[HN Gopher] C100 Developer Terminal
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       C100 Developer Terminal
        
       Author : matthewsinclair
       Score  : 119 points
       Date   : 2025-11-26 23:22 UTC (23 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (caligra.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (caligra.com)
        
       | internetguy wrote:
       | their in-house Workbench distro seems really cool, looks super
       | light and minimalistic. IMHO it's also priced reasonably enough.
        
       | dkackman11 wrote:
       | sure hope you can choose which side that ten key is on
        
       | nsingh2 wrote:
       | That's quite the long esc key. An ortholinear layout would be
       | nice too.
        
       | doug_durham wrote:
       | "Get out of your way" is marketing speak to cover for missing
       | applications. I've rarely seen such a blatant piece of marketing.
       | "A computer for experts". Any computer with access to a terminal
       | prompt is a computer for experts.
        
         | notnmeyer wrote:
         | ehhhh, i disagree partially. a less cynical take would be to
         | call it "opinionated".
         | 
         | any computer can be for "experts", but that's not the same as
         | delivering something preconfigured and opinionated.
         | 
         | nobody has actually seen this thing in action yet, but in my
         | head it's hardware + some opinionated linux distro (i imagine
         | something like omarchy) + support.
         | 
         | certainly not what everybody would want, but if there are
         | people that enjoy configuring their systems then there's people
         | that don't.
        
         | stonogo wrote:
         | It's a Fedora spin.
        
       | rickcarlino wrote:
       | I'll be really happy if this becomes a market segment. A
       | commercial desktop specifically for technical users on Linux is
       | great to see.
        
         | overgard wrote:
         | System76 exists
        
         | mrgoldenbrown wrote:
         | What specific technical thing about this makes it appealing?
         | The marketing speak sounds nice but is there anything you're
         | seeing here that you wouldn't get in a MacBook or Thinkpad
         | equivalently priced? There is not much detail.
        
           | rickcarlino wrote:
           | I'm not endorsing the device. It might be mediocre, and the
           | company might be too. What I like is the direction. Most of
           | the criticism in this thread focuses on the marketing, but
           | that's actually the part I find interesting: it's explicitly
           | aimed at Linux-centric desktop users without pretending to be
           | "just like Windows" or trying to hide the fact that it's
           | Linux.
           | 
           | Plenty of people are frustrated with the current Windows
           | ecosystem (Microsoft account login really bothers me for a
           | lot of reasons). The market usually responds with one of two
           | things: a Windows laptop you can convert into a Linux
           | machine, or a Linux machine that tries very hard not to act
           | like one. This is at least purporting to be neither (maybe
           | they are full of shit, who knows). It's trying to sell a
           | finished, opinionated product for power users on Linux. Even
           | if this particular device ends up turning into the next
           | juicero/Rabbit R100, I'm glad to see someone treating that
           | segment as worth designing for.
           | 
           | So yeah computer vendors, go ahead and do this more I like
           | the vibes here even if I have no intention on buying right
           | now.
        
             | wmf wrote:
             | The philosophy does sound good but the implementation
             | appears to be skin deep. It's just not enough.
        
             | voidUpdate wrote:
             | > "a Windows laptop you can convert into a Linux machine,
             | or a Linux machine that tries very hard not to act like
             | one"
             | 
             | You can buy computers with nothing installed on them if you
             | want, and computer is computer (for the most part), so you
             | can run whatever you want on it. I think the linux space is
             | generally too fragmented into all the different distros to
             | offer a "linux laptop", because people will wonder why it's
             | not shipping with their favourite flavour of penguin
        
               | rickcarlino wrote:
               | > You can buy computers with nothing installed on them if
               | you want
               | 
               | There's nothing wrong with that approach, but this is
               | exactly the opposite of what I am saying.
               | 
               | To clarify, when you buy a computer with nothing on it,
               | you are actually buying a windows computer that had
               | windows removed or opted-out of. It was not built with
               | Linux in mind.
        
       | mapcars wrote:
       | Its cringe to see something for enthusiasts cost 2k$ and have a
       | keyboard layout from 100 years ago. I expect nothing less than
       | ortholinear with thumb clusters
        
       | keithnz wrote:
       | the choices made on the keyboard layout seem weird to me, though
       | I do like the left hand numpad. But the big esc? the Fn key up
       | top right seems like it makes key chords with it kind of hard. No
       | ins key? no prt scr? is that 3 ctrl keys? or is that a caps lock?
       | arrow keys etc seem a bit far away from main keyboard...
        
         | tom_ wrote:
         | Including the keyboard seems a strange choice, especially when
         | it's an oddity such as this one. Surely it'd be cheaper to add
         | an extra USB port and have the buyer supply their own? I mouse
         | left-handed, so a left hand numpad makes it an instant no from
         | me - but even if you don't care what I think (which you
         | shouldn't), there's so many other oddities in the layout as
         | well! Where's PrtSc? Why is the Esc key so gigantic? Why is F7
         | not in its normal place? And, wait a moment - what is PS doing
         | on 4? Why is EUR on 5?
         | 
         | This company is apparently based in London, but I wonder how
         | many UK residents were involved in the design of the keyboard
         | at least.
         | 
         | (I don't want to sound too mean though. It's no sin to attempt
         | to experiment with a potential new market segment.)
        
           | voidUpdate wrote:
           | From what I can tell, it's a US International layout (https:/
           | /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_and_American_keyboards...),
           | with some keys replaced with the mac equivalents
        
       | 29athrowaway wrote:
       | - $2,000 price
       | 
       | - GPU is equivalent to a NVIDIA RTX 1650
       | 
       | - "Low profile" mechanical keyboard rather than a regular
       | mechanical keyboard.
       | 
       | - Low modularity similar to a laptop.
       | 
       | - Holes right on the top where your spilled coffee goes
        
         | danpalmer wrote:
         | Nothing screams "designed to accelerate your work" than tightly
         | coupling the keyboard to all the rest of the hardware.
        
       | BrouteMinou wrote:
       | That's a weird keyboard, some computer specs and a weird linux
       | distro... that's going to cost you $2k.
       | 
       | $100 to have the rights to reserve one? That's really nice of
       | them.
       | 
       | Well... Good luck guys!
        
         | ErroneousBosh wrote:
         | > $100 to have the rights to reserve one? That's really nice of
         | them.
         | 
         | I paid PS100 for a couple of old Thinkpad T430s, one of which I
         | needed to spend a further PS30 on to replace the battery.
         | 
         | That would leave me with a lot of change from the two grand I
         | kind of don't have to spend on a toy computer that they won't
         | even publish specs for.
        
       | meonkeys wrote:
       | Hard pass. Another Linux laptop with another sus distro won't
       | teach anyone how to focus. Save a hand-me-down laptop from the
       | landfill, install a known good distro, and do the hard work of
       | culling distractions.
        
       | gorgoiler wrote:
       | I was hoping to see a flip up 12" x 4" screen. A bunch of devices
       | have been showing up recently with this particular format of
       | OLED. Here's one that may or may not be vaporware, but which
       | links to a couple of other devices with the same screen, so
       | presumably _something_ is shipping:
       | 
       | https://liliputing.com/kernelcom-is-a-compact-mini-laptop-wi...
       | 
       | Alas, this is more of a BBC B / Amiga format nostalgia fest, from
       | the homeland of the hipster dads, Central Shoreditch.
       | 
       | This device could certainly add real value though if the OS /
       | hardware integration gets nailed. That is, after all, where the
       | Raspberry Pi really shone brightly: defining a standardised and
       | _working_ platform.
        
         | flir wrote:
         | > the homeland of the hipster dads, Central Shoreditch
         | 
         | Old enough to remember when the hipsters moved in, I feel
         | vindicated. Vindicated!
         | 
         | (I like the beeb/amiga comparison, and I like the textured
         | case, but I don't like the left-hand numpad).
        
       | xorvoid wrote:
       | Here's someone trying to build a serious PC focused on Linux. But
       | the comments are very negative. And people wonder why the year of
       | the Linux desktop still haven't arrived.
       | 
       | If you want PCs targeting Linux with good support... don't
       | complain when someone tries doing exactly that.
        
         | summa_tech wrote:
         | I think a lot of the negativity comes from the odd choice of
         | keyboard layout.
         | 
         | You can think of it as a weirdness budget: this is an odd-
         | purposed device, running a specialty distribution of Linux by
         | design. It is not portable despite having portable-like specs.
         | And on top of this, it has an unusual keyboard layout.
         | 
         | It costs a lot of money and requires pre-orders, so you can't
         | even impulse buy it. You can't actually see if you'd like the
         | keyboard switch or layout in stores, either.
        
           | canucker2016 wrote:
           | I just assumed that the keyboard designer was a left-handed
           | accounting/Excel geek (numeric keypad on the left side of the
           | keyboard).
        
         | wmf wrote:
         | You can get a normal PC with Linux preinstalled from Lenovo,
         | Dell, Framework, System76, etc. This isn't bringing much new
         | other than a retro case, a few widgets, and pretentious
         | marketing. I understand that they're probably "lean' so the
         | first version isn't going to be impressive, but that means they
         | need to sell it below cost not at a premium.
        
         | keithnz wrote:
         | you should complain a lot when the offering is not great, odd
         | design decisions, bad price point, etc.... All of that is
         | information to make better offerings. Instead of this thing, I
         | think there are far better offerings from things like
         | https://system76.com/laptops
        
         | api wrote:
         | It's just not a good deal and it's a bit weird. A Framework
         | laptop or desktop, a DIY build, or any number of other brands
         | are better and sometimes cheaper.
        
         | chrsw wrote:
         | I could be wrong but I think a lot of the negativity comes from
         | people who want a modern laptop, with decent port selection, a
         | good screen and a good keyboard, fully supported by Linux
         | because everything is open. Quality hardware with support when
         | you want it and open documentation and open drivers if you want
         | to do something yourself. Like a MacBook Pro but with USB-A
         | ports and built with 100% Linux compatibility from the ground
         | up.
        
         | gyulai wrote:
         | > Here's someone _trying_ [...] don 't complain when someone
         | _tries_ doing exactly that.
         | 
         | From this site, we have no indication that any actual person is
         | putting any kind of good-faith effort towards _trying_ any
         | actual thing.
         | 
         | All we know is that a bunch of marketers are trying to find
         | out: Given a certain amount of marketing effort, how many
         | people can we sign up to a mailing list, and how many people
         | can we get to pay a $99 reservation fee, if the product
         | proposition is: You'll get a slick-looking "Developer-Terminal"
         | (specifics to be determined) for $1.999. -- Based on that, they
         | will decide whether they will lift a finger to figure out what
         | the product should actually be, let alone put any resources
         | towards developing it.
         | 
         | That's where the negativity comes from. They are eroding
         | people's good will. Good will that is sorely needed when actual
         | companies make actual products and need actual consumers to pay
         | attention to actual product launches.
        
       | necrotic_comp wrote:
       | This isn't made by developers, that's clear, and I don't think
       | it's going to be very functional. However, I do love the
       | aesthetic and I do love that someone is trying _something_ new.
        
         | garciasn wrote:
         | By new you mean they're making a 1980s all-in-one
         | keyboard/computer with the 10 key on the wrong side of the
         | keyboard running a version of a familiar-to-most-of-us OS that
         | isn't at all new looking?
         | 
         | I'm sorry; none of this is new to me except the absurd price
         | tag.
        
           | ash_091 wrote:
           | While I agree with your general sentiment, the 10 key being
           | on the "wrong" side could be good, perhaps, in some cases?
           | 
           | Historically I've done some heavy spreadsheet work where the
           | resting position of my hands which minimizes movement is
           | right hand on the mouse, left hand on the 10 keys. On a
           | normal keyboard that has the disadvantage of causing a
           | "closed" posture which isn't entirely comfortable.
           | 
           | Outside of that kind of niche use case though, it definitely
           | feels like a strange choice for developers.
        
       | StrLght wrote:
       | A laptop without a screen for the price of a regular laptop?
       | 
       | I get that economies of scale don't apply to something so niche,
       | but that's just a bad deal. I'd rather get Framework Desktop.
        
         | notnmeyer wrote:
         | a framework desktop and omarchy is conceptually 98% of what the
         | c100 purports to be.
        
           | pkd wrote:
           | No need for a boatload of shell scripts that's omarchy. Just
           | install any distro and get going.
        
             | notnmeyer wrote:
             | different strokes dude
        
               | pkd wrote:
               | Fair. Just wanted to provide my stroke and warn people
               | about a low quality, overhyped project. Doesn't mean it
               | shouldn't exist or people can't use it.
        
               | vorpalhex wrote:
               | I've been very pleased with omarchy. Most linux distros
               | were "just shell scripts" for 30+ years. Many still are.
        
               | boesboes wrote:
               | yeah, I don't get the haye, just a few years ago people
               | were fighting systemd for taking away their shell
               | scripts.
        
               | NaomiLehman wrote:
               | pretty sure everyone on hackernews knows this
        
             | zeendo wrote:
             | Agreed. The weird shilling of this nonsense is exhausting.
        
       | notnmeyer wrote:
       | i've been following this for a while and still find it completely
       | wild that you can preorder but there's effectively no details.
       | 
       | theres a couple completely unimpressive videos (like 15s long)
       | from employees on linkedin where they show off... tiling window
       | management.
        
       | data-ottawa wrote:
       | Beautiful webpage but I would like to know more about both the
       | machine and the OS.
        
       | danpalmer wrote:
       | Who is this for?
       | 
       | Because it's not for the developers I know - they either want a
       | Macbook or an infinitely configurable (hardware and software)
       | workstation, whereas this has the configurability of a Macbook
       | with the ease of use of the workstation, clearly not a
       | combination people want.
       | 
       | I can only assume this is for mechanical keyboard collectors.
       | Developer-adjacent tech enthusiasts who like the idea of Linux,
       | without an actual professional need for it. People who like well
       | built devices, but don't really care about swapping out hardware.
       | People who have a lot of disposable income and want to buy cool
       | things.
       | 
       | If that's the target market, that's fine. I guess the problem is
       | that market only buys it if you claim its for a different market,
       | developers/etc. As a result it's going to rile up developers
       | every time as they always feel the need to push back with "this
       | isn't what I want".
        
         | _dan wrote:
         | The uniform stagger is likely to make most keyboard nerds turn
         | their noses up too.
        
         | viraptor wrote:
         | > Who is this for?
         | 
         | Probably people who see this and experience extreme confused
         | nostalgia for the unholy merge of IBM and Commodore esthetic.
         | It makes no practical sense, it's overpriced, it's a terrible
         | use of space and I still crave it.
        
           | noobermin wrote:
           | If they were going for the commodore aesthetic, 1) may be
           | don't call it workbench OS to confuse people and 2) the
           | numpad (if it was called that then) is on the wrong side. It
           | was on the right on the C64 and the amiga alike like it was.
           | 
           | Would this benefit left handed users? I know people call for
           | reversing mouse buttons and mouse hands but I've never seen
           | an ask for flipping the position of the numpad.
        
             | viraptor wrote:
             | They don't have to replicate everything exactly as it was
             | in the original machines to give the right vibe. It's
             | similar, not a retrocomputing reproduction. Also Amiga was
             | made by Commodore - it's in the same family. I don't expect
             | anyone to be confused by the workbench naming though - it's
             | a weird name, but why would anyone stick the actual
             | workbench os on a multi-GB machine?
        
             | voidUpdate wrote:
             | As a leftie, I've never really used a keyboard and mouse
             | "left handed". It's too much hassle to have to keep
             | swapping things around when you live in a household of
             | righties, so I just learned to use stuff the "normal" way
             | around. In situations where there is an obvious physical
             | disadvantage to using right handed items (eg scissors),
             | I'll do my best to find a leftie equivalent, but it sounds
             | like more hassle than it's worth to do the same with a
             | mouse and keyboard. I can't draw for the life of me with a
             | mouse, but that doesn't come up much. I don't really see
             | the point of a left side numpad, though TBH I rarely use
             | one anyways
        
               | cgriswald wrote:
               | As a lefty who is proficient with the numpad, I'd adapt
               | quickly to it being on the left, but I wouldn't
               | ultimately be any faster with it, regardless of whether
               | key order was reversed or kept the same.
               | 
               | I also don't think I've ever seen a lefty who prefers (or
               | at least regularly uses) a left mouse. I adjusted to
               | right for the same reason as you, but I also think being
               | able to type one handed with my left while mousing with
               | my right is superior to its opposite for me.
        
               | voidUpdate wrote:
               | I would generally type with both hands at the same time,
               | but it is useful to be able to mouse with my right hand
               | and do the common shortcuts (ctrl+z,x,c,v) with my left.
               | I don't know how that would work if I was mousing with my
               | left hand. I'd have to control with my index finger and
               | do the shortcut with my little finger? sounds awful lol
        
           | ErroneousBosh wrote:
           | I got an Apple IIc vibe off it at first, but then I saw it as
           | more like a Commodore 64C, and now I cannot unsee that.
        
         | haskman wrote:
         | > Because it's not for the developers I know - they either want
         | a Macbook or an infinitely configurable (hardware and software)
         | workstation
         | 
         | I know lots of developers (me included) who want something
         | solid and stable and Linux, i.e. definitely not a macbook
        
         | ErroneousBosh wrote:
         | I don't know either. I'm a developer, a very old grumpy beardy
         | one at that. My "expert development workstation" since I began
         | hacking on Linux almost 30 years ago has been "whatever's the
         | fastest thing in the e-waste skip, crammed full of as much
         | memory as I can pilfer from the rest of the scrap", and then
         | with a brand new disk at the best price-per-gigabyte ratio I
         | can get this afternoon from the totally-not-drug-money-
         | laundering discount PC parts shop in town.
         | 
         | I don't think I've ever spent "real money" on a PC for my own
         | use, and I doubt I ever will.
         | 
         | I suspect my experience mirrors that of about 50% of the folk
         | on HN.
        
           | NoGravitas wrote:
           | Probably more like 20%, but it's the cool 20%.
        
           | sigwinch wrote:
           | I'm like this, except after reseating DRAM enough times I now
           | indulge in ECC.
        
             | ErroneousBosh wrote:
             | Tin of Servisol and a bit of printer paper wrapped around a
             | bank card.
        
       | OzzyB wrote:
       | Put in a couple of MIDI ports and I'll pretend it's a modern day
       | Atari ST and run some Cubase...
        
       | jovial_cavalier wrote:
       | There are huge black rectangles where screenshots should go. I'm
       | assuming that's not supposed to be there...
        
         | wmf wrote:
         | The screenshots are there. I think your browser is not loading
         | them.
        
           | jovial_cavalier wrote:
           | It was because autoplay was disabled
        
       | brandonmenc wrote:
       | If Teenage Engineering made a computer.
       | 
       | Expensive, not ergonomic, probably totally useless.
        
         | slmjkdbtl wrote:
         | I wouldn't say TE's products are not ergonomic and totally
         | useless
        
           | 0123456789ABCDE wrote:
           | they are expensive over-engineered toys for millennials with
           | a bad case of arrested development and enough disposable
           | income to afford it
           | 
           | _op-1 owner_
        
             | slmjkdbtl wrote:
             | op-1 is the most notorious one, but they do have some well
             | designed not over-priced products
        
         | jwr wrote:
         | It's funny how price triggers people. Let them price their
         | products however they will :-)
         | 
         | As a counterpoint, EP-133 (KO-II) is a very interestingly
         | designed product that is ergonomic, quite useful, and gets a
         | specific job done very, very well. The price also has fewer
         | digits, so perhaps it doesn't trigger people as much as other
         | products do.
        
         | ErroneousBosh wrote:
         | > If Teenage Engineering made a computer.
         | 
         | Nailed it.
        
       | TheRoque wrote:
       | Might be worth to buy just for the parts
        
         | wmf wrote:
         | It's $1,000 worth of parts. (Although 96 GB of RAM could be
         | worth $10,000 soon enough.)
        
       | emantos wrote:
       | So, basically, a headless laptop with a custom linux distro. 2K
       | at that.
       | 
       | Alrighty then.
        
       | kaladin-jasnah wrote:
       | A few things about this stand out:
       | 
       | - Calligra with two 'l's is the name of a KDE office suite.
       | 
       | - Why does the keyboard have macOS keys? At least as a Linux
       | user, I've felt like most Linux desktops reflect the Windows
       | keyboard layout more.
       | 
       | - Can I have pictures of the internals of the machine, or is this
       | a 3D rendering?
       | 
       | - The Workbench OS makes a lot of claims that I want more
       | information about. Is this a rice on a common WM or something
       | they made themselves? Why is it "suitable for sovereign and
       | secure deployments"? Won't having homebrew and DNF lead to
       | conflicts (this is more of a general question, since I genuinely
       | don't know)?
       | 
       | Nonetheless, I have to say that it does look cool from a design
       | perspective, and with the pace of DRAM prices, maybe the actual
       | system price won't actually be that crazy in a few months.
        
         | sho_hn wrote:
         | To be honest, every time I see something this paper-thin yet
         | slick and polished, I just assume it's mostly AI slop. The
         | barrier to launching vaporware has never been lower.
         | 
         | Content over presentation is a signal for quality more than
         | ever.
        
           | worthless-trash wrote:
           | IIRC there was a live stream where the creator went over the
           | prototype.
        
         | noobermin wrote:
         | So this probably should be the top comment, but I'll reply to
         | add to my nitpicks. Calling it workbench OS does confuse a bit
         | from the amiga workbench, although I doubt these people are
         | aware of that.
        
           | xp84 wrote:
           | "Confuse a bit"
           | 
           | I highly doubt anyone is "dailying" an Amiga today for any
           | actual work (other than retro fun), so I suspect there won't
           | be even a single person who expects this to be compatible
           | with Amiga.
           | 
           | Likewise anyone looking for like a FPGA new Amiga hardware
           | knows anything that says it's got a Ryzen is not the droid
           | they're looking for.
        
         | ErroneousBosh wrote:
         | > Why is it "suitable for sovereign and secure deployments"?
         | 
         | It doesn't have device "drivers", it has device _travellers_.
         | 
         | When you go to shut it down it pops up an annoying dialogue box
         | saying that its "First Amendment Rights Are Being Violated"
         | that won't go away, even though it's made in Shoreditch which
         | is nowhere near the US and therefore the US constitution is
         | about as relevant as Kenya's.
        
       | rvz wrote:
       | This product is a massive downgrade and the price is devoid from
       | the functionality that you can get from a typical laptop.
       | 
       | A Macbook Pro M5 running Asahi Linux would still be more cheaper
       | than this trash scam.
       | 
       | No thanks and no deal.
        
         | shinryuu wrote:
         | Except asahi doesn't run on m5
        
       | chenzhekl wrote:
       | I don't quite get who the product targets. The only advantage I
       | can think of is its retro design and its unique OS. But honestly,
       | they are not attractive enough for me to pay 2k USD. I could
       | build a more powerful server with the same money.
        
       | constantcrying wrote:
       | The hardware is totally ridiculous for the price. You are paying
       | _a lot_ of money so that the CPU can be close to your fingers,
       | instead of in a much better cooled box half a meter away.
       | 
       | The OS is totally mysterious. What exactly is it? Just Fedora
       | with a custom rice of some wm?
       | 
       | By the way "Entertainment, Advertising, Shopping, Attack Surface,
       | Distraction" is something you do not have in most distros anyway.
       | So hardly a selling point.
       | 
       | Who is this for? Companies with too much money? Individuals with
       | some aesthetic sensibilities for putting your hardware right
       | below your keyboard?
        
       | kragen wrote:
       | Not much of a terminal without a monitor, is it? Or is its output
       | entirely audio?
       | 
       | I'm curious what the physical size of the machine is. Is it GPD
       | MicroPC-sized or are we talking about a normal laptop? 100g or
       | 10kg?
       | 
       | When I worked in a call center I learned to use the Data General
       | terminal's keypad to type in people's credit card numbers as fast
       | as people could say them. I would not want to use this keypad
       | because I wouldn't be able to use my right hand on it, and that's
       | the hand that knows the keypad. Then again, I don't do that much
       | numeric data entry these days.
       | 
       | What's the [?] "interesting feature" key for?
        
         | NaomiLehman wrote:
         | [?] is Mac's Command key. No idea what it's doing there.
        
           | kragen wrote:
           | Right, Susan Kare found it in her international symbol
           | dictionary: https://www.folklore.org/Swedish_Campground.html?
           | sort=date?s...
           | 
           | But what I mean is, what X-Windows keysym and modifier does
           | it map to?
        
       | bitwize wrote:
       | Ooooh, someone is asking for it from Amiga fans. Marketing an AIO
       | keyboard PC with a deep back and calling the OS "Workbench"?
       | 
       | Courteous of them to put the numpad on the left where it BELONGS
       | (apologies to late-80s Northgate Systems). And it's funny because
       | I was just watching a vid about the Asus Eee Keyboard PC
       | (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus_Eee#Eee_Keyboard) that this
       | looks like a modern version of.
       | 
       | Much better specs than that old thing though, but given that it
       | has a "vibe-designed" look about it, I think I'll pass on
       | preordering.
        
       | gapan wrote:
       | "We've removed the distractions..." So, no browser is included
       | then? That won't be very useful.
       | 
       | And also "Commercial-grade media support". Those two things are
       | at odds, aren't they?
       | 
       | And why is it a "terminal" and not a "computer"? Is it because
       | "terminal" is a geeky word?
       | 
       | And no pictures, other than the very obvious render? How thick is
       | it? What kind of connectivity/ports does it have? Is it
       | completely flat, or wedge shaped? Can the keyboard be detached
       | somehow? What's the deal with those weird keys? What does it look
       | on the inside? What's the software that it's actually using? What
       | WM is that? Can I install it on my laptop? Where is the source
       | code? So many questions.
       | 
       | It looks a lot like vapourware to me. And at that price point,
       | I'm not sure who is going to buy that.
        
         | berkes wrote:
         | I think a very common misconception makes this a terrible idea.
         | 
         | We, developers, are also "common computer users". Just like a
         | sound engineer, a graphic designer, a movie editor, or any
         | specialist, really, has fancy hard- and software, but remains
         | also a "general user".
         | 
         | I have to do my taxes. Write a CV, or a speech. I have to make
         | a presentation. I want to watch netflix. Listen to spotify.
         | Must use trello, read my email, or use that abysmal internal
         | time tracker. Play a game. Order new sneakers. Find a
         | restaurant. And no, I don't do all that in emacs, terminal,
         | bash scripts and lynx. Like every "general computer user" I use
         | my computer for those things as well.
         | 
         | Despite what Hollywood makes it look like, developers, hackers,
         | sw architects, sw engineers etc do use the stuff that everyone
         | uses as well. Commonly and often.
        
           | actionfromafar wrote:
           | But sometimes it's helpful to have two computers, one for
           | "deep work" and one for all of that stuff.
        
             | berkes wrote:
             | Maybe.
             | 
             | It's not common amongst any of the developers I see in my
             | bubble. Could be my bubble. And it doesn't mean this
             | practice of having one machine for all uses, is actually
             | "good".
             | 
             | Though personally, i'd dislike the idea of having to
             | maintain, update, etc multiple machines. And to sync
             | data/logins/documents/tools between the two.
             | 
             | I like grepping through my "Administration/invoices". I
             | prefer putting "Documents/contracts/" under git, eventhough
             | all are pdfs and word. I need my todo-list to be a mix of
             | work related and personal tasks.
             | 
             | Also, I listen spotify when I work. I check or answer work
             | and personal mail when waiting for a meeting to start. I
             | use my notes for work and private. Same for password
             | manager, calendar.
             | 
             | In my case, the line is too blurred to be able to switch
             | between machines. Theyll very much overlap, making having
             | two a burden rather than a benefit.
             | 
             | But that's me.
        
               | marssaxman wrote:
               | It might not be a good idea if you have any concern that
               | the company you work for may ever be involved in
               | litigation. This was part of the training when I joined
               | Microsoft, many years ago, as a result of the big
               | antitrust trial: anything at all that you do on your work
               | computer or the company network might someday be subject
               | to discovery. I have since maintained a strict separation
               | between work accounts, data, and activities, which exist
               | only on company-owned hardware, and my own personal data,
               | which only lives on my own personal hardware.
               | 
               | Some companies are strict about firewalling corporate
               | data in, but I think it's also important for us to
               | protect ourselves by keeping our personal data out.
        
               | xp84 wrote:
               | This is extremely good advice. It's frequently at odds
               | with convenience, since things like iPhone screen
               | mirroring, iPad as a 2nd display, etc. practically beg
               | for you to sign into your work laptop with your personal
               | Apple ID. All I can say is resist the urge to do such
               | things.
               | 
               | I do keep a browser profile on the work machine signed
               | into personal accounts, and do everything personal only
               | in that browser, but even that is probably a mistake.
               | Screen-sharing to home would be a much better compromise,
               | unfortunately my gigabit internet comes with like 50Mbps
               | upload so screen sharing sucks.
        
         | OhMeadhbh wrote:
         | I live in a world with lots of custom x11 apps. Unfortunately,
         | browsers couldn't historically consume enough data fast enough
         | (though that's probably changed I. He last several years.)
         | 
         | Not everything in the world is a browser.
         | 
         | I'm guessing they're targeting people who currently use
         | something like a Bloomberg terminal and used the word
         | "terminal" because that community already used it.
         | 
         | I'm vaguely interested in looking at new window managers. I3 is
         | nice but isn't perfect. I'm happy to look at new ways of doing
         | things. It seems a bit retro to tie a specific WM or a specific
         | Distro to a specific bit of hardware. Sort of like a MBP with
         | macOS.
        
         | xp84 wrote:
         | >At that price point
         | 
         | Idk, 96GB of Ram and 1TB of storage on a Mac Studio is $3999.
         | At least this one comes with a keyboard.
        
       | october8140 wrote:
       | Computer for Experts(tm)
        
       | october8140 wrote:
       | This looks like the next Trump Phone.
        
       | jackjeff wrote:
       | Is there any videos of this thing or maybe just the OS?
        
       | boesboes wrote:
       | Too expensive. I want something like this, minimalist hardware
       | and a opinionated linux distro with minimal fluff. No screen
       | persee, bit of a cyberdeck vibe maybe. This just seems overkill
       | for running a terminal though
        
       | jwr wrote:
       | I love the fact that somebody tries to do something with
       | computers and computing!
       | 
       | Rather than being the usual bunch of grumpy armchair critics
       | (raah raah, too expensive, raah raah, suboptimal GPU), we should
       | be happy that there are still people who are willing to ignore
       | the Statlers & Waldorfs of HN and try to compete with the current
       | status quo.
        
         | card_zero wrote:
         | Do you feel grumpy about these grumpy critics, or critical of
         | them?
        
       | Uptrenda wrote:
       | ive seen this advertised for months now. still have no idea what
       | the hell it is.
        
       | jensgk wrote:
       | It's an odd keyboard layout for a Linux computer. They should
       | have gone with what I consider the true Unix layout - the Sun
       | Microsystems Type 7 Unix keyboard: https://imgur.com/PftSNnk
        
       | berkes wrote:
       | While I do applaud the idea of "re-thinking the computer for
       | deverlopers", this looks little more than "thinking", to me.
       | 
       | A back of a beermat business idea, pulled through an expensive
       | marketing machine.
       | 
       | My rule of thumb: if something has a concrete price, but the
       | something itself isn't made yet, it's either way too expensive or
       | a ploy or both.
       | 
       | Maybe its a "find if there's need for it" phase. But if you
       | cannot make that "it" concrete, I -and I suspect many more of the
       | target audience- cannot answer this question.
       | 
       | So yes: kudos for bringing up the "developers need other hard and
       | software than general audience" idea. But I would strongly advice
       | to first make it concrete and deliver pieces and parts. Release
       | the DE and OS so we can experience if this solves "problems" that
       | devs have. Finetune that. Again. And again. Then pair it with
       | hardware. Personally, I'd go for hardware thats already popular
       | with devs.
       | 
       | For me, thatd be: Ship me a high end Lenovo, with Ubuntu1 pre-
       | installed and loaded with software like neovim, zsh, git,
       | ripgrep, chrome, firefox, zed, slack (we all require it, don't
       | we?) vscode. Maybe some icing like starship, a nice theme. It
       | could be opinionated or extremely configurable (and remain stable
       | at that over years).
       | 
       | Or, on second thought: I have all that. So what problem does this
       | solve?
        
       | sylware wrote:
       | Until this 'linux based' OS is ultra minimal, including the SDK
       | (exclude de facto ultra-complex syntax languages).
        
       | Pop_- wrote:
       | I just scanned through their ToS, "pre-installed with the
       | proprietary Linux OS". Looks not good to me lol.
        
       | oh-my-god wrote:
       | Vaporware
        
       | gt0 wrote:
       | I've been following this for a while, great looking hardware, but
       | the target market knows how to buy a computer, they don't need
       | custom boxes.
       | 
       | For me this is a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist.
       | I like the look, but it wouldn't even really suit my desk, I like
       | to have my keyboard push quite far forward, and the back of this
       | C100 would prevent that.
       | 
       | Really nice, might even buy one, but there is no way this
       | succeeds long term.
        
       | voidUpdate wrote:
       | 96GB is a hell of a lot of ram for a terminal... Am I using my
       | terminal wrong?
        
       | thw_9a83c wrote:
       | There are few more photos of this HW here [1] and [2]. Apparently
       | a real HW already exists. Also, it seems there is a storage space
       | inside the box [3] and that the keyboard is foldable..
       | 
       | [1]: https://www.pentagram.com/news/caligra-computers-for-experts
       | 
       | [2]: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPEvytujE4k/
       | 
       | [3]: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPEvytujE4k/?img_index=8
        
         | TheOtherHobbes wrote:
         | Wait - _Pentagram_ designed a computer?
         | 
         | Definitely not a company with deep experience of developer
         | culture.
         | 
         | I expect this will look slick and have a few nice features, but
         | there's going to be a lot of "How do I...?" "No."
        
         | AJ007 wrote:
         | Seeing the height and angle, I would question how comfortable
         | that keyboard is.
         | 
         | The whole project looks like a special edition collectors item,
         | not something anyone would use.
        
       | bilekas wrote:
       | > Computers for Experts(tm)
       | 
       | I do find it funny they were able to trademark that kind of
       | statement.
       | 
       | Not really sure I am the target audience for this, actually I'm
       | not really sure who is to be honest.
        
         | feketegy wrote:
         | This is from their privacy policy page:
         | 
         | > 9.2. Trademarks: "c100", "Caligra" and all associated logos
         | and trade dress are registered or unregistered trademarks of
         | Caligra Ltd. You may not use any of Caligra Ltd's trademarks
         | without express written permission.
         | 
         | "Computer for Experts" may be trademarked, but it's unlikely
        
       | newsclues wrote:
       | Is the market engineers and scientists, rather than devs?
        
       | K0balt wrote:
       | Why do I feel like this is kinda like the hipster carrying his
       | typewriter on the bus?
       | 
       | It seems like stuff like this is more about presenting an
       | "identity " instead of actually doing anything real. My immediate
       | assumption from seeing someone with this would be that they are
       | more about appearing to do a thing than actually doing it... so
       | perhaps a good ux designer.
        
         | OhMeadhbh wrote:
         | Right. Apple spent DECADES working on developers to make MBPs
         | the exemplar hipster dev accessory
        
       | actinium226 wrote:
       | There are some way cooler versions of this over on
       | https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/
        
         | Minor49er wrote:
         | If by "cooler" you mean "way more difficult and awkward than
         | just using a laptop" then you're right
        
       | andsoitis wrote:
       | Given target market, I'm very surprised at lack of detailed
       | technical specifications.
       | 
       | Secondly, I find it odd to see the numpad on the left side of the
       | keyboard, rather than on the right. Maybe the ergonomics are
       | fine, but it caught my eye as unexpected.
        
         | A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 wrote:
         | Actually, that was the one thing that got my attention (
         | throwback to very old days ). Still, muscle memory would be a
         | pain now.
        
       | bmn__ wrote:
       | The first thing I see is the badly designed keyboard.
       | 
       | The legends have insufficient contrast and quite a number of them
       | are too small to read. The legends for 2, 3, home, end, page up,
       | page down, return, control, num lock and the four arrows are
       | wrong, or in the case of escape, do not fit the theme. Minus and
       | underscore are indistinguishable from each other. The small
       | letter g has the wrong font weight. The level 3 and 4 legends are
       | incongruent with /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/eu. Despite level 3
       | and 4 legends, there is no level 3 shift key. The return key is
       | misshapen and the escape key has a grotesquely large size. The
       | place of the insert key is usurped by the fn key.
       | 
       | I would behoove the designer to pay attention to ISO 9995 and
       | verify the result with users before sending it off to
       | manufacturing, the company could have avoided a lot of trouble.
        
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