____ FRST Computer: Q & A ____________________________________________ | |
Q. What is FRST Computer? What does "small batch, artisan" mean? | |
A. It means FRST computers are made in very small batches by hand, | |
resulting in unique computers that are themselves works of art. | |
Q. Why so small? | |
A. The initial inspiration came from the popular notion of a | |
"CyberDeck" device form factor -- where small size and portability | |
are common qualities. Inspiration was also taken from the PDA era | |
of the late 90s / early 2000s... (Our computers wouldn't be too out | |
of place next to an eMate) The 4.2" ePaper display represents the | |
minimum "practical" screen for hosting the PCD-68 400x300 display | |
resolution. A larger display version is under consideration, and a | |
magnification peripheral ala Terry Gilliam is planned. :) | |
Q. Is it open source? | |
A. I plan to make both the source code and schematics openly | |
available. (Early demo PCD-68 code available on GitHub now) | |
I may also make CAD assets available, where that makes sense. | |
Q. How much does a FRST computer cost? | |
A. This will depend on a number of factors, of course, but batch size | |
is the most significant. The intention is that as each successive | |
batch grows in size, it affords more people the chance to get their | |
own FRST. The early batches will be more expensive, owing to their | |
unique artisan quality. | |
It may be worth noting that a FRST computer is expected to grow in | |
value (or utility, at least) | |
as the user base grows -- as users share their | |
software and provide increasing potential connection points for | |
other users. In order to achieve this ultimate value, it is hoped | |
that early backers encourage growth by spreading the word... | |
Q. So, is FRST Computer an art project or a computer company? | |
A. Why can't it be both? As it stands today, FRST Computer is mainly | |
an art project by Jon Sharp [1], exploring the intersection of | |
computer science, personal computing history, nostalgia, | |
sustainability, self-deploying networking, local/social computing... | |
It imagines the paths not taken, re-visiting | |
engineering solutions of the past that remain relevant to our | |
present and future. | |
It is through this creative exploration that we (I) hope to arrive | |
at a personal computer design that has broad (enough) appeal to | |
ship small numbers of computers on a regular basis, supporting an | |
active and growing community of (admittedly/expectedly unique) | |
users. | |
Given those goals, we like to say we are an "aspirational" | |
computer company. As the batches grow in size, the artistic | |
value of each batch may diminish naturally, giving way to | |
affordability and increasing utility as the FRST community grows. | |
And if such a future should ever materialize, FRST Computer might | |
no longer be "merely" an art projct -- though our computers will | |
always strive to be art. :) | |
Q. Isn't this just some kind of 80's/90's nostalgia trip? | |
A. It's not just _some_ kind of 80's/90's nostalgia trip, it's the | |
_best_ kind! ;) In seriousness, yes, nostalgia is a big part of | |
this, and we're counting on that nostalgia to inspire enough people | |
to help us grow the FRST user base. | |
Q. Why not Kickstarter? Etsy? Tindie? | |
A. These are great platforms, and they host many worthy, similar art | |
and technology projects, (we're big fans / customers) but launching | |
FRST "in Gopherspace" affords several things -- First, we believe | |
we'll find our most receptive audience here. Second, it allows us | |
to be truly independent and explore things like Gopher-commerce, a | |
viable (to be determined ;)) alternative to the modern payment | |
systems. | |
Also, the "art" of this _may_ extend to other ways of exciting that | |
sense of nostalgia -- things like printable order forms, receipts | |
printed on vintage tractor-fed paper stock and a real phone system | |
with staffed hours where you can reach a real person for customer | |
service or sales. | |
Q. Ok, I want one. How do I order? | |
A. Really?! I mean... That's Great! Yeah, just send us an email. | |
( info or sales or whatever @ frstcomputer.com ) | |
( Eventually I'd like to build out some | |
kind of Gopher-commerce approach. Stay tuned for more... ) | |
(( any gopher-heads have any great ideas for the most frictionless | |
out-of-band payment mechanism(s) for gopher-initiated orders? | |
see: [2] )) | |
Q. This is really cool. I'd love to help out... How about stickers? | |
T-shirts? | |
A. Absolutely! Support us by picking up a sticker or two! Details: | |
FRST Gopher Store: Stickers! | |
==== Model Three Questions ==== | |
Q. What's with all the Plan 9 stuff? | |
A. Plan 9 is great! It is the near-perfect vehicle for the | |
realization of what we at FRST believe personal computing needs | |
right now. Not only was it birthed in the same era from which we | |
draw our primary inspiration, it continues to be actively | |
maintained with an existing community of (artistic?) enthusiasts. | |
Quite simply, it's just the perfect fit for our computers. | |
Q. Are you abandoning ESP32? PCD-68? E-paper? | |
A. Well, no. Probably not, anyway... While Model Three certainly | |
eschews each of these, it was in order to offer a more powerful | |
platform that could itself be used to continue exploring each of | |
these things (mcu-based design, emulated cpu arch, non-traditional | |
low-power displays) -- now through the Plan 9 lens. | |
Development of the next ESP32-S3-based board design, along with | |
the PCD-68 emulator have been paused, but unless priorties change, | |
we intend to return to these things -- porting the PCD-68 emulator | |
to Plan 9, exploring the 68000 (will we need to implement a 68020?) | |
Plan 9 (Inferno?) kernel for possible terminal kernel | |
implementation for Model One/Two, and possibly building a Pi-based | |
E-paper CyberDeck. | |
This is admittedly all very ambitious, of course, so if you have | |
an interest in seeing any of these things materialize, let us know. | |
We would also welcome any material contributions... code? cash? ;) | |
Q. What was this about FRST:Net? | |
A. Model Three was really developed as a purpose-built portable | |
CyberDeck to prioritize and accelerate the development and testing | |
of FRST:Net, which will begin as a public packet radio network in | |
the Nashville, TN area. | |
--- | |
[1] Jon Sharp's gopher hole | |
[2] Gopher-commerce proposal? |