Beepy: What can it do?

[@Hazdazos]

I love the idea of a device like this, but then I stop and realize that my phone is already 10x more powerful and is only really lacking the BB physical keyboard.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

it is a fun project and while I agree that our phones are more powerful, this is mostly for tinkerers. Thank you for watching!

[@cristicbz]

But much harder to run arbitrary linux software on a phone without rooting etc. Also if i brick my phone trying to do so, then i don't have a phone anymore. So there's something to be said for a secondary hackable platform like this IMO

[@lt.cloptin4128]

True that, ive also kinda wanted something like this to replace my journal. Use nano or vim or whatever. Than you dont have to keep purchasing small little notebooks. ​@cristicbz

[@k98killer]

Looks like a fun little gadget to play with and hack on.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

it sure is! New projects have caused me to bring it out of hiding once again.

[@k98killer]

@@ReviewsforNerds I think I am more likely to get an M5stack Cardputer first and extend the base firmware to enable side-loading custom programs with a standardized and easy-to-use interface. Partly because the Beepy is not currently available, but partly because the Cardputer is much cheaper.

[@Vekstar]

Dat BB Classic Keyboard though.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Yeah, that is the best part for me. I miss the feel of a Blackberry. I hope that development of a GUI happens. I would love to make this an email/media device.

[@tsw6358]

Do you know if it would be able to run another OS ? So my dream is to have messaging apps like signal and whatsapp on it and be able to use it as a phone.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

To my knowledge it will run anything text based a raspberry pi could handle. There are people who are setting it up to run pumpkinOS which is a Palm pilot like software. I have tinkered with it just need to figure out how to install apps

[@JohnCookNet]

Cool project. Not familiar with mocp, but looks to have a solid interface to locate and play mp3's. Wonder if Beepy will run music player daemon (mpd)?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I haven't looked into that but can check it out soon.

[@cmalchik]

has anyone figured out a way to add a DAC and headphone jack? the only similar device I'm aware of with a headphone jack is the clockworkpi uconsole, but that's way bigger.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I did not. I used Bluetooth to listen to music but designing a pi based MP3 player would be pretty cool n

[@lovemadeinjapan]

You could add a USB DAC.

[@joebotz1243]

There's another one that looks like this what's it called? It's not the M5 it looks like a BlackBerry

[@ReviewsforNerds]

unsure, but I have seen a TON of rasbperry pi devices with similar features including a full blown cyberdeck that is handheld.

[@lolcatwill]

Hey, thanks for the video. I was wondering what kind of screen this has? Is it monochrome? What about running a desktop environment on there, or even just view images through mpv, would that even work?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

it is a monochrome screen with no backlight. in this config you can not run a desktop environment, but there are some who are/were working on a GUI (think early blackberry). You can (thankfully) use the hdmi out to see a desktop environment but the little monochrome screen cant handle that.

[@lolcatwill]

​@@ReviewsforNerdsbummer. I will be waiting for them to release a model with a normal LCD, everything else about this is perfect. Thanks for your response!

[@lovemadeinjapan]

It's the exact same Sharp Memory display as seen in the Playdate. The tech and visibility is ok, but the size is not. It is too tiny for command line text.

[@alexvass]

Thanks

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Thank you so very much for this! !

[@lovemadeinjapan]

A device like this should be instant-on. And thus a Pi 0 is not ideal to run it. You see it on boot, the hefty boot time is a bigger problem than you might think. You need a microcontroller with proper low-energy state. The RP2040 on it could be just enough. Although it lacks internet/BT. This is where NXP chips come in, 600MHz dual-core 32 bit microcontrollers with plenty of RAM and connectivity and low-power modes. Combined with the Sharp Memory display we basically have a Playdate. So you could as well go buy a Playdate. No hacking keyboard, but if you want to play Snake, you're covered. For portable hacking, just go and get a Tandy model 100 or Olivetti M10. Way cooler, decent keyboard, and proper size display. It weighs more than a Macbook, but who cares.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Great points and a good idea for future videos. I do not plan on hacking but using this for a portable MP3 player and to play snake have been pretty cool.

[@sqfmi]

Great Video!

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I appreciate it! The Beepy is a fun little project. I am glad I got on board early. If there is anything I missed, please let me know and I can mention in a future video. Also keep me in mind for any future products. I love to tinker.

[@taterthepenguin]

Damn, I wish i was smart enough to code something, so I could justify grabbing one of these

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Honestly you and me both. I got to tinker with the Bluetooth program and I'm able to manipulate the code but writing from scratch is not happening.

[@Sx107music]

Are GUI programs even possible? Running an emulator on this would be fire.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Not from what I've seen with the attached screen. There are people working on a gui for it though.

[@nurhesen]

@@ReviewsforNerds why not? Maybe some OS with big icons? Or maybe someone can write us a minimalistic GUI for small screens. One menu button on bottom left, clock on bottom right, desktop with large icons(maybe 4-5 icons to show on desktop) etc,

[@stevewaterfield4862]

Maybe aomething like the Gopher internet system from the early 90's would be a way to organize this.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

checking this out now. www.reddit.com/r/Gopher/comments/gz7oxt/a_modern_gopher_client_for_2020/

[@lovemadeinjapan]

Earlier.... A Viewdata client!

[@antonionotbanderas9775]

I wonder how many columns by rows it displays. I want to crawl rogue, umoria, hack on this device.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Specs for the LCD are 400 x 200 Sharp Memory LCD. This device runs a cli based linux so I would assume with a secondary wifi antenna or using both wifi and ethernet one could use this for hacking.

[@lovemadeinjapan]

It is 400x240, so if you use a 5x9 pixel font with 1 pixel space in between, about the bare minimum for something readable, you get to 66x24 characters.

[@HassanNasr-tx1jb]

can it work with raspberry pi 4?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I am not sure the Pinouts would mount properly for this particular device, but I think there are other devices out there that can handle the full pi

[@pedromaspiazu]

how do you control + c on the terminal?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I go off of this beepy.sqfmi.com/docs/firmware/keyboard and any other assistance I get from the discord channel.

[@Nza420]

Good video!

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Thanks!

[@jeff15]

Eric Migicovsky !!! niceeeeeeeeee

[@ReviewsforNerds]

This is so much fun to play with.

[@untundro]

Can it make phone calls at least , ? Sim? Mod or some

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Not as shipped. You can add cellular modules I think

[@jinekLESNIK]

We should write Text User Interface shell for it

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I have very limited knowledge of coding. I would like to make games and useful programs, but no idea where to start.

[@intreal]

@@ReviewsforNerds The mc (midnight commander) is already should work, just maybe in a single panel mode

[@Real-Tecnica]

Lol 😂 so in other words it does whatever you want it to do but I honestly don't know what it does I just had to have one and create a video =best explanation ever!

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Yeah. I wanted something to tinker with and I think I got to tinker.

[@MondoLT]

It’s a cyberdeck so it’s up to you what you do. 🤷🏻‍♂️ you can go hack, you can mount hardware on it like antennas or Sensors, you can Programm a game or just write a new phyton3 file. Depends how deep you are into Electronics and Linux 🤷🏻‍♂️ you can have also your own local LLM a.i. on it if you want, or access’s your pc at home from it

[@Mayank_Maximum]

Can i add a zero2w innt and play psp,gba,ps1 games and also use it as a flipper zero but dangerous

[@ReviewsforNerds]

you cant play psp,gba,ps1 games on this device. the screen is not designed for that. using it as something similar to a flipper zero (I think) would require some external accessories like another antenna for broadcast. I am not sure.

[@SpaceRanger187]

Can you make a sidekick phone work today. That is the real question

[@ReviewsforNerds]

if only

[@margsmiloo5511]

How have you managed to get one? It feels like it is never available to buy

[@boliciousff]

I can't recommend it either. I've got a defective device in August. Customer service seems not existent. I don't get any reply. Still waiting for the promised Beeper account, too.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Are you part of the discord chat? you can contact there (I think) but I was able to email. The group working on making the Beepy is REALLY small. Dont give up, they will send a replacement from what I have seen

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I found an article somewhere when this was just being announced. I went straight to the site and bought it. Waited 3 months and then waited a bit longer to share with you so that I had something to talk about.

[@boliciousff]

I'm not on discord. I've contacted them via email and the contact form on their website weeks ago. Until now I don't have a reply. @@ReviewsforNerds

[@meneerjansen00]

Where did you get the casing and what does it cost?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Casing was 3d printed by @nza420. I now have a 3d printer and have printed another case. cost to print the case is almost nothing but time. Beepy with a Raspberry Pi is 80.00 I believe.

[@meneerjansen00]

@@ReviewsforNerds Considering that this $80 machine runs Linux on a Pi Zero I can use it as a sequencer for my synths. Which is what I do now w/ my Pi Zero. Well, if it runs your average basic Linux distro (read: with ALSA and a command line interface), that is. The price is nice, but I have a sneakin' suspicion that shipping and VAT to Europe is gonna add considerably to the costs. But this is a really nice gadget. When/if they get back in stock I might buy me one. Thanks for the info! 🙂

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I would love to see your setup. feel free to email me.

[@whatamalike]

Is there a text based web browser for it?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

There is something to install for text based web browsing. I have one on line and will look up what it is when I get home

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Here is what I use. Browsh. www.2daygeek.com/browsh-a-modern-text-based-browser-which-supports-graphics-and-video/

[@iblackfeathers]

the appeal to me here is the raspberry pi as a portable pocket terminal console. sadly it ends there. it’s underpowered, and not as functional or powerful as something like a uconsole and in some regards not as functional as a pocketchip. the form factor with linux is the appeal, to have a pocket terminal where you can comfortably and conveniently ssh and issue commands anywhere and even have a graphical interface. but sadly it is not as robust compared to a rooted android phone… but , then again, smartphones are not x86/amd, or arm, or even risc. you can’t natively run a 64-but linux distro with a gui. we’re not there yet with that stuff.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I have had fun tinkering with the Beepy, but haven't touched it in some time.

[@alexadvanceautomechanics]

Can u make it to run on rpi 4 with 8gb ram for kali linux

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Beepy itself cant process the standard gui l, but you can run a cli version of raspbian so I would assume you could do the same if there is a terminal based kali.

[@rybred955]

What is the price?

[@McFly.]

$79

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I paid 79.00 for mine without the pi.

[@cyanodgefox439]

Is this project dead?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

For me it kinda is dead. Mostly due to time constraints in my life which prevent me from sitting down and tinkering. The discord channel is full steam ahead though from the looks of it. All channels are lit up with recent updates.

[@cyanodgefox439]

@@ReviewsforNerds ok thanks, can I buy yours? The official site doesn't seem to work anymore :( I think I would have fun with it. Please!

[@TecSanento]

Could it connect to cellular somehow?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

I think you could buy a cellular module and add it on. There was some talk about it in the discord.

[@alexadvanceautomechanics]

Can u run kali linux term on this i love it

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Do you know anything about Blackarch? I also found a reddit thread that says you can use netboot.xyz which will allow you to pick and choose what you install on a distro. if you exclude a windows manager you could run a cli version of Kali (I think).

[@RVTGROUP]

What's the price?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

79.00 without pi. pricing is on website. Currently a waitlist. beepy.sqfmi.com/

[@spectralscythe4112]

Whats the price?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

They were 80 with included raspberry pi. I would check the website for stock. Link should be in description and in video

[@spectralscythe4112]

@@ReviewsforNerds yeah i screwed up and didn't look hard enough. Sorry

[@Blumelom]

I ran doom on it. 🤓

[@ReviewsforNerds]

oh, I would love to see that! Do you have instructions?

[@Blumelom]

@@ReviewsforNerds nah I was kidding thats way above my level. I code python and I am very very very new.

[@TLM860]

Can you put a more powerful Pi chip in it?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

This is designed to fit the raspberry pi zero w. I asked about attaching the standard pi as I thought it had a similar pin out but it won't work. There are other projects out there similar to this that could work that way. I have some parts coming in soon that will allow me to play with other options

[@TLM860]

@@ReviewsforNerds What are those projects?

[@MileshVyas]

What’s the cost of beepy?

[@DementiaAcerbus]

I know Jeff Geerling put a Pi Zero 2 W in successfully (which is substantially more powerful)

[@alexadvanceautomechanics]

We need rpi 4

[@okbye_toni]

How does the beeper app run on it? Where did you buy the cover?

[@ReviewsforNerds]

you have to use a text platform called gomuks as Beeper app doesnt directly run on the device. This is a bit head scratching I know. I tried several different ways to compile and set up gomuks but had little to no success getting it to format properly.

[@mgord9518]

​@@ReviewsforNerdsMy guess is that beeper is a bridge that runs on a normal PC and you send messages over Matrix?

[@bboyudon]

I love these little devices. I just wish they did something -- anything -- useful. I do zero coding or anything like this, so my phone is just 100x better at everything. It sucks because I hate my phone, but there it is.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Honestly I'm in the same boat. It's fun to try and learn but I don't get much of a chance to tinker with things like this. The last cool project I spent time on was the Magic Mirror I built which we still use.

[@GordieGii]

So it's a Linux palmtop computer.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Yes. Cli Linux.

[@hotwings9382]

At some point we need to be honest with ourselves

[@ReviewsforNerds]

That this is a devkit or I dont know what I am doing? lol

[@Spykedjadedragon]

I don’t know. I think it’s cool for developers or people in a sysadmin setting. I know I would have bought it if I didn’t already have the clockworkpi devterm and uconsole

[@wangzhuantou]

小胖手

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Thanks?

[@qfina]

What an absolute waste of money honestly.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

While that is one take on the device, the dev community have been doing all sorts of cool things with this device. That being said, mine is sitting in a drawer somewhere collecting dust.

[@UpNorthGrizz]

This would of been cool back in 2006.

[@ReviewsforNerds]

Lol. It's cool now.

[@qfina]

@@ReviewsforNerds It's really not. It's a waste of electronics.

[@freedomishealthy1086]

* would have