Installing OpenBSD on the Pomera DM250 Writerdeck

Installing OpenBSD on the Pomera DM250 Writerdeck(jcs.org)

74 points by djfergus 37 days ago | 14 comments

skydhash 33 days ago |

I'm running OpenBSD as a daily driver and one of its nicer point is not the security angle, but how simple and hackable it is, while still fairly capable in terms of hardware support. Linux may be more convenient, but its subsystems are too complex and not prone to quick modifications.

binkHN 33 days ago | |

Yep. While I've yet to run it on my production workstation, I absolutely love it for single purpose tasks.

shevy-java 32 days ago | |

> Linux may be more convenient, but its subsystems are too complex and not prone to quick modifications.

LFS/BLFS. Which BSD has that?

I don't disagree with you fully, mind you, but I think this is mostly because many more noobs use Linux, whereas on the BSDs more people with a lot of knowledge use it. But even then I would reason that there are more experts using Linux than OpenBSD, simply due to numbers alone. Not all of them can be bothered to write blogs either. (And sometimes they have reallife hardships suddenly, such as Fefe.)

There is a reason the top 500 supercomputers all run Linux. No BSDs there.

https://www.top500.org/statistics/details/osfam/1/

skydhash 32 days ago | | |

> LFS/BLFS. Which BSD has that?

They can’t have it. The BSDs are a complete system, where the kernel and utilities are built in sync. And building them is quite easy.

Linux complexity may give you flexibility, but most users systems are fairly simple. OpenBSD has a lot of documentation, and if that’s not sufficient, you browse the source code to see what’s happening.

lmz 32 days ago | | |

Surely any BSD is "FS" being a fully functional core system from one source tree?

ori_b 32 days ago | | |

> LFS/BLFS. Which BSD has that?

That comes with the system. Here's the manpage: https://man.openbsd.org/release

stuxnet79 33 days ago |

Well this is interesting ...

I have a DM250 that I bought a year ago that's been collecting dust because I couldn't get used to the UI/UX. It was imported straight from Japan so I'm pretty sure it's not the US model although I'll have to confirm that.

Customizing / tinkering with it has been difficult because it's a pretty niche product with not a ton of information online (at least on english websites).

Skimming this tutorial it seems like installing OpenBSD is a high-risk / high-reward type of thing. I'll have to look into further to see if it's worth it.

ninjin 32 days ago | |

For those considering the US model which is listed as USD 549 [1], the Japanese one currently sells for ~USD 260 in Japan [2].

[1]: https://pomera.us/products/pomera-full-suite-typewriter-for-...

[2]: https://kakaku.com/item/K0001457601

The list price appears to be ~USD 380, which is still a hefty saving compared to what they charge for the US model. There are of course software and hardware differences [3], but if it is primarily the hardware you are interested in, I see no reason not to at least consider importing one.

[3]: https://pomera.us/pages/support-help-support-pomera-dm250us-...

ethan_smith 32 days ago | |

If the stock UI/UX is already a dealbreaker for you, the risk calculus is pretty different - you're basically bricking something you weren't using anyway. jcs is usually thorough about documenting the process, and OpenBSD on bare metal like this tends to be surprisingly stable once it's running.

ninjin 32 days ago |

Always fun to read jcs@'s write ups. I am seriously tempted to look into getting one of these as light, fanless alternatives to run OpenBSB on the move are few and far between. My current main laptop is not big at 11", but it clocks in at ~1.7kg and that makes you reluctant to carry it around everywhere.

Main downsides with the DM250 seems to be that you need a USB-C dongle for audio (they are tiny though) and that you can not hook it up to an external screen for better ergonomics and presentations. Still, small, means compromises are necessary, and I do not think the external screen is a deal break if one would consider the DM250 as a daily commute driver.

whalesalad 33 days ago |

Love the flying toaster screensaver, that was a pleasant surprise.

moffers 32 days ago | |

When I closed my screen and came back on this article I was very confused and thought I was accidentally transported backward through time.

_rpf 33 days ago | |

There is a rich collection of modern Macintosh Plus System 6.x work on jcs site :D

The afterdark screensaver is a real cherry on top.

technicalape 33 days ago |

Congrats @jcs, I saw you battling the US version :)