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Mechanical Terminal Update 1

I am going to post updates on my mechanical terminal project on this blog twice a week.

A couple weeks ago I was somehow able to get the ear of David Hotz, the CEO of Midjourney, on a Twitter space. I pitched my idea for a mechanical terminal, and he said to me that if I was to be successful with it I would have to find a way to significantly undercut LCD screens via price point. He also gave me some tips on how to give a good pitch. So, I am designing this with price point in mind.

The design of the mechanical pixel has also simplified significantly since I published my initial piece on it. As I 3D print and draft blueprints for prototypes, I am becoming more and more convinced that a mechanical pixel is feasible. However I will no longer be publishing the specifics of the design for now.

Previously I was considering "open sourcing"¹ my design, in the spirit of helping others, but I have since decided against it, since building a full computer will take a lot of time to design anyways, so I might as well patent my design so that no one else, or at least no other American-aligned company, can pull it from under me (I don't know anything about manufacturing) and I can then license the patent and get money that way.

Potential use cases I hadn't mentioned before for a mechanical pixel include e-readers and signage. It would also sell well in computer hobbyist circles.

Currently my mechanical pixel prototype is made with 3D printed parts. The smallest I think I can make the pixel at that scale is around 4cm x 4cm. With low-tolerance CNC machines, I think it is possible to bring it down to 1mm x 1mm. However, making a whole terminal (640 x 480) at that scale would be 0.64 meters long, which is much longer then what people are familiar with. So, to make a pixel in that style any smaller, I would have to use electrostatic forces instead of mechanical ones.