Engineer Brian Benchoff has designed a pocket PC that is capable of running Linux and would cost about $15 . Yes, seriously, less than that Raspberry you have at home and which you don’t use. With a screen and even a keyboard , it offers a frankly curious handheld console-style design. He calls it the “minimum viable computer,” but that $15 price tag is tricky. We tell you all the details, because for those of us who try any technological gadget, it is very interesting.
There are all kinds of computer projects, but one of the most curious is “the minimum viable computer” proposed by Brian Benchoff , an engineer specializing in embedded systems , embedded systems and hardware devices.
With extensive experience in making a computer out of anything (he was the editor of the famous Hackaday website for 7 years), he has presented the concept of a Linux handheld computer , powered by an ARM9 Allwinner F1C100s processor.
You’re not going to win any races with that, we anticipate that, but we’re talking about it could fit in your pocket and should cost about $15 to make.
The cheapest computer in the world and Viagra
It is already known that it is said that making a Viagra barely costs pennies, but the first one cost millions in research and testing. With this computer, the same thing happens a bit, the trick of the 15 dollars is that that would be the cost of a large-scale manufacturing .
Any geek who has bought niche products that are made in small batches knows how cost-prohibitive this system is, which is why Benchoff himself concludes that a single prototype would cost $10,000 to make.
And because? Good question, it doesn’t fully clarify it, but we assume that it comes, mainly, from the payment of the dedicated engineering hours or the cost of the molds of a massive industrial manufacturing that was not 3D printing.
Because the rest of the computer is quite modest.
The characteristics of the minimum viable computer
Open source, you have all the details on its website . It would come with 32MB or 64MB of RAM, a 2.3-inch color screen, a 48-key keyboard , cheap old-fashioned calculator, a USB port, a microSD for storage, and two AAA batteries to power it. These can be rechargeable by the USB-C that it carries, which is appreciated.
The modest nature of the components means that, at cost price, it actually costs about 15 dollars to manufacture at scale.
And what can you do with it?
Let’s get the meme out of the way. No, it can’t run Crysis , but yes, it can run Doom . Of course, forget about a complete desktop environment to handle it on a day-to-day basis.
You are restricted to the Linux terminal, but every fan of it knows that this is enough for the most geeks .
That it runs code and text editors like Vim, and you can run or create scripts, that gives you ideas. You could also program that block of basic code and write anywhere, not the novel of your life, but, sacrificing a couple of diopters, it would be ideal for taking notes on those boring subway rides.
In short, one of those precious and meritorious things that would be parked on a day-to-day basis, but that I feel I need to buy. And I don’t know why or what for. The story of my life.