[Tinkerphones] New tinkerphone gadgets in Goldelico shop?

[Paul Boddie]

On Friday 3. November 2017 09.21.37 H. Nikolaus Schaller wrote:
> 
> And more generally, this is in the area of software we offer for free and
> not new hardware / gadgets / services we could put in a shop.
> 
> Any wishes for gadgets, accessories, tools, breakout boards, pocket bones,
> Pyra-phone, OMAP5 CPU board, i.MX6 board, Qi charger for GTA01/02/04, ...?

I know you've been doing work for the Pyra project, and I guess that the OMAP5 
board is what you were calling "Letux Cortex 15" and that there was also a 
"Letux Cortex 8" board. So it would be interesting to know what your plans 
would be for those.

To an extent, I think interest is growing in modular solutions. People try and 
shoehorn things like the Raspberry Pi Zero into things like the ZeroPhone 
(mentioned on this list before). Fairphone has adopted some modularity and 
recently advertised their camera upgrade, although we all know that it is 
possible to do the same with the GTA01/02/04. I suppose that products like 
PocketBeagle and Raspberry Pi Zero (and all the USB stick devices) are almost 
like steps along a road towards discovering what usable and interchangeable 
hardware modules might be like.

There are also initiatives like EOMA68 (proceeding rather slowly, but 
hopefully approaching completion of its first phase) which try and package up 
functionality into something compact and convenient. Although such things must 
compromise on performance, they potentially let people think about the other 
aspects of devices rather than having to struggle with making a mainboard 
every time, only then to have to struggle with other tasks that are also 
difficult, like making the casing and getting the ergonomics right.

Of course, modules aren't everything. It is arguably better to have complete 
products with particular purposes in mind as well. Things like "plug 
computers" or "desktop-side servers" or "storage appliances" seem fairly 
popular. Having got myself a MIPS Creator CI20 partly to motivate experiments 
with the Ingenic SoCs, the Letux 400 Minibook, and so on, it makes me wonder 
whether most single-board computers are as half-finished and as awkward to set 
up correctly as that one.

I think there are plenty of opportunities for hardware products that are well-
designed and just get the job done.

Paul