About a year and a half ago, I engaged on an admittedly quixotic project to build my own laptop. By I, I mean we, namely Sean “xobs” Cross and me, bunnie. Building your own laptop makes about as much sense as retrofitting a Honda Civic with a 1000hp motor, but the lack of practicality never stopped the latter activity, nor ours.
Quite, quite amazing.
Dat screen resolution (and aspect ratio!)
The whole thing is ugly as sin, yet beautiful to behold. I love it!
I second that emotion!
Not only that, but the ThinkPad keyboard!
My only request would be a bigger screen, but I’d definitely take one.
I may be wrong, but I think that’s the same resolution as the Chromebook Pixel. It would be awesome if a Pixel LCD panel and touch screen were put into a future revision, assuming it’s compatible and cheap enough.
What a beauty.
Reminds me of swatch watches. I’d love to build one and have a built-in 8-track mixer. So many stuff in mind, so little time.
Well given the FPGA one could be made. You have have to write new drivers, but it could be done.
I do acknowledge that you basically said that you wanted ice cream, and I handed you rock salt and milk
I’m very interested in this project, or a similar DIY laptop. My objective is to build a battery powered computer into a weather-resistant plastic case, like those sold by Serpac or Pelican. The commercially-available pre-built rugged laptops are hugely overpriced for my needs and budget.
Very cool. Were it me doing it, I would use something like the CubieBoard2, which has a multicore ARM, and also has a SATA connector. That way you could use a SATA SSD (best avoid moving parts for homebrew ruggedizing).
Securing and protecting the screen is probably going to by your hardest part, but it should be doable. In similar projects I have found securing the keyboard to be similarly tricky but for different reasons.
Good luck!
Against the popularity tide of netbooks, notebooks, smartphones, and tablets I’m looking for a portable PC that’s weather-resistant (at least when closed) and runs on battery power. I’m not going to take it into combat, and I don’t care if it weighs ten pounds. This seems to be a market niche with few commercial solutions, and none of them affordable.
Imagine being able to snap together a laptop or portable computer using off-the-shelf components, just like desktop builders do. Each individual could find their own balance with regards to battery life, cost, performance, and portability.
Many of the manufacturers of rubberized cases sell top and bottom plate kits that can be cutout to any pattern. I expect the weak point in the system will be the connection between the computer and monitor.
Someone already had the same concept but with a pizza box.
http://holykaw.alltop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/26329080-media…
Anyone can just take off the shelf boards and slam them together into the semblance of a laptop. Which is what the pizza box is. It is a cool hack, but it a far cry from what Bunnie and Xobs did.
They designed a completely bespoke system, the laid out the PCBs, manufactured them, etc. The DDR3 interface alone isn’t for the faint of heart; not to mention everything else they did.
Frankly the only thing that is crude about the the laptop in this story is the case.
That the thing, go to all that effort and not bother with possibly the easiest part to manufacture.
Edited 2014-01-08 19:04 UTC
Least important part. A pretty case would look pretty, but without the electronics, it’s pointless.
i.e. this is a “Web development” vs “Back office service development” type of scenario.
That’s one way to avoid NSA’s Interdiction.
Today I learned that this Trans-Siberian railroad is some sort of Nurburgring Nordschleife for laptops. Hope they manage to get Walter Rohrl on board.
Edited 2014-01-08 20:23 UTC
I am off to build my own tablet now…
If you’re serious, the Raspberry Pi makes for a good starting point:
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/09/innovative-mo…
The Beagle Bone Black is also an option, and has a better processor and on board storage. The fact you can also then plug it in to a PC USB port and SSH on to it is pretty amazing.
Definitely. There are also ready-made LCD addons, called capes, for the BBB that make it easy to turn into a display-based device. That might end up being a less expensive route, since adding a touch screen overlay to an existing LCD is sometimes cheaper than a pre-assembled touch LCD.
But awesome all the same, what a fun project.
I’d probably start with an IBM Model M Keyboard…