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The Typeframe PX-88 Portable Computing System

124 points by birdculture

by rwl4

3 subcomments

These kinds of products are drop dead gorgeous to me. Any time I see a device that has an Amiga 500 form factor or similar, I feel a compulsive urge to click buy. But after many, many of such purchases, I've learned my lesson.
I buy it, I play with it a little bit, but the reality is my phone, iPad, or my laptop can do every single thing better.
Maybe not with the same swagger. But ultimately, as I get older I realize I'm trying to produce with the least friction possible, and usually these devices have either highly constrained touch interfaces, shrunken keyboards, or both.
I've always said that if somebody would create a new HP 200LX device with the same chicklet keyboard that I'd buy it in an instant. But now I realize that "ideal" device for me just reaches back to my contextual memory of state of the art devices of the time. A time when we couldn't type on a 6" screen, or use a detachable keyboard. So a chiclet keyboard you could thumb type at 40wpm was a revelation. But we have come a long way.
In the end, alas, these devices really are just a novelty, at least for me.

by DannyPage

1 subcomments

The website design and product reminds me of the c100 - https://caligra.com/
But this makes a lot more sense, can DIY, and uses the full body with the embedded touchscreen.

by jhbadger

2 subcomments

Needs microcassette drives like the original PX-8 (which I actually had for a time, although after it was discontinued and sold by liquidators for a fraction of its former list price).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epson_PX-8_Geneva

by mikerg87

1 subcomments

Any comment on the battery life? My TRS-80 model 100 could get about 2 full work days on two AA batteries.

by weddpros

0 subcomment

I dearly remember seeing a PX-8 in the hands of a person (was it by a pool?) and thinking "it would be so nice if work could look like that". It must have been Byte magazine?
I was a kid in France, now I'm working remotely from Bangkok: dreams come true after all.

by spants

0 subcomment

I used to sell the Epson Px8 and the NEC 8201, referenced here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/vintagecomputing/comments/fhfmzn/th...
Nice bits of kit, but as I am old now.... my eyes don't work as well as needed for these small screens.

by b800h

0 subcomment

Launch a Kickstarter to make pre-built versions of this IMMEDIATELY.

by rcarmo

0 subcomment

I like this kind of thing, but like many on this thread have mixed feelings. nostalgia vs the cyberdeck concept vs practicality don’t really yield a good enough appraisal.
Still, it’s a nice design. But the iPad Mini I’m typing this on (even without a physical keyboard) can do so much more.

by hulitu

0 subcomment

> The Typeframe PX-88 Portable Computing System
So it is a Raspberry Pi 4 c with 2 microHDMI and a strange keyboard. You need an adapter to connect it to a monitor or TV. Oh, no. It has a very small touch screen as a display.
I'm sure gnome-session will look great on it.

by bitwize

0 subcomment

Holy crap, the front copy on this web site even reads like an 80s PC Magazine ad.

by exasperaited

0 subcomment

Instantly in love with the 80s ad design cues in the website design. Disappointing that the 3D design files are Fusion, though; this is fully within FreeCAD’s scope.

by c0nsumer

0 subcomment

This is really neat, but it bugs me that the screen isn't centered on the keyboard.

by chaostheory

0 subcomment

I would get rid of the screen and replace it with projection glasses.

by Animats

1 subcomments

What does the red PANIC button on the keyboard do?

0 subcomment

by protocolture

1 subcomments

I honestly need ~5 of these. But the sequel product might suit my use case even better.
Wondering if I can make this cheaper.
Merge some of the parts together into a single piece. Instead of the Power Hat and battery I could maybe just squeeze a commercial Power Bank inside.

by ZeroConcerns

4 subcomments

Yeah, lovely... But can we please stop retconning obsolete technology into something to strive for? The Epson, Tandy, Psion and Nokia almost-like-a-laptop systems of the time were pretty neat, but not magic.
Really: you could lock me into a room with just a pencil and a ream of blank sheets, and nothing of value would come out, and that's not because of the technology or the distractions, but just... well...