Ashet Home Computer
41 comments
·August 12, 2025mmackh
trhway
>We live in an interesting time where embedded development has become so accessible and powerful that we can interface with multiple wireless protocols and state of the art sensors with not a lot of capital investment.
Even on Amazon the ESP32 is less than $5 - means like $1 in Shanghai. Various sensors (even the ones with Bluetooth connectivity) are similarly dirt cheap. You can have a bin of such components like you would have a bin of bolts and nuts 30+ years. Basically we live in a golden era of development (which can disappear in US due to tariffs)
>If we think what can come beyond screens and imagine more ambient computing systems - maybe we’ll see new and interesting innovations
my bet is that it will be more robotics related with practically no humans involved. It is a bit of paradoxical - like for example if we add enough development to existing robots we can for example have an AMZN warehouse run fully without people which in turn would mean that we can have robots there much simpler in various aspects as the absence of humans relaxes a bunch of requirements.
BizarroLand
I like the eurorack-esque modular design. Not everyone will want the same base layout, so making it swapable like that is a nice touch.
redundantly
I'd like to sign up for their newsletter, but it appears I can't because I use a nonstandard TLD for my personal email (.info). Lame.
eikenberry
Their OS is written in Zig!
https://github.com/Ashet-Technologies/Ashet-OS
anitil
I've been following Andrew Kelley's writing and zig is probably next on the list for me (previously would have been rust). The story from C to Zig and the ease of cross compilation makes it really tempting. I haven't looked in to the comptime capabilities much but it looks like it could help with some of the embedded work I do
bevr1337
> Fully understandable by a single person
Riddle me this, Batman.
What's the scope of "fully understandable?" How much of this home PC could be reasonably audited by individuals or small teams?
I've got no exceptional opsec needs as an individual, but I spend some time wondering the minimum required resources to audit a PC. Looking through the docs I see cases where there are multiple suppliers for a recommended part -- that's very cool!
As a "fake programmer" and web jockey, this looks like the right balance of complexity to learn with.
ilaksh
I don't think it's really a fair claim in an educational context. There are at least two completely modern computers (which I assume means fairly complex) including the Raspberry PI and another one he is using the the bus or something.
I just don't think modern CPUs really quite fit the claim of "fully understandable by a single person". I mean maybe technically but that is misleading in an educational context where there are much simpler computers that are definitely fully understandable.
Maybe all of the stuff he wraps around the main CPU is understandable though. And the expansion cards are cool.
bevr1337
> but that is misleading in an educational context where there are much simpler computers that are definitely fully understandable.
Are there any other projects or resources in this space that you'd recommend?
A friend and I cut our teeth on those AlphaSmart word processors that ran BASIC. I might could wrap my head around that.
vermilingua
Ben Eater’s 6502 series (and whole channel) is the gold standard (imo) for understanding how a computer works in every detail.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLowKtXNTBypFbtuVMUVXNR0z1...
jhbadger
"Compiled languages can be used externally"
I realize that 8MB of RAM seems absurdly small to modern audiences, but I can assure you that I ran early versions of Turbo Pascal and compiled fine with 64K.
JKCalhoun
I like that it is using a backplane architecture.
The OS made me wonder how far someone could get trying to create a GUI for the 6502. I suppose the Apple II (GS?) headed there before the Mac fully took the reins and the Apple II was left out to pasture.
alexisread
Well the most well known one is Geos for the C64
https://youtu.be/_4nthOx8sA4?si=AiK9bRxRQwV3MB0f
There's also this Atari homebrew
https://youtu.be/T14dL9MeMHE?si=cGtsZGWILYi4jcql
And yes the IIGS had one
aidenn0
One comment on the IIgs vs the C64; the IIgs had a 16-bit CPU and tons of RAM, so GS/OS is not necessarily representative of what is possible on a 6502.
raphlinus
Along similar lines but physically much smaller, there are currently about 3 or 4 boards[1] that have RP2350, DVI, USB host, and SD card, ranging in cost from about $15 to $40.
A particular sweet spot is emulating 8 and 16 bit systems, as latency can be just as good as an FPGA setup. The infoNES emulator has been running on RP2040 for a while, and I see projects for Sega Master System, Genesis, Apple II, and Mac in the works. But you can also write much more powerful software natively.
Likely it will be possible to adapt software between these various RP2350 systems.
[1]: https://github.com/DusterTheFirst/pico-dvi-rs/wiki/RP2350-DV...
TheAmazingRace
I love this project! Kudos to the author.
Some day, whenever I have the money to skunkworks this properly, I've wanted to create something like a modern spiritual successor to the Atari ST with enhanced creature comforts.
Something with a CPU based on POWER architecture (like microwatt) with a simplified multicore design (no hyperthreading or weird BIG+little core design - just straightforward homogeneous cores), a simple expansion interface of some kind, and an OS baked into ROM. Then I'd consider it to be built around a long term support model, with one design that can last decades, complete with schematics, chip design reference guide, and an open specification so it can be easily cloned as desired.
Especially now that Moore's Law and Dennard Scaling has slowed down considerably, it could be a fun platform to target for education or the demoscene, instead of spec chasing.
jameszog
We have a stack of obsolete machines from e waste that we use for kids to build their own. Free and reusing dumped gear.
uticus
> an expandable and hackable computer in the spirit of the 80's home computers
cool!
> Dual Core CPU
hm that will make for some interesting first steps in learning
ZiiS
Tbh having a seperate io core can simplify scheduling.
sounds
Agree. Most computers that are a joy to learn have a handful of controllers that operate in parallel. That is, multiple cores
The Apple II had a really cool disk drive because of how it did what it did with so little hardware. By relying on the single CPU for everything it was elegant, advanced, interesting... but perhaps not so easy to program.
https://www.bigmessowires.com/2021/11/12/the-amazing-disk-ii...
userbinator
I believe you can ignore the 2nd core, and it will just stay dormant.
lysace
The Parallax P8X32A Propeller (2006) did multi-core processing in a very beginner friendly way.
It can be done - if you take a holistic approach to hardware + runtime + development environment.
The Propeller probably failed because of the custom language, the custom assembly syntax, the custom ISA, the custom IDE font (!) etc. It was a very neat system though.
duskwuff
The Propeller was a commercial failure because it was a one-off part, from a small company, with very little software ecosystem surrounding it, a poor performance to price ratio, and no migration path if you needed more capabilities than it could provide.
lysace
Meh. Similar pricing and availability compared to its primary competitor at the time: Arduino.
It was just too unusual in too many ways.
In one way it’s a bit like the Amiga vs the 8088/8086 PC.
tuckerman
He's still too young for something like this but I've been searching for something to use when we more properly introduce my son to computers. Using modern components to make something useful that still exposes the electronics side, encourages tinkering and exploration over media consumption, etc and it seems like a project like this could fit the bill nicely!
ikskuh
Creator here!
That sounds exactly what i had in mind, and i really wanna do the same when my boy is old enough for computers.
It's a teaching tool and a fun toy to tinker with
JKCalhoun
No doubt you've already looked into Ben Eater's various offerings (?).
tuckerman
I came across them (and they seem very cool!) but my working theory is that, in addition to more electronics heavy projects like those, I also want something that can fill the role of the apple ii plus that was the "family computer" when I was a kid without going straight to giving him access to a modern desktop/computer which feel so hermetic.
I'm somehow very confident in this while also being sure that people probably thought very similar things about home radios destroying the youth in the 1920s :D
turnsout
I love the general backplane architecture, which gives it a look similar to Apple's canceled Jonathan project [0]
[0]: https://512pixels.net/2024/03/apple-jonathan-modular-concept/
There’s something to be said about an independent system you can understand and expand. What I think will be next frontier in home computing is truly understanding and owning the systems that run a smart home and that comes with understanding the environment (sensor data, presence detection, etc.). We live in an interesting time where embedded development has become so accessible and powerful that we can interface with multiple wireless protocols and state of the art sensors with not a lot of capital investment. If we think what can come beyond screens and imagine more ambient computing systems - maybe we’ll see new and interesting innovations