http://rhombus-tech.net/community_ideas/laptop_15in/news/

so i made some screen-shots and annotated them - the PCB designs are almost done already!

i am thinking of doing the assembly myself, because they are only single-side components. if anyone has any suggestions on a low-cost IRDA BGA / SMD station (i see there is something called a T862 on ebay and amazon), i would appreciate the advice as i am going to go ahead fairly soon.

what i am first going to do is get the PCBs made up (they're like $50 not $500!) and, before assembly, check that they're all the right size, that the parts are likely to go in the right places. then, because i will have the actual PCBs like in my hands this time, it makes sense to do the assembly myself as well.

i want to do this in order to demonstrate to people that even someone like me who has "basic" skill in soldering can actually consider making a complex thing like a laptop by using ready-made EOMA68 compliant CPU Cards.... and that it really should not cost a fortune to do so, either.

that's really what this whole thing is about. previously though i was doing 4 layer board designs ($500 for qty 5 prototype PCBs) so that possibility really wasn't clear.

... now it is.

l.