#psion — Public Fediverse posts

I had a Psion 3a and loved it; it was a true personal organiser. I also did programming on it and used it for simple database tasks at work. I also had the 5mx --- though I loved the 3a more! As you say, the Psions were (are!) unsurpassed designs both in hardware and software. Delighted you are using yours so productively in 2026.

We owe thanks to David Potter, who made it a commercial reality.

#Psion DavidEPotter #whyisgooddesignsorare

#psion #whyisgooddesignsorare

the roamer @[email protected] · 2026-05-25 · 14:19 UTC

I had a Psion 3a and loved it; it was a true personal organiser. I also did programming on it and used it for simple database tasks at work. I also had the 5mx --- though I loved the 3a more! As you say, the Psions were (are!) unsurpassed designs both in hardware and software. Delighted you are using yours so productively in 2026.

We owe thanks to David Potter, who made it a commercial reality.

#Psion DavidEPotter #whyisgooddesignsorare

#psion #whyisgooddesignsorare

the roamer @[email protected] · 2026-05-25 · 14:19 UTC

I had a Psion 3a and loved it; it was a true personal organiser. I also did programming on it and used it for simple database tasks at work. I also had the 5mx --- though I loved the 3a more! As you say, the Psions were (are!) unsurpassed designs both in hardware and software. Delighted you are using yours so productively in 2026.

We owe thanks to David Potter, who made it a commercial reality.

#Psion DavidEPotter #whyisgooddesignsorare

#psion #whyisgooddesignsorare

the roamer @[email protected] · 2026-05-25 · 14:19 UTC

I had a Psion 3a and loved it; it was a true personal organiser. I also did programming on it and used it for simple database tasks at work. I also had the 5mx --- though I loved the 3a more! As you say, the Psions were (are!) unsurpassed designs both in hardware and software. Delighted you are using yours so productively in 2026.

We owe thanks to David Potter, who made it a commercial reality.

#Psion DavidEPotter #whyisgooddesignsorare

#whyisgooddesignsorare #psion

the roamer @[email protected] · 2026-05-25 · 14:19 UTC

I had a Psion 3a and loved it; it was a true personal organiser. I also did programming on it and used it for simple database tasks at work. I also had the 5mx --- though I loved the 3a more! As you say, the Psions were (are!) unsurpassed designs both in hardware and software. Delighted you are using yours so productively in 2026.

We owe thanks to David Potter, who made it a commercial reality.

#Psion DavidEPotter #whyisgooddesignsorare

#psion #whyisgooddesignsorare

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-25 · 14:05 UTC

My attempts at preparing for #RetroFest2026 have not gone smoothly.

Hinge repairs didn't take on a rare #Psion Series 3a. Clearly I got the JB Weld mix wrong, or the tubes I've had for 8 years are going off. I've bought more JB Weld.
The same rare 3a probably needs a new flex, but it's a screen construction I've never seen before. It looks like Psion glued more bits together... It might have to stay broken for now.
EPOS unit (Apollo Lake processor with iGPU) running #openSUSE Kalpa won't start any graphical session. In a fit of impatience, I wiped the machine and started again. Clean build of Kalpa has the same issue. Now trying Tumbleweed to see if it's an openSUSE issue before trying other distros.
Once I've got something running on the EPOS unit, I need to install a custom build of MAME with as many ROMs as I can find, and get a slideshow running with LibreOffice Impress.
Ikôn (WinCE machine) battery completely dead. The Ikôn won't start without a battery.
netBook power socket might be dodgy. Might need to open it up again and check the soldering. Hopefully just needs some contact cleaner.

Plus I'm struggling to make decisions on simple things, like how to use a new flight case with pick-and-pluck foam to optimally arrange Psion gear for transport. And I haven't finished the slideshow yet.

This is meant to be fun, right?

#retrofest2026 #psion #opensuse #retrofest

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-25 · 14:05 UTC

My attempts at preparing for #RetroFest2026 have not gone smoothly.

Hinge repairs didn't take on a rare #Psion Series 3a. Clearly I got the JB Weld mix wrong, or the tubes I've had for 8 years are going off. I've bought more JB Weld.
The same rare 3a probably needs a new flex, but it's a screen construction I've never seen before. It looks like Psion glued more bits together... It might have to stay broken for now.
EPOS unit (Apollo Lake processor with iGPU) running #openSUSE Kalpa won't start any graphical session. In a fit of impatience, I wiped the machine and started again. Clean build of Kalpa has the same issue. Now trying Tumbleweed to see if it's an openSUSE issue before trying other distros.
Once I've got something running on the EPOS unit, I need to install a custom build of MAME with as many ROMs as I can find, and get a slideshow running with LibreOffice Impress.
Ikôn (WinCE machine) battery completely dead. The Ikôn won't start without a battery.
netBook power socket might be dodgy. Might need to open it up again and check the soldering. Hopefully just needs some contact cleaner.

Plus I'm struggling to make decisions on simple things, like how to use a new flight case with pick-and-pluck foam to optimally arrange Psion gear for transport. And I haven't finished the slideshow yet.

This is meant to be fun, right?

#retrofest2026 #psion #opensuse #retrofest

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-25 · 14:05 UTC

My attempts at preparing for #RetroFest2026 have not gone smoothly.

Hinge repairs didn't take on a rare #Psion Series 3a. Clearly I got the JB Weld mix wrong, or the tubes I've had for 8 years are going off. I've bought more JB Weld.
The same rare 3a probably needs a new flex, but it's a screen construction I've never seen before. It looks like Psion glued more bits together... It might have to stay broken for now.
EPOS unit (Apollo Lake processor with iGPU) running #openSUSE Kalpa won't start any graphical session. In a fit of impatience, I wiped the machine and started again. Clean build of Kalpa has the same issue. Now trying Tumbleweed to see if it's an openSUSE issue before trying other distros.
Once I've got something running on the EPOS unit, I need to install a custom build of MAME with as many ROMs as I can find, and get a slideshow running with LibreOffice Impress.
Ikôn (WinCE machine) battery completely dead. The Ikôn won't start without a battery.
netBook power socket might be dodgy. Might need to open it up again and check the soldering. Hopefully just needs some contact cleaner.

Plus I'm struggling to make decisions on simple things, like how to use a new flight case with pick-and-pluck foam to optimally arrange Psion gear for transport. And I haven't finished the slideshow yet.

This is meant to be fun, right?

#retrofest2026 #psion #opensuse #retrofest

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-25 · 14:05 UTC

My attempts at preparing for #RetroFest2026 have not gone smoothly.

Hinge repairs didn't take on a rare #Psion Series 3a. Clearly I got the JB Weld mix wrong, or the tubes I've had for 8 years are going off. I've bought more JB Weld.
The same rare 3a probably needs a new flex, but it's a screen construction I've never seen before. It looks like Psion glued more bits together... It might have to stay broken for now.
EPOS unit (Apollo Lake processor with iGPU) running #openSUSE Kalpa won't start any graphical session. In a fit of impatience, I wiped the machine and started again. Clean build of Kalpa has the same issue. Now trying Tumbleweed to see if it's an openSUSE issue before trying other distros.
Once I've got something running on the EPOS unit, I need to install a custom build of MAME with as many ROMs as I can find, and get a slideshow running with LibreOffice Impress.
Ikôn (WinCE machine) battery completely dead. The Ikôn won't start without a battery.
netBook power socket might be dodgy. Might need to open it up again and check the soldering. Hopefully just needs some contact cleaner.

Plus I'm struggling to make decisions on simple things, like how to use a new flight case with pick-and-pluck foam to optimally arrange Psion gear for transport. And I haven't finished the slideshow yet.

This is meant to be fun, right?

#retrofest #opensuse #psion #retrofest2026

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-25 · 14:05 UTC

My attempts at preparing for #RetroFest2026 have not gone smoothly.

Hinge repairs didn't take on a rare #Psion Series 3a. Clearly I got the JB Weld mix wrong, or the tubes I've had for 8 years are going off. I've bought more JB Weld.
The same rare 3a probably needs a new flex, but it's a screen construction I've never seen before. It looks like Psion glued more bits together... It might have to stay broken for now.
EPOS unit (Apollo Lake processor with iGPU) running #openSUSE Kalpa won't start any graphical session. In a fit of impatience, I wiped the machine and started again. Clean build of Kalpa has the same issue. Now trying Tumbleweed to see if it's an openSUSE issue before trying other distros.
Once I've got something running on the EPOS unit, I need to install a custom build of MAME with as many ROMs as I can find, and get a slideshow running with LibreOffice Impress.
Ikôn (WinCE machine) battery completely dead. The Ikôn won't start without a battery.
netBook power socket might be dodgy. Might need to open it up again and check the soldering. Hopefully just needs some contact cleaner.

Plus I'm struggling to make decisions on simple things, like how to use a new flight case with pick-and-pluck foam to optimally arrange Psion gear for transport. And I haven't finished the slideshow yet.

This is meant to be fun, right?

#retrofest2026 #psion #opensuse #retrofest

mathieui @[email protected] · 2026-05-23 · 20:04 UTC

Question for maybe @thelastpsion; did anyone take the time to reverse the Psion 5 word file format? It seems quite different from what’s in https://doc.psion.info/books/siboepoc16/page/psion-word-file-format (also xxd is telling me that some things inside the file format itself are… localized strings 💀 )
#Psion #Psion5 #Retrocomputing

#psion #psion5 #retrocomputing

mathieui @[email protected] · 2026-05-23 · 20:04 UTC

Question for maybe @thelastpsion; did anyone take the time to reverse the Psion 5 word file format? It seems quite different from what’s in https://doc.psion.info/books/siboepoc16/page/psion-word-file-format (also xxd is telling me that some things inside the file format itself are… localized strings 💀 )
#Psion #Psion5 #Retrocomputing

#psion #psion5 #retrocomputing

mathieui @[email protected] · 2026-05-23 · 20:04 UTC

Question for maybe @thelastpsion; did anyone take the time to reverse the Psion 5 word file format? It seems quite different from what’s in https://doc.psion.info/books/siboepoc16/page/psion-word-file-format (also xxd is telling me that some things inside the file format itself are… localized strings 💀 )
#Psion #Psion5 #Retrocomputing

#psion #psion5 #retrocomputing

mathieui @[email protected] · 2026-05-23 · 20:04 UTC

Question for maybe @thelastpsion; did anyone take the time to reverse the Psion 5 word file format? It seems quite different from what’s in https://doc.psion.info/books/siboepoc16/page/psion-word-file-format (also xxd is telling me that some things inside the file format itself are… localized strings 💀 )
#Psion #Psion5 #Retrocomputing

#retrocomputing #psion5 #psion

mathieui @[email protected] · 2026-05-23 · 20:04 UTC

Question for maybe @thelastpsion; did anyone take the time to reverse the Psion 5 word file format? It seems quite different from what’s in https://doc.psion.info/books/siboepoc16/page/psion-word-file-format (also xxd is telling me that some things inside the file format itself are… localized strings 💀 )
#Psion #Psion5 #Retrocomputing

#psion #psion5 #retrocomputing

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-21 · 12:38 UTC

Got my French #Psion 3mx out of its box the other day, only to find that the screen was showing nothing but black. After checking the obvious (contrast), I assumed it must be the screen flex cable.

Weirdly, continuity on the flex seems fine. It might be a dry joint at the other end, but reflowing the solder did nothing.

For now I've swapped the screen and bezel with one from a hinge-challenged 3mx I had in bits. That'll get it working for #RetroFest next week. I'll put the old screen aside for another day - hopefully some day I'll be able to return it to its original machine.

#psion #retrofest #retrocomputing

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-21 · 12:38 UTC

Got my French #Psion 3mx out of its box the other day, only to find that the screen was showing nothing but black. After checking the obvious (contrast), I assumed it must be the screen flex cable.

Weirdly, continuity on the flex seems fine. It might be a dry joint at the other end, but reflowing the solder did nothing.

For now I've swapped the screen and bezel with one from a hinge-challenged 3mx I had in bits. That'll get it working for #RetroFest next week. I'll put the old screen aside for another day - hopefully some day I'll be able to return it to its original machine.

#psion #retrofest #retrocomputing

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-21 · 12:38 UTC

Got my French #Psion 3mx out of its box the other day, only to find that the screen was showing nothing but black. After checking the obvious (contrast), I assumed it must be the screen flex cable.

Weirdly, continuity on the flex seems fine. It might be a dry joint at the other end, but reflowing the solder did nothing.

For now I've swapped the screen and bezel with one from a hinge-challenged 3mx I had in bits. That'll get it working for #RetroFest next week. I'll put the old screen aside for another day - hopefully some day I'll be able to return it to its original machine.

#psion #retrofest #retrocomputing

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-21 · 12:38 UTC

Got my French #Psion 3mx out of its box the other day, only to find that the screen was showing nothing but black. After checking the obvious (contrast), I assumed it must be the screen flex cable.

Weirdly, continuity on the flex seems fine. It might be a dry joint at the other end, but reflowing the solder did nothing.

For now I've swapped the screen and bezel with one from a hinge-challenged 3mx I had in bits. That'll get it working for #RetroFest next week. I'll put the old screen aside for another day - hopefully some day I'll be able to return it to its original machine.

#retrocomputing #retrofest #psion

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-21 · 12:38 UTC

Got my French #Psion 3mx out of its box the other day, only to find that the screen was showing nothing but black. After checking the obvious (contrast), I assumed it must be the screen flex cable.

Weirdly, continuity on the flex seems fine. It might be a dry joint at the other end, but reflowing the solder did nothing.

For now I've swapped the screen and bezel with one from a hinge-challenged 3mx I had in bits. That'll get it working for #RetroFest next week. I'll put the old screen aside for another day - hopefully some day I'll be able to return it to its original machine.

#psion #retrofest #retrocomputing

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-18 · 10:34 UTC

#CTRAN update:

I've been looking at ways to neaten up the code while making it more robust and testable ("make it right").

After starting down a couple of dead ends and having a conversation with a mate, I decided to split the class parsing method (_GetClass) into two - _BuildLocalClass and _BuildExternalClass. While there's a huge amount of crossover between Psion's local category (.CAT and .CL) files and external (.EXT) files 1 , they don't share any keywords inside their classes. Each keyword had a "if external" or "if not external" check. I never loved this, but it was the only way I could see of getting it working. Of course, the obvious solution was staring me in the face.

Now the check only happens at the start of a class being parsed:

if _FileType = ooExternal then
begin
  _ClassList.Add(_BuildExternalClass(tokline));
end
else begin
  _ClassList.Add(_BuildLocalClass(tokline));
end;

I also changed _ClassList from an array to a TList, which should be a little more memory efficient when adding classes. I might do the same for elements within classes, too.

These probably won't make any noticeable speed difference, but it does improve code readability and should make it easier to test.

1 : Local category files define classes for processing by CTRAN, while external category files reference and summarise pre-compiled classes.

#ctran #psion #sibosdk

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-18 · 10:34 UTC

#CTRAN update:

I've been looking at ways to neaten up the code while making it more robust and testable ("make it right").

After starting down a couple of dead ends and having a conversation with a mate, I decided to split the class parsing method (_GetClass) into two - _BuildLocalClass and _BuildExternalClass. While there's a huge amount of crossover between Psion's local category (.CAT and .CL) files and external (.EXT) files 1 , they don't share any keywords inside their classes. Each keyword had a "if external" or "if not external" check. I never loved this, but it was the only way I could see of getting it working. Of course, the obvious solution was staring me in the face.

Now the check only happens at the start of a class being parsed:

if _FileType = ooExternal then
begin
  _ClassList.Add(_BuildExternalClass(tokline));
end
else begin
  _ClassList.Add(_BuildLocalClass(tokline));
end;

I also changed _ClassList from an array to a TList, which should be a little more memory efficient when adding classes. I might do the same for elements within classes, too.

These probably won't make any noticeable speed difference, but it does improve code readability and should make it easier to test.

1 : Local category files define classes for processing by CTRAN, while external category files reference and summarise pre-compiled classes.

#ctran #psion #sibosdk

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-18 · 10:34 UTC

#CTRAN update:

I've been looking at ways to neaten up the code while making it more robust and testable ("make it right").

After starting down a couple of dead ends and having a conversation with a mate, I decided to split the class parsing method (_GetClass) into two - _BuildLocalClass and _BuildExternalClass. While there's a huge amount of crossover between Psion's local category (.CAT and .CL) files and external (.EXT) files 1 , they don't share any keywords inside their classes. Each keyword had a "if external" or "if not external" check. I never loved this, but it was the only way I could see of getting it working. Of course, the obvious solution was staring me in the face.

Now the check only happens at the start of a class being parsed:

if _FileType = ooExternal then
begin
  _ClassList.Add(_BuildExternalClass(tokline));
end
else begin
  _ClassList.Add(_BuildLocalClass(tokline));
end;

I also changed _ClassList from an array to a TList, which should be a little more memory efficient when adding classes. I might do the same for elements within classes, too.

These probably won't make any noticeable speed difference, but it does improve code readability and should make it easier to test.

1 : Local category files define classes for processing by CTRAN, while external category files reference and summarise pre-compiled classes.

#ctran #psion #sibosdk

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-18 · 10:34 UTC

#CTRAN update:

I've been looking at ways to neaten up the code while making it more robust and testable ("make it right").

After starting down a couple of dead ends and having a conversation with a mate, I decided to split the class parsing method (_GetClass) into two - _BuildLocalClass and _BuildExternalClass. While there's a huge amount of crossover between Psion's local category (.CAT and .CL) files and external (.EXT) files 1 , they don't share any keywords inside their classes. Each keyword had a "if external" or "if not external" check. I never loved this, but it was the only way I could see of getting it working. Of course, the obvious solution was staring me in the face.

Now the check only happens at the start of a class being parsed:

if _FileType = ooExternal then
begin
  _ClassList.Add(_BuildExternalClass(tokline));
end
else begin
  _ClassList.Add(_BuildLocalClass(tokline));
end;

I also changed _ClassList from an array to a TList, which should be a little more memory efficient when adding classes. I might do the same for elements within classes, too.

These probably won't make any noticeable speed difference, but it does improve code readability and should make it easier to test.

1 : Local category files define classes for processing by CTRAN, while external category files reference and summarise pre-compiled classes.

#sibosdk #psion #ctran

The Last Psion | Alex @[email protected] · 2026-05-18 · 10:34 UTC

#CTRAN update:

I've been looking at ways to neaten up the code while making it more robust and testable ("make it right").

After starting down a couple of dead ends and having a conversation with a mate, I decided to split the class parsing method (_GetClass) into two - _BuildLocalClass and _BuildExternalClass. While there's a huge amount of crossover between Psion's local category (.CAT and .CL) files and external (.EXT) files 1 , they don't share any keywords inside their classes. Each keyword had a "if external" or "if not external" check. I never loved this, but it was the only way I could see of getting it working. Of course, the obvious solution was staring me in the face.

Now the check only happens at the start of a class being parsed:

if _FileType = ooExternal then
begin
  _ClassList.Add(_BuildExternalClass(tokline));
end
else begin
  _ClassList.Add(_BuildLocalClass(tokline));
end;

I also changed _ClassList from an array to a TList, which should be a little more memory efficient when adding classes. I might do the same for elements within classes, too.

These probably won't make any noticeable speed difference, but it does improve code readability and should make it easier to test.

1 : Local category files define classes for processing by CTRAN, while external category files reference and summarise pre-compiled classes.

#ctran #psion #sibosdk

Kroc Camen @[email protected] · 2026-05-18 · 09:08 UTC

I don't have a screenshot of the error, (because failure after a long frustrating day) but I somehow managed to write C++ code that not only compiled, but produced a sequence of x86 instructions so cursed that it hard-crashed Virtual Box. That's not supposed to be possible, right? Like, the Guest system isn't supposed to be able to influence the Host :P

Kroc Camen @[email protected] · 2026-05-18 · 09:08 UTC

I don't have a screenshot of the error, (because failure after a long frustrating day) but I somehow managed to write C++ code that not only compiled, but produced a sequence of x86 instructions so cursed that it hard-crashed Virtual Box. That's not supposed to be possible, right? Like, the Guest system isn't supposed to be able to influence the Host :P

Kroc Camen @[email protected] · 2026-05-18 · 09:08 UTC

I don't have a screenshot of the error, (because failure after a long frustrating day) but I somehow managed to write C++ code that not only compiled, but produced a sequence of x86 instructions so cursed that it hard-crashed Virtual Box. That's not supposed to be possible, right? Like, the Guest system isn't supposed to be able to influence the Host :P

Kroc Camen @[email protected] · 2026-05-18 · 09:08 UTC

I don't have a screenshot of the error, (because failure after a long frustrating day) but I somehow managed to write C++ code that not only compiled, but produced a sequence of x86 instructions so cursed that it hard-crashed Virtual Box. That's not supposed to be possible, right? Like, the Guest system isn't supposed to be able to influence the Host :P

#cpp #programming #psion

Kroc Camen @[email protected] · 2026-05-18 · 09:08 UTC

I don't have a screenshot of the error, (because failure after a long frustrating day) but I somehow managed to write C++ code that not only compiled, but produced a sequence of x86 instructions so cursed that it hard-crashed Virtual Box. That's not supposed to be possible, right? Like, the Guest system isn't supposed to be able to influence the Host :P

Kroc Camen @[email protected] · 2026-05-14 · 14:35 UTC

You’re probably real tired of these same-same photos but I am still working on the book (https://camendesign.com/nomad) despite less crowing about it. It is very nose-to-the-grindwheel stuff and abating the distractions is paramount to getting anything done, which is why this 25 year old AA-powered palmtop slams your average Android tablet to the floor.

Kroc Camen @[email protected] · 2026-05-14 · 14:35 UTC

You’re probably real tired of these same-same photos but I am still working on the book (https://camendesign.com/nomad) despite less crowing about it. It is very nose-to-the-grindwheel stuff and abating the distractions is paramount to getting anything done, which is why this 25 year old AA-powered palmtop slams your average Android tablet to the floor.

Kroc Camen @[email protected] · 2026-05-14 · 14:35 UTC

You’re probably real tired of these same-same photos but I am still working on the book (https://camendesign.com/nomad) despite less crowing about it. It is very nose-to-the-grindwheel stuff and abating the distractions is paramount to getting anything done, which is why this 25 year old AA-powered palmtop slams your average Android tablet to the floor.

#psion #fantasy #fiction #writing #worldglass

Kroc Camen @[email protected] · 2026-05-14 · 14:35 UTC

You’re probably real tired of these same-same photos but I am still working on the book (https://camendesign.com/nomad) despite less crowing about it. It is very nose-to-the-grindwheel stuff and abating the distractions is paramount to getting anything done, which is why this 25 year old AA-powered palmtop slams your average Android tablet to the floor.

Kroc Camen @[email protected] · 2026-05-14 · 14:35 UTC

You’re probably real tired of these same-same photos but I am still working on the book (https://camendesign.com/nomad) despite less crowing about it. It is very nose-to-the-grindwheel stuff and abating the distractions is paramount to getting anything done, which is why this 25 year old AA-powered palmtop slams your average Android tablet to the floor.