ok apologies i haven't been keeping people up-to-date recently as much as i used to. lots still going on.

first thing: i learned that the rule "plan to do 3 revisions" applies equally as well to 3D CAD/CAM as it does to software. so with the 15.6in laptop casework i've started again - it's still an Open Hardware project - the 2nd version is simpler and also will be only around 17mm high. the simplicity comes in part from fitting the PCB connectors to protrude from the left hand side instead of from the back, and secondly from having a bit more of a clue about how to put parts together!

in the redesign, top-facing parts of the base mostly go front-to-back, whilst underside parts of the base go left-to-right and interlock (overlap) with the top parts. it... also looks better :) also i'm kinda mulling over the idea of filling in the middle parts with bamboo (or other wood / recyclable) laminates, then using very thin stickers to cover the top and bottom to give a smooth surface.

second: i was lucky enough (thank you to the shenzen hackerspace member for the introduction) to be referred to factoryforall, which it turns out is run by tully (he worked on the openmoko years ago). tully has set up shop, now, in shenzen, and has a pick-and-place robot, 2 and 4 layer PCB manufacturing facilities, PCB oven, has the contacts for component sourcing, plastic and metal casework... awesome stuff. anyway i've asked him if he can quote for making the EOMA68-JZ4775 CPU Card samples - it's much smaller and more compact than he's used to, but that's just what makes it more exciting :) hampoo will make the 6-layer PCB (they're very very good... just very busy at the moment). later on i will ask tully if he can handle the prototypes for the base units (laptop and so on) as he can do 4 layer in-house no problem.

thirdly: thank you to alexander and others who have offered to write up testimonials, as well as the gratipay [1] donations - the idea is to reach lots of people for whom even something like $1 to $10 a week is well within a reasonable budget for them. your help finding people willing to support what i'm doing very gratefully received.

l.

[1] turns out that gratipay is software libre! https://github.com/gratipay/gratipay.com