I sometimes have fun imagining hardware, software and file formats that never were, but could have been.
This is more than an idle exercise. The Apollo Guidance Computer had a 16-bit CPU running at 2MHz, with 4K of RAM and 72K of ROM. Nowadays many of us carry millions of times more computing power literally in our back pockets, yet we seem hard-pressed to find worthy uses for it. We could do so much more with so much less, if only we'd care about what we do with computers, instead of treating them like toys to be fooled around with then thrown away. We'd be helping save the planet, too, by cutting down on the waste.
So here it goes. Allow yourself to dream.
ZX Nevermore
The perfect machine for your retro-futuristic computing needs. A computer that never was, but could have been.
- Form factor
- A4-sized hinged tablet with hardware keyboard
- CPU
- 24-bit Zilog eZ80, 50Mhz
- RAM
- 16M
- Video
- 854x480, 18bpp transreflective LCD with frontlight
- Storage
- 2xSDHC
- Ports
- composite video (480p), 3xUSB, Ethernet, audio jacks
- OS
- SymbOS, CP/M
- Other
- ZX Spectrum (2, 2+, 3) emulation mode
C16M
The main competitor to the ZX Nevermore.
- Form factor
- desktop-sized keyboard
- CPU
- 24-bit WDC 65816, 14MHz
- RAM
- 16M (hence the name)
- Video
- up to 1280x768 or 720p, 32bpp
- Storage
- 1xSDHC
- Ports
- S-Video, HDMI, 1xUSB, Ethernet, audio jacks, cartridge port
- OS
- GEOS, Contiki
- Other
- C64 emulation, NES emulation