Merlin 4.7 - a Hand Held Computer

"Put a Rocket in your Pocket!"

Please send comments to jecel@lsi.usp.br

Designed as an updated version of Merlin 4, this computer will be the first commercial product developed as part of the Merlin Project. All information needed to build this machine (schematics, board layouts, part lists, addtional instructions, software in source and executable code, etc.) will be available on this web site to be used according to one of the two license agreements at the bottom of this page.

This design is almost identical to the Itsy machine developed by Digital, so you might want to check that out (though I don't think it is possible to get one of these). And there is also a very nice drawing in PDF format by Dwight Hughes of how he imagined what Merlin 4.7 would look like.

The Machine

Unllike other hand held computers, Merlin 4.7 will not use a pen based user interface. A "chorded keyboard" and touchpad were chosen instead to allow one-handed use of the machine. The features page has more details, including the wide range of interfaces and expansion options.

Inside Merlin 4.7

The StrongARM SA1100, the UCB1100 and memory are basically the whole machine. The current hardware page is lacking many important details, but these should be added along the next few weeks.

The Software

The initial software for this machine will be a port of tinySelf to the ARM processor (to be developed on the current Merlin 4 prototype and ARM simulators). This will be able to communicate with other Merlin 4.7 machines using the built-in modem or infrared interface. When a desktop PC is running tinySelf (on top of Windows 95, for example), then it will also be able to connect to Merlin 4.7 - there will be no need for some special "sync" software.

Licensing

This section describes the licenses available for the hardware design of the hand held Merlin. The system software will be distributed freely.

There will be two options for people wishing to build Merlin 4.7 (note - the texts below are very preliminary and contain information, like the name of the machine, which is certain to change before the final version. Notes in parentheses will indicate where this is the case):

License A - Open Hardware
This is the default alternative. By downloading material from the web and building a computer based on it you automatically agree to the terms of this License. You may build as many machines as you wish for your personal use, for sale for profit or for any other purpose without payments of any kind to the owners of this material. Any modifications you make to the hardware, however, must be made available to all other licensees, preferably by adding them to this web site. The case of the computer must contain the "Merlin 4.7" logo (note - to be defined, this isn't the actual name) and may optionally contain the "ARM Powered(tm)" logo as licensed by ARM Ltd. The case may contain other descriptive texts (button labels, for example) but no other brand names of any kind. Brand names are not to be added to the initial screens of the software system, which can otherwise be modified at will. In the case of written documentation and advertisement, a brand name may be added either before or after the "Merlin 4.7" name (note - to be defined).
License B - Custom Release
This License requires the creation of a specific contract with the Merlin development team (note - replace with company name when available) and the payment of royalty per unit sold. In this option you are free to create any name you want, to include it or anything else on the machine's case and initial screens as well as in written documentation, ads and so on.