cut or copied and then pasted in reverse order.

Remaining keys fill an additional two columns on the right and are described from the bottom. There is carriage return and backspace. Arrow keys and paging keys are not in a triangle, diamond or suchlike. They are in a 2×2 blocks:-

[page up] [page right]
[page left] [page down]
[up] [right]
[left] [down]

Also have [home] and [end]. The remaining space in the top left and right is filled with the crufty keys such as [print screen] and [scroll lock]. So, we have a 19 column, 12 row keyboard which has a passing resemblance to a Chinese typewriter. It is more suited to writing APL than gaming but it would be an absolute joy for me.