Check Out PC Classic, a $99 Adorable Tiny DOS Games Console | Hacker News Reader

Check Out PC Classic, a $99 Adorable Tiny DOS Games Console

hothardware.com

45 pointsrbanffy36 comments

PC games of that era rarely used a controller, they were all mouse and keyboard based. Beyond that, the form factor leads me to believe it's just an RPi-like device running DOSbox, with a UI slapped on top. Not entirely out of step with the console makers that started this trend, but still a bit of a head-scratcher.

Later in the video it shows them using a keyboard and mouse.

Yeah I think that's the main reason it's got two USB ports— two controllers, or a KB&M.

It's not the form factor but the official FAQ page that really makes me think this is a RPi+UI, especially when the last question/answer pair is:

> Can’t I just buy a Raspberry Pi, an enclosure, gamepad, keyboard, and mouse, 3D print a faceplate, install Armbian, buy 30+ games, build the source for ARM or install/configure in DOSBox for each and every game, create a menu system with game art, and tell everyone about it at parties?

> No.

With no other explanation or expansion on that answer, it reads to me like "That was our idea, now go away". OTOH, if they manage to license a number of classic games which aren't legally available elsewhere (like the original Sid Meier Civilization, or Lemmings) this might be worth the surcharge.

I feel like that's too self-aware to not be tongue-in-cheek. I think that question is hinting at the fact that real value of the product comes in the effort and work into designing the thing, not necessarily the novelty of it.

Basically: sure, you could totally make something like this. But how much is your time worth?

I got myself a C64 mini precisely because it's a finished product and because I wanted to support them.

I agree; it reminds me of the Dropbox comment from 2007 [1]:

> I have a few qualms with this app: > 1. For a Linux user, you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem. From Windows or Mac, this FTP account could be accessed through built-in software.

1 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224

> like the original Sid Meier Civilization,

I was a bit saddened at the thought that this game would be lost forever after reading your comment, but I found that someone has made it available/playable via browser:

https://classicreload.com/civilization.html

It's a reference to a very common question that comes up when discussing things like the NES Mini and these other mini consoles - "what's to stop me buying a Raspberry Pi and loading it up with ROMs myself". I assume they're tired of being repeatedly asked this question and so added this tongue-in-cheek answer to their FAQs.

The only thing worse than a Frequently Asked Questions that doesn't actually include any questions that are frequently asked is one that includes unhelpful answers to questions that are.

Well, for a SNES/NES/Atari/Genesis/etc. classic device, the issue might not be getting ROM images but doing so legally. Sure, I could find a torrent containing the entire NES+SNES library for making retro-Pi... but that doesn't make it any less piracy if I don't own original carts for all of those games. The fact that so many classic PC/DOS games either have been put online by the original owners for free (such as SimCity or the Zork trilogy) or can still be purchased on Steam or GOG.COM (like Sierra's Kings Quest/Space Quest collections) makes this sort of device far less valuable from that angle.

Furthermore, that leads into a question of "Why should young people care about the copyright of 20+ year old games?" ... which probably is actually a very good question deserving of serious examination instead of mere snark.

>PC games of that era rarely used a controller,

*rarely required a controller. Tons of us used joysticks and some even used game pads. Many PCs, or sound cards, of the era had DA-15 connectors on them referred to as a 'game port'.

This sounds very close to one of those "Why Dropbox when you can just setup rsync?" type comments.

Yes, you can do all that, but putting it all together in a nice box with a set of software has value for people who don't want to manually deal with all that.

"From a design standpoint, I think Unit-E missed an opportunity to built a vertical tower reminiscent of older PCs"

Am I the only one who remembers _most_ home computers from the 80s/early 90s being 'pizza box' desktops?

No, you're not. The tower became more prominent in the mid-to-late 90s.

"Pizzabox" is a bit generous, many desktops would have at least 3x 5.25" vertical bays -- they were limited by the height of a PCI card.

I always thought "pizzabox" was a Mac term - you had machines like Centris/Quadra series where if you wanted expansion card you had to get a riser card where you mounted the cards horizontally

I always thought it came from the Sun SparcStations, along with SGI etc. There were the pizzaboxes that were as deep as wide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SPARCstation20_front_and_...

Then there were the lunchbox IPX and IPC that were about half the width and depth but twice the height. http://www.obsolyte.com/sun_ipx/ipx_portrait.jpg

You're probably right, I didn't come into contact with Sparc machines until uni.

edit:

Actually I just followed the wikipedia link and there's even a page on the pizza box form factor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_box_form_factor

> The Data General Aviion Unix server was advertised in 1991 with the tagline "Who just fit mainframe power in a pizza box?",[1] but most computers generally referred to as pizza box systems were high-end desktop systems such as Sun Microsystems workstations sold in the 1990s, most notably the SPARCstation 1 and SPARCstation 5. Other notable examples have been among the highest-performing desktop computers of their generations, including the SGI Indy, the NeXTstation, and the Amiga 1000, but the form factor was also seen in budget and lower-end lines such as the Macintosh LC family.[2]

The Jargon File also specifically refers to Sun machines http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/P/pizza-box.html

I came to post the same thought.

I remember most old horizontal PCs were very thick (tall) compared to a pizza box. They were practically towers sitting on their side. Cake box, maybe.

Not sure if the functionality is worth the price tag, but I do love the perfectly yellowed/beige plastic.

It almost looks like they made the form-factor fit in a 3.5" floppy drive bay, which would be even cooler.

They reacted to YT comments on their FAQ page :)

Can’t I just buy a Raspberry Pi, an enclosure, gamepad, keyboard, and mouse, 3D print a faceplate, install Armbian, buy 30+ games, build the source for ARM or install/configure in DOSBox for each and every game, create a menu system with game art, and tell everyone about it at parties?

No.

https://unitetechno.com/dt_catalog/pc-classic/#pi

I'll buy it if it runs BASIC, and supports keyboard. It can be a great tool to teach intro to programming with least distraction.

You should write your own BASIC interpreter! I'm still in the middle of mine, but it is a lot of fun :)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18315292

The only way I'd buy this is if it will let me install my own DOS software (mostly old C, C++ compilers, Pascal ...). It would be great if it come with something like FreeDOS.

Agreed. I have a bunch of games and utilities I'd love on something fast and portable like this. The fact they will have games available for sale post-launch seems to indicate a walled garden, though, but hopefully that's just a convenience option.

I think it's unavoidable that'll eventually happen. The C64 mini now can have floppy images and can be used as a real C64 (if you attach a keyboard, that is)

"From a design standpoint, I think Unit-E missed an opportunity to built a vertical tower reminiscent of older PCs, though the beige color scheme is certainly a throwback, and the faux floppy drive is cool..." Nah. IMHO the 1980's PC-XT look is much much cooler than the 90's towers

An XT would require two colors of plastic and a higher manufacture cost.

This is exactly what I've envisioned, with BASIC, for teaching programming.

What, no Turbo button??

Or you can play everything on https://classicreload.com/

Also, why Commander Keen 4, so much worse than the first 3.

If this doesn't come with a mechanical keyboard and a ball mouse I ain't interested. ;)

Nostalgia is king.

Complete with that aged yellow plastic tinge!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com