[Arm-netbook] proposal for GNU Netbook project

[Mark Constable]

On 26th March 2010, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton wrote:
> > Maybe we should REALY design a simpe Netbook our own
> 
> yes - i have contacted richard stallman to see if it could
> be listed as a GNU Project.
> ...
> the reason for doing that - listing it as a GNU project - 
> is to get some PR.  the point is that we need to reach
> "critical mass" of at least 1,000 to 10,000 units, with
> at least 60% preorders.

Going the GNU accreditation route may, or may not, help with
getting minimal critical mass. It's one path. To me, if I can
offer a few thoughts, it simply comes down to price/performance
and in the case of an open startup concept device, whatever is
the simplest base level of servicibility. Once an initial product
is actually put into the hands of end users then the followup
products can, obviously, become more featureful with actual
experience and hindsight dealing with the whole production chain.
The trick is to get *anything* off the ground to start with.

a) so what is the minimum useful hardware device that could be
   produced at the cheapest manufacturing costs?

b) what is the cheapest way to get that product to end users
   anywhere in the world?

I'd love to buy, *right now*, a sub $200 USD so called smartbook
that does 1080p playback at 1920x1080 on a 10" screen. It doesn't
exist but may in 5 years time when the tech picks up a bit and
*someone* out there makes and sells millions of them, then the
price will drop and they'll sell 10's of millions of them. I'll
be a happy camper in those heady days and this discusion will be
moot because we'll be all so happy hacking on 100 different
variations of these devices. In the mean time there may be a
window of opportunity to get something crude and simple off
the ground. So what about a) and b)?

To me, the simplest a) is a Plugcomputer without the internal
power supply but with HDMI video out (cheapest connector) and
the typical 2 x 3.5mm audio i/o jacks. It costs to build in
lcd screens and/or keyboards/trackpads so let folks use whatever
they have lying around instead.

I've got a Plug and it's just so dumb to include the power supply
that adds to the heat and cost of shipping per part when generic
power supplies could be source locally in each country where some
other wholesaler has already shipped in 100K power supplies.

I'm in Australia and it cost nearly $100AUD just to ship a Plug
to this country from the US. I'd like to install a custom OS on
them and try and resell them but it's toally infeasible, even at
1000 parts. I've enquired and it would take 10,000 parts to get
them delivered to Hong Kong and then to AU direct. It would cost
somewhere between $50k and $100k to retool the case even when
ordering 10k parts and $1/part extra per color for custom logos.

Which leads to b), find a wholesaler in Hong Kong who is willing
to dropbox ship individual parts via normal post office routes.
Ironically that $100USD shipping cost to AU could be $20AUD by
"normal" AU post office shipping to most other places in the
world so some research on dropbox sales direct from HK is one
avenue that is worth looking at because the bulk factory delivery
is (most likely) direct by road/train from China and HK would
then have the most available options to anywhere else. Any kind
of middle man wholesaler anywhere in the world at any volume will
add 25% to 50% to the final price.

So, as a startup suggestion, a) could be a small lightweight
minimalist ARM cpu (1/2 dozen to chose from), with 512mb of ram
(256Mb x 4 density ram from Samsung is too expensive at this point
in time and may go up in price for the next year) plus 2 x USB,
1 x eSata, 1 x eth (ideally 2), 1 x HDMI + 2 (or 3 for 5.1) x 3.5mm
audio with a generic 5v | 9v | 12v power jack and a list of well
known generic power supplies available locally from various parts
of the world (on the website that promotes the device).

That makes this device as small and light to directly ship anywhere
in the world, and, with 2 x eth (add $2 for extra eth) would make
it do any job from a smart router (2 x eth) to settop (HDMI)to NAS
(USB/eth) to just blu-tack it to the back of a monitor kind of thing
(small and lightweight).

I vaguely estimate this part could be $60USD landed in HK at 1000
parts if some factory in China (or Taiwan) happens to have even a
devel prototype board and case that could almost fit the need. If
something like this is feasible then I'll take 100 parts right here
and now as a 10% part of a 1000 order.

Sorry for the long rave, I hope someone finds it useful.

--markc