How small is it?
I've been trying to figure out what I need for comfortable portable writing. I have an Aspire One that's pretty much at the lower limit for key spacing for my hands, with 17 mm × 16 mm keys. I'm typing this on a cheap USB external keyboard with keys closer to 18.5 mm wide, and I think slightly tighter spacing would be more comfortable. I might be able to make do with 15 mm or even 14 mm horizontal key spacing, but my fingers would collide. Someone with smaller hands could manage a slightly smaller keyboard, but not that much smaller. Touchtyping becomes impossible and you're reduced to typing with two fingers like a five-year-old.
Unfortunately none of https://artvsentropy.wordpress.com/2022/01/15/writing-on-the... https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-first-risc-v-portable-com... https://www.clockworkpi.com/product-page/devterm-kit-r01 bothers to give any dimensions at all, even when they spend a lot of time talking about how small it is.
From my point of view, this is more important than the information they did give, and it seems like it was pretty important to them too, so I don't understand why they omitted this information.
What I want is:
1. A computer powerful enough to recompile all its own software,
2. which can run a reasonably convenient programming environment (my bar is pretty low here: at least as good as Emacs with GCC on a VAX with a VT100, or MPW on a Macintosh SE),
3. which fits in my pocket,
4. which doesn't need batteries or plugging in,
5. which I can recover if I corrupt its filesystem, and
6. which is usable in direct sunlight.
This laptop fulfills points #1, #2, and #5. My cellphone fulfills points #2, #3, and #6. My solar calculator fulfills points #3, #4, #5 (trivially), and #6. It looks like this "DevTerm" fulfills points #1, #2, and #5, same as my current laptop but maybe slightly more portable. But I don't think any computing device exists, or ever has existed, that hits all of these points. But I think it's attainable now.
I think the conjunction of points #2 and #3 probably requires the thing to unfold or deploy somehow, unless some kind of Twiddler-like device would allow me to do it one-handed. There just isn't room for both of my hands at once on the surface of things that fit in my pocket (about 100 mm × 120 mm). Conceivably a laser projection keyboard could work.