Login
You're viewing the mstdn.social public feed.

Replies

  • 💬 1🔄 3⭐ 6
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 4
  • David Ginndavid@social.piconet.work
    Jul 3, 2026, 7:19 PM

    @lproven I was a teen when these we launched and I really wanted one at the time. A friend had one. I eventually managed to by a Palm. I miss those days because they were filled with innovation and every new feature truly was new.

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 1
  • Tim Pantonsteely_glint@chaos.social
    Jul 3, 2026, 7:26 PM

    @lproven I was a imperial when he had just founded Psion. I applied for a job, they required a 2.1 which I didn't get (partly because I had spent too much time messing with microcomputers and not studying physics :-) )

    I wonder if they stuck with that policy.

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 2
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 1
  • Jean-François Mezeijfmezei@cosocial.ca
    Jul 3, 2026, 7:28 PM

    @lproven I really appreciated the sofwtare and techology of the Series 3a, but when they came out with the short live and highly proprietary Seroes 5 because less impressed. It didn't take long for Potter to thron in the towel and sell the company off to what became Symbian and Nokia, the main shoreholder didn't leverage that asset. All this because Potter was scare by Microsoft's introducing some PDA whose OS kept changing (at one point WIndows CE) and never took off.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Liam Provenlproven@vivaldi.net
    Jul 3, 2026, 7:56 PM

    @jfmezei

    > the short live and highly proprietary Seroes 5

    I have to disagree here.

    Series 3: x86, 1991
    Series 5: Arm, 1997

    Series 3: EPOC16
    Series 5: EPOC32

    Both proprietary.

    Series 3 storage: Psion SSD (proprietary)
    Series 5 storage: CF card (industry standard)

    Series 3 lifetime: 1991-1998 (launch of last model, 3MX)

    The Series 5 led to the Netbook and was sold into the 21st century. Its OS Symbian was actively sold until 2013. It is FOSS now.

    The 5 series lasted longer, was less proprietary, and including derivatives, sold tens of millions.

    💬 2🔄 1⭐ 0
  • Jean-François Mezeijfmezei@cosocial.ca
    Jul 3, 2026, 7:58 PM

    @lproven Series 3 file formats fully documented so you could write your own converters. The PsionLink software available on different platforms. Series 5 had proprietary file formats which PSION refused to make public and convertes only available on Windows.

    One of the first things Nokia/Symbian did was add supportf or standard file formats.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 2
  • Jean-François Mezeijfmezei@cosocial.ca
    Jul 3, 2026, 8:10 PM

    @lproven I have conversations woth PSIN support staff and they were adamanent the firle formst and transfer protocols would NOT be documented as they had been for the Series 3. Since I don't run Windows, this made the 5 rather useless to me.

    The Internet software was an add on because not ready at time of Psion 5's release, and as an add on, did not survive the SSD reformat since not in ROM. (though same for the Series 3 but 3 was not sold as including internet connection, the 5 was).

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Jean-François Mezeijfmezei@cosocial.ca
    Jul 3, 2026, 8:05 PM

    @lproven Series 5 stopped in 2001 when PSION threw in the towell on PDAs. It worked/merged with canadian company Teklogix to focus on industrial rugged devices, sold off EPOC32. While the name existed until 2012, it was a a very different company,

    EPOC32 was sold in 1998, one year after launch of the 5, but Psion kept stake in Symbian till 2004. . Sold its manufacturing plant in 1999.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Liam Provenlproven@vivaldi.net
    Jul 3, 2026, 8:08 PM

    @jfmezei You do know that I wrote this obituary, right? And I did a great deal of research for it?

    💬 1🔄 1⭐ 3
  • Jean-François Mezeijfmezei@cosocial.ca
    Jul 3, 2026, 8:13 PM

    @lproven After PSION threw in the towel on consumer devices, I got an apoligy from the support guy who had tokd me that there were no file formats because it was an object oriented computer. Admitted to me that decision had been made to not relase formats. Thatw as changed at very end once Symbian decided to not use those formats and what was left of PSION released them. The time delay here is important because at launch the 5 was very proprietary. You are seeing it from a later time frame.

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 1
  • 💬 0🔄 2⭐ 4
  • rcostarcosta@archaeo.social
    Jul 3, 2026, 11:42 PM

    @lproven Psion Series 5mx = very cool machine👍 , better than all that pda stuff from Apple and Palm. Touch lcd screen, readable under sunlight, with a cool green retro light to work in the dark. Capability to run a Linux OS from the flash card. Amazing battery life using 2 common 1.5v batteries. The big problem was the screen cable issue and the keys, less sensitive than other similar machines. I still like the concept and would totally buy one (with e-paper display) if they existed.

    💬 3🔄 7⭐ 4
  • Tom Marbletmarble@mstdn.io
    Jul 4, 2026, 1:25 PM

    @rcosta @lproven the Psion was lovely kit: with the serial cable it was a mini terminal!

    A couple of the developers once told me what EPOC really stands for! 😉 Do you know? (Is it okay to reveal the secret now?)

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Jennifer Moore 😷unchartedworlds@scicomm.xyz
    Jul 4, 2026, 11:15 AM

    @lproven

    Thanks for this. I'm a big fan of Psions but didn't know much about the backstory till reading about David Potter this week.

    (New to me in this article, Psion's name origin! Funny!)

    💬 0🔄 1⭐ 2
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Liam Provenlproven@vivaldi.net
    Jul 4, 2026, 11:50 AM

    @neil

    Thank you. TBH I *hate* doing obituaries, because I always have to leave out so very much. I think the least I can do is to learn as much as I can about the person, and try to encapsulate it.

    I never met Potter. I wish I had.

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 1