I don't think it's a joke, but it's really just a raspberry pi with a specific monitor and case. I would imagine the subset of people interested in this would rather buy a raspberry pi and a...
I don't think it's a joke, but it's really just a raspberry pi with a specific monitor and case. I would imagine the subset of people interested in this would rather buy a raspberry pi and a monitor and/or case that align with their specific use case?
And anything like that could also "boot straight into code" if needed. I would argue my old netbook is a better fit for that, minus the GPIO interface.
I was thinking similar. It feels like it's meant to be real, but I cannot figure out the target audience. A raspberry pi that is configured to be limited to an obscure OS focused around coding in...
I was thinking similar. It feels like it's meant to be real, but I cannot figure out the target audience. A raspberry pi that is configured to be limited to an obscure OS focused around coding in an obscure language just feels odd.
I'm not really interested in the device, personally. But if I was looking for something like this, I would definitely prefer it without a tiny built-in keyboard. It has USB ports and Bluetooth,...
I'm not really interested in the device, personally. But if I was looking for something like this, I would definitely prefer it without a tiny built-in keyboard. It has USB ports and Bluetooth, which means you can use whatever keyboard you want with it.
It does have a touchscreen, and while the primary use is as a toy / tool to learn programming, one might use this in projects where one might not wish any peripherals. And this way, you can bring...
It does have a touchscreen, and while the primary use is as a toy / tool to learn programming, one might use this in projects where one might not wish any peripherals.
And this way, you can bring whateve peripherals you prefer.
I like the concept and I have a fair bit of nostalgia for the era they are talking about but ultimately it’s BSD, a highly advanced kernel that abstracts away all the real nitty gritty details....
But more specifically, the EndBOX caters to those who grew up with simpler computers and know that, to truly understand the fundamentals of computing, you have to experience them from the ground up with as few layers of abstraction as possible.
I like the concept and I have a fair bit of nostalgia for the era they are talking about but ultimately it’s BSD, a highly advanced kernel that abstracts away all the real nitty gritty details. It’s just a simulation of the old school bare metal computing experience.
Oddly, there is a project out there that I think actually comes far closer to providing the experience the author is describing: TempleOS.
I would have rather seen one based on a microcontroller instead of a SoC. There are quite a few interactive programming environments made for MCUs like NodeMCU and MicroPython/CircuitPython. I’ve...
I would have rather seen one based on a microcontroller instead of a SoC. There are quite a few interactive programming environments made for MCUs like NodeMCU and MicroPython/CircuitPython. I’ve already seen MicroPython in particular with a graphical interface used on calculators, and it is closer to the ideal of an immutable computer that the author describes in the about section of their website.
But in the end they also want to have it run their BASIC program so this is what they are making.
Is anyone maintaining or developing anything with TempleOS in any serious manner?
I’m sure TempleOS is abandonware at this point. I’m unfamiliar with CircuitPython but I think Micropython is fully garbage collected and without raw memory access — again, very high level. I think...
I’m sure TempleOS is abandonware at this point.
I’m unfamiliar with CircuitPython but I think Micropython is fully garbage collected and without raw memory access — again, very high level. I think to get the sort of familiarity with the foundational ideas of computing that I think the authors are hoping for, you need to get a bit more hands on with memory and devices. Aka C/assembly. But, that’s just my opinion.
TempleOS does actually have a form with active development, though thoroughly heretical to its original vision: https://github.com/Zeal-Operating-System/ZealOS
CircuitPython is a fork of MicroPython designed with some API differences so it can address existing external C libraries more easily. You actually can read and write memory directly with...
CircuitPython is a fork of MicroPython designed with some API differences so it can address existing external C libraries more easily. You actually can read and write memory directly with MicroPython and using the machine module. CircuitPython doesn't have this as part, probably because of the difference in design philosophy.
But as these are for embedded systems, they can differ quite a lot depending on the platform they are built for. They're also open source so could be adapted for your use case scenario. Just because CircuitPython doesn't have the machine module doesn't mean that you can't write a library or alter it to give your version of it those capabilities.
There are also plenty of options of BASIC interpreters already available for embedded systems. The ESP32 actually has one built into ROM to use as a fallback for when the firmware fails, and there are more examples of BASIC interpreters than I could be bothered to list. I think that the most important thing to the person making this is that it could run the software that they have already made.
Those pages were quite the ride. The sole developer behind TempleOS, Terry Davis, passed 7 years ago. TempleOS itself hasn't been developed further since.
Those pages were quite the ride.
The sole developer behind TempleOS, Terry Davis, passed 7 years ago. TempleOS itself hasn't been developed further since.
I like the concept. I would be interested in something like this focused around Rust instead of basic. Seems like it could be an interesting project. SBC + screen + simple terminal software...
I like the concept. I would be interested in something like this focused around Rust instead of basic. Seems like it could be an interesting project. SBC + screen + simple terminal software environment. I mean maybe that's just Raspberry Pi OS & nvim/vscode/hx? Anybody have thoughts/ideas/suggestions/pointers?
Well, as you say you could just run an optimised Linux distro on a pi, and boot into Emacs for example. What interests me here is recapturing something like qbasic (which is what I started with)....
Well, as you say you could just run an optimised Linux distro on a pi, and boot into Emacs for example.
What interests me here is recapturing something like qbasic (which is what I started with). Qbasic wasn't just an editor which booted quickly - it also had an advanced debugger, and you could graphics, and it didn't need the internet. It was really easy just to focus on learning code, without getting bogged down in setting everything up.
If you could preconfigured a local crates.io cache, and some sample Cargo.tomls, I think that would be a nice experience. Emacs enables some graphics too. Or otherwise use kitty or something and neovim. Try and hide X/ Wayland if that makes sense
The fact that this doesn’t include a keyboard makes me wonder if this is a joke.
I don't think it's a joke, but it's really just a raspberry pi with a specific monitor and case. I would imagine the subset of people interested in this would rather buy a raspberry pi and a monitor and/or case that align with their specific use case?
And anything like that could also "boot straight into code" if needed. I would argue my old netbook is a better fit for that, minus the GPIO interface.
I was thinking similar. It feels like it's meant to be real, but I cannot figure out the target audience. A raspberry pi that is configured to be limited to an obscure OS focused around coding in an obscure language just feels odd.
You got me thinking about TCI-80's bartemetal releases.
I'm not really interested in the device, personally. But if I was looking for something like this, I would definitely prefer it without a tiny built-in keyboard. It has USB ports and Bluetooth, which means you can use whatever keyboard you want with it.
It does have a touchscreen, and while the primary use is as a toy / tool to learn programming, one might use this in projects where one might not wish any peripherals.
And this way, you can bring whateve peripherals you prefer.
I like the concept and I have a fair bit of nostalgia for the era they are talking about but ultimately it’s BSD, a highly advanced kernel that abstracts away all the real nitty gritty details. It’s just a simulation of the old school bare metal computing experience.
Oddly, there is a project out there that I think actually comes far closer to providing the experience the author is describing: TempleOS.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TempleOS
This is the real deal. Ring-0 only, raw memory access, access to assembly and its own well developed custom language (HolyC), boot straight to code.
I would have rather seen one based on a microcontroller instead of a SoC. There are quite a few interactive programming environments made for MCUs like NodeMCU and MicroPython/CircuitPython. I’ve already seen MicroPython in particular with a graphical interface used on calculators, and it is closer to the ideal of an immutable computer that the author describes in the about section of their website.
But in the end they also want to have it run their BASIC program so this is what they are making.
Is anyone maintaining or developing anything with TempleOS in any serious manner?
I’m sure TempleOS is abandonware at this point.
I’m unfamiliar with CircuitPython but I think Micropython is fully garbage collected and without raw memory access — again, very high level. I think to get the sort of familiarity with the foundational ideas of computing that I think the authors are hoping for, you need to get a bit more hands on with memory and devices. Aka C/assembly. But, that’s just my opinion.
TempleOS does actually have a form with active development, though thoroughly heretical to its original vision: https://github.com/Zeal-Operating-System/ZealOS
But 640x480x16 was commanded directly by God themself! Seriously though, this is cool. I may well install this.
CircuitPython is a fork of MicroPython designed with some API differences so it can address existing external C libraries more easily. You actually can read and write memory directly with MicroPython and using the machine module. CircuitPython doesn't have this as part, probably because of the difference in design philosophy.
But as these are for embedded systems, they can differ quite a lot depending on the platform they are built for. They're also open source so could be adapted for your use case scenario. Just because CircuitPython doesn't have the
machinemodule doesn't mean that you can't write a library or alter it to give your version of it those capabilities.There are also plenty of options of BASIC interpreters already available for embedded systems. The ESP32 actually has one built into ROM to use as a fallback for when the firmware fails, and there are more examples of BASIC interpreters than I could be bothered to list. I think that the most important thing to the person making this is that it could run the software that they have already made.
Those pages were quite the ride.
The sole developer behind TempleOS, Terry Davis, passed 7 years ago. TempleOS itself hasn't been developed further since.
I like the concept. I would be interested in something like this focused around Rust instead of basic. Seems like it could be an interesting project. SBC + screen + simple terminal software environment. I mean maybe that's just Raspberry Pi OS & nvim/vscode/hx? Anybody have thoughts/ideas/suggestions/pointers?
Well, as you say you could just run an optimised Linux distro on a pi, and boot into Emacs for example.
What interests me here is recapturing something like qbasic (which is what I started with). Qbasic wasn't just an editor which booted quickly - it also had an advanced debugger, and you could graphics, and it didn't need the internet. It was really easy just to focus on learning code, without getting bogged down in setting everything up.
If you could preconfigured a local crates.io cache, and some sample Cargo.tomls, I think that would be a nice experience. Emacs enables some graphics too. Or otherwise use kitty or something and neovim. Try and hide X/ Wayland if that makes sense