Comment by 🚀 stack
Re: "Machdyne Timeless Computers"
Interesting!
It's a hard business to compete in, even with fun names and 3d-printed cases, when Tang Nano 20K module is less than $30 US, with HDMI, SD-card, 8MB SDRAM, flash, and a ton of IO... I made a 75MHz 65c02 system that takes up 6% of the FPGA.
I could not find the system you mentioned by the way.
2025-03-15 · 1 year ago
4 Later Comments ↓
🦂 akrabu [OP] · 2025-03-15 at 16:30:
@stack You can find the Kaltstahl here: https://machdyne.com/product/kaltstahl-storage-device/
Their computers are here: https://machdyne.com/product-category/electronics/computers/
I'll have to check out the Tang Nano!
🚀 stack · 2025-03-15 at 16:46:
— bbs.geminispace.org/s/FPGA/25642
🚀 stack · 2025-03-18 at 13:53:
I don't know what to make of it, after looking at it for a few days. It seems a bit like a scam, or a 12-year-old pretending to run a business. The breadth of the product line is well past what a sizable corporation may offer...
Then there are the bizzare spin-offs that don't exist. There is an operating system. There are computers that will last for centuries, according to some definition of lasting.
And the weird telnet BBS...
In a survival setting, FPGA-based weird, unfixeable devices requiring gigabyte-sized toolchains and programming equipment would be the last thing you want. There will be billions of abandoned machines, unless an EMP burns it all.
The whole thing is odd, in a somewhat interesting way.
🦂 akrabu [OP] · 2025-03-20 at 16:10:
Haha yeah, I don't actually see myself using one of their machines to survive the apocalypse. I just like the weird little retro niche it fills. Still haven't bought one of the FPGAs, but I do have their little FRAM drive.
Original Post
Machdyne Timeless Computers — Anyone hear of Machdyne? They make tiny FPGA "timeless computers". There's a custom Linux build called Kakao. They also make the Kaltstahl - a little USB device that store 256KB on ferroelectric RAM, with an estimated retention of 95 years @ +55C, and over 200 years @ +35C. They also have a real telnet BBS at bbs.machdyne.com I've told them about Gemini. I think this place and their community would blend well. Thought I'd see if I could raise some interest...