GNU ThickPad

[mikemex]

I just made a logo!

https://pasteboard.co/BzD9PiXTSuZL.png

Let's admit it: big corporations (such as Lenovo) just have different goals than us. If we really want a new Thinkpad, we'll have to make it ourselves. And with the RISC V platforms literally just around the corner, this might not necessarily be a fantasy.

Think of open software, open hardware, function over form. Think of ThickPad.

[Utwig]

I think guys from Tex design who made classic inspired keyboard are the most competent.

We should assess ballpark of what is needed to get this going.
- what are most important components that make a Thinkpad and what is marketable and doable
- keyboard is the most important, so I would go with developing remake of classic standalone keyboard as CPU, motherboard, screen can be easily sourced
- thinklight, fn button functions, volume buttons - BIOS
- old Thinkpads were fast, thin (for the time), small bezels, robust, quiet, had good cooling, functional, removable battery

- What would it take to develop a single 14" or 15" model that can be updated every 2 years or so with new chipset and CPU, how much of generic stuff could we reuse

While I'm running Linux, locking out Windows would reduce target market size. I think Risc V laptop would only sell up to 100 copies at most, while arm or x86-64 would sell a lot more. I'm all for opensource firmware but you should still be able to run Windows.

You would probably need a team of 10-20 people working for about a year, so development costs would be around 500k to 1 million.

You would need to sell at least 1000 laptops to cover costs of development for 2.5k at 1k markup (development cost is high due to small series), probably doable. The end product wouldn't be cheap but new classic Thinkpads were never cheap.

Is a business plan that could get off the ground by making keyboard first and then some other products to fund development of RealBlack (that would by my codename) doable. If we go crowdfunding we would need a team that has gotten products out the door before. Raising couple of million and then failing or going over budget is extremely risky. The 1st gen would probably have to be evolution of generic ODM laptop with keyboard and BIOS to reduce development costs. By 2nd or 3d gen you could get more tailored made and more thinkpad like machine.

[mikemex]

I think guys from Tex design who made classic inspired keyboard are the most competent.

We should assess ballpark of what is needed to get this going.
- what are most important components that make a Thinkpad and what is marketable and doable
- keyboard is the most important, so I would go with developing remake of classic standalone keyboard as CPU, motherboard, screen can be easily sourced
- thinklight, fn button functions, volume buttons - BIOS
- old Thinkpads were fast, thin (for the time), small bezels, robust, quiet, had good cooling, functional, removable battery

- What would it take to develop a single 14" or 15" model that can be updated every 2 years or so with new chipset and CPU, how much of generic stuff could we reuse

I've been thinking for a while about writing an article named "What's a Thinkpad?". I think most folks around here take it for granted, but it's a more interesting question than it seems.

While I'm running Linux, locking out Windows would reduce target market size. I think Risc V laptop would only sell up to 100 copies at most, while arm or x86-64 would sell a lot more. I'm all for opensource firmware but you should still be able to run Windows.

You would probably need a team of 10-20 people working for about a year, so development costs would be around 500k to 1 million.

You would need to sell at least 1000 laptops to cover costs of development for 2.5k at 1k markup (development cost is high due to small series), probably doable. The end product wouldn't be cheap but new classic Thinkpads were never cheap.

Is a business plan that could get off the ground by making keyboard first and then some other products to fund development of RealBlack (that would by my codename) doable. If we go crowdfunding we would need a team that has gotten products out the door before. Raising couple of million and then failing or going over budget is extremely risky. The 1st gen would probably have to be evolution of generic ODM laptop with keyboard and BIOS to reduce development costs. By 2nd or 3d gen you could get more tailored made and more thinkpad like machine.

You put it like it's a technical issue. Or money issue. And it's not. It's a freedom issue. The computing industry is not really a free market, it's an oligopoly dominated via patents and licenses. @xytech explained it in this thread.

Although I agree with your analysis for the present moment, we can count on RISC V gaining adaption very quickly, since this issue affects everyone in the world, and thus is in the interest of the entire world to support it. We're not the only ones willing to launch something new into the market, only to be faced with the legalities of it.

P. S. We don't need big budgets; we need serious commitment to a worthy cause. For example, I own a mechanical shop and I can donate my time and infrastructure to produce prototypes for parts like casings, hinges, and such (maybe even molds for more complex plastic parts). Though this would have to wait for a while since my father is just dying of cancer and don't really have much spare time at the moment.

[mikemex]

I think guys from Tex design who made classic inspired keyboard are the most competent.

Nice stuff, but not very practical when it comes to a laptop. There has been a trend to try to miniaturize the key switches even more, but no successful design has appeared. Most new ones use the butterfly principle, which in my opinion is fundamentally doomed to failure due not ensuring even key travel (unlike the scissor). From what I've researched, Apple even used it for a while and itcreated a lot of problems.

It seems that, of all classic Thinkpads, the most successful system is the Lexmark in the 850 model.
(Web site comparing the different mechanisms used in classic Thinkpads)

[mikemex]

Intel supports RISC-V...

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/202 ... on-risc-v/