Kim Stanely Robinson is among the most influential authors within the sci-fi style, with a literary model that many discover to be elevated a step above what’s typical for style fiction. The Mars trilogy particularly, which begins with Pink Mars, could be very fashionable, with thousands and thousands of copies bought. Redditor Jiadarola likes constructing “writerdecks” for their very own work and located inspiration in Kim Stanley Robinson’s novels once they tackled this mission, appropriately referred to as the Robinson Writerdeck.
The time period “writedeck” is comparatively new and describes a sub-category of cyberdeck optimized for phrase processing. Usually, writerdecks reduce distractions by slicing the {hardware} right down to only a show, keyboard, and a system-on-chip (SoC) or microcontroller, so as to promote productive writing periods. They prioritize the sensible elements of churning out phrases, whereas discarding many of the “normal goal” performance we see in trendy computer systems, smartphones, and tablets.
Besides, Jiadarola did begin with one thing type of like a smartphone: the BOOX Palma 1. It’s an fascinating gadget that’s normally marketed as a phone-sized e-reader (it has a 6.13” show). It doesn’t have a mobile modem, nevertheless it runs Android and has apps, so it’s type of like a pill. However the show is ePaper, which permits for lengthy battery life and nice textual content readability.
Except for the potential for distractions due to its web entry and apps, the BOOX Palma 1 is fairly excellent for a writerdeck. It’s self-contained and able to go, so Jiadarola didn’t have to spend a bunch of time on cobbling collectively {hardware}, which might have been essential with a microcontroller improvement board or single-board pc.
Nonetheless, there was one different piece of the puzzle that was essential: the keyboard. Jiadarola selected a Keychron V2 Max keyboard, which is a mechanical keyboard well-regarded amongst individuals who care about this stuff. It connects to the BOOX Palma 1 by means of Bluetooth and Jiadarola personalized the keyboard with Drop MT3 keycaps.
The ultimate step was designing a 3D-printable enclosure to affix the BOOX Palma 1 and keyboard. Jiadarola took some design cues from the TRS-80 Mannequin 100, which was a conveyable pc from the early Nineteen Eighties. They then merged that with the emotions (and crimson colour) evoked by Robinson’s Mars trilogy. The end result has a type of cassette futurism vibe that appears nice and needs to be very purposeful.
