I feel sorry for any company trying to launch a new compute product during this window of extremely elevated RAM and SSD prices.
This looks well built with a lot of attention to detail. It’s impressive that the price isn’t higher for this level of machining and build quality on a low volume product.
I could see this doing well in some niche studios where they value design of all of the products in the office, but it’s a tough niche. The graphic and video designers are all going to be buying Apple. The CAD and engineering people want something with a real GPU. Most developers want a laptop that they can take with them. It’s nice that parts can be upgraded, but anchoring to that CPU is tough.
applfanboysbgon 6 hours ago [-]
> window of extremely elevated RAM and SSD prices
Is it a window? It seems likely to me that we're going to be paying the LLM tax on all of our consumer electronics for the rest of our lives.
kube-system 5 hours ago [-]
Yes, even memory manufacturers believe it is temporary which is part of the reason that supply has not increased to match demand and prices have spiked.
ktm5j 5 hours ago [-]
Considering their position, I wouldn't trust a damn thing that memory manufacturers say right now. They're the ones taking advantage of the increased demand by increasing prices.
Gormo 21 minutes ago [-]
What does what they say have to do with it?
If memory manufacturers believed that elevated demand were likely to persist indefinitely, expanding supply to reach the optimal market-clearing price is exactly what taking advantage of the situation would look like.
The extent to which they're not investing in expanded production capacity is the extent to which they manifestly don't believe the current demand spike will sustain over the long term
kube-system 47 minutes ago [-]
That's not how it works. There's a lot of DRAM pricing scandals but this is not one of them.
In this supply constrained market, DRAM manufacturers literally aren't the ones deciding to increase prices, buyers who are bidding up the price of future capacity are the ones increasing the prices.
applfanboysbgon 5 hours ago [-]
> even memory manufacturers believe it is temporary
Do they? Is that why they've committed to literally doubling their production capacity in 5 years?
kube-system 58 minutes ago [-]
Yes?
And most of that is just announcements from SK Hynix and CXMT coming online. Samsung's announcements are more conservative, and Micron is barely building shit. All of it put together still drags far behind demand, according to every financial statement by every DRAM manufacturer.
This is intentional because DRAM historically follow boom-bust cycles. Literally, they have all said they are intentionally aiming to build less than demand. Nobody wants to be stuck paying for a fab that isn't running at capacity 10 years from now.
They cant outspend each other forever. And with all the datacenters not even being able to be hooked up compute isnt the problem, its powering it.
wang_li 6 hours ago [-]
Cost of RAM and SSD seems like a secondary challenge. Trying to piss up a waterfall is more in line with the reality that products that are first about design and second about capability face when entering the current workstation and laptop markets that have been iterated on for decades and haven't seen a dramatic new redesign ever.
The closest such advance in recent years didn't happen and instead turned into the macbook neo. Apple could have released an OS for the iphone pro max model of phones that allow them to boot Mac OS when attached to a docking station. And sold a laptop formfactor docking station.
LeanOnSheena 7 hours ago [-]
I have one of the units from the first run where 96GB of RAM was offered.
Personally speaking I was buying it primarily for the design aesthetic (an industrial design partner from Pentagram was involved), but I've come to enjoy the Workbench OS UI features and associated shortcuts; I use it as a secondary work machine for various data science applications.
I can attest to the general build quality which so far seems high to me.
I found the UI really interesting. Nice to see a group really trying something new. This really feels a lot like the raw experimentation of computer types and styles in the 80s.
I think they are going for the super premium polished user experience, yet they waste space with adding foreign window decorators to apps that are supposed to integrate them (Chrome, Zed). And not sure why having a single smallish window and tons of empty space is good practice, when tiling wms have shown how to manage lots of windows and large screen estate efficiently..
Bluestein 5 hours ago [-]
What I really really really do not understand is the toolbox - it seemed like an LCD screen at first glance, but, no.-
rpcope1 6 hours ago [-]
There's a lot of WTF here, including paying $1400 for a Linux workstation with 32GB of RAM and what looks like a mobile CPU, along with an integral keyboard that seems like it would give you RSI just looking at it. Who on earth is buying this?
roryirvine 6 hours ago [-]
The form factor and "designed to run Workbench" bit made me think it was aimed at nostalgic Amiga enthusiasts without running afoul of whoever-owns-Commodores-trademarks-today.
Looks cute, but unsure what it does and why they made it and how i can use for what...
Site looks good but it might mean c100 have no substance, thus at least had to make the site and their gadget pretty.
TheOtherHobbes 6 hours ago [-]
Famous Design House™ decided to make a custom computer. They took a nice PC, made a nice metal box for it, and attached another box to the back.
You can put things in this box, which is an unusual accessory for a computer.
They also made an OS which will cost a lot of money per seat per year.
Then they took many clean smooth fingerprint-free photos and made a web site to try to sell it.
The web site makes the box look nice but does a poor job explaining the rest.
yipinwong 6 hours ago [-]
Ty for the info.
It sounds similar to System76, where they make pretty PC and OS (like Pop! OS) that goes with it
Oh yes, no matter how good a product is, if marketing sucks, it might not roll.
john_strinlai 6 hours ago [-]
>unsure what it does and why they made it and how i can use for what...
its a computer. it does computer things, and you can use it for whatever computer things you want.
dgellow 7 hours ago [-]
I’m not sure what you mean, it’s a mini PC. You can use it for anything you want.
The esthetic and form factor is the appeal
rnadomvirlabe 7 hours ago [-]
Nice design, but the website is vague. What about the actual tech specs (not simply GB of ram and SSD space) or a picture of the "user-replaceable" internals? How about a picture of the port layout? About the workbench operating system, the information is also surprisingly light.
Am I missing context here that others have that make this website sufficient?
conorbergin 7 hours ago [-]
Nice, I've always wanted my desktop PC to be coupled to the keyboard.
arn3n 7 hours ago [-]
Usually the ads on hacker news are accompanied by a press release or a technical writeup so that I at least learn something new.
MerrimanInd 3 hours ago [-]
I don't understand this at all and I've deployed Linux machines to workstations and factory environments.
It's an "all in one" in that it has compute and a keyboard. But the mouse isn't integrated (literally just a wired mouse you lug around with it) and no display. So you can't actually walk it right up to a bench and start using it like a laptop. It has built in storage for your "stuff" but again, it's not fully portable so what else are you going to be carrying with it? Is it supposed to be used by a developer or a technician? And if a technician, why portable and why a non-standard keyboard layout? I haven't even gotten to the Workbench software yet, which seems to be appealing to neither an engineer nor a technician and is a Linux OS that somehow costs more than Windows.
This is silly and it bothers me more than it probably should that they say this "is designed for offices, workshops, labs, and factories" when this doesn't seem like they've spent any time in those environments. I'm just gonna keep shipping Asus Nucs running NixOS to my technician workstations and let my engineers use laptops.
JR1427 7 hours ago [-]
> The case is CNC milled from a solid block of aluminium
What a waste of material and machining time!
torginus 6 hours ago [-]
Not sure on the first. Apparently almost all alumninum is recycled, and reused, as its melting point is super low compared to most metals, so its not quite as wasteful as it seems at the first glance.
ffreire 6 hours ago [-]
Why?
syntaxing 6 hours ago [-]
iPhones are iPads have a milled CNC “unibody” as well… Being able to dictate where to have more thickness helps a ton on the luxury feel. Most of the chips are recycled anyway into new billets.
xnx 6 hours ago [-]
Unibody is a very appropriate technique for a small portable device that needs to be strong from force in many directions. It is overkill for a keyboard.
syntaxing 6 hours ago [-]
Overkill is the point. Same thing for iPads and iPhones. It gives a luxury feeling. That and Chinese manufacturing have made milling a very cost effective manufacturing method.
themaxdavitt 6 hours ago [-]
Cute, but for a device targeted at us "experts" (see the Pentagram design brief linked elsewhere in-thread), this feels like a missed opportunity to explore the last couple of decades of advancements in HID design that many of us have benefited from (e.g., a mouse designed off hand curvature, or a split keyboard). If you want to see computers for experts (albeit in a more restrained design space), look at Framework.
torginus 6 hours ago [-]
Dunno, they're promoting this to run their custom OS (which is Fedora based, but has brew apparently?) Not sure what is this, is this a cloud thing, hence the subscription? But the HW too expensive/powerful for that? Considering that is the main differentiator, yet they barely say anything about it, and it's quite hard to find screenshots, or any demos.
mym1990 7 hours ago [-]
We're truly living through the cash grab era. $1400 + a yearly subscription for an extremely vague product that will likely lose support in 2-5 years.
LeanOnSheena 7 hours ago [-]
OS subscription is only for Enterprise accounts. I have one of the first units and I don't pay anything for the OS
MerrimanInd 3 hours ago [-]
Even with a free tier, having the gall to charge 20% more than Red Hat does for their enterprise Linux workstation license is pretty ballsy. And Red Hat is putting actual significant software engineering into their offerings to make Linux more commercially viable, I don't know what this ~10 person HW/SW company did to Fedora to add $240/yr of value.
nolist_policy 6 hours ago [-]
Only for non-commercial usage tho.
futuraperdita 6 hours ago [-]
This is an expensive design object that just happens to contain a laptop.
but much larger, heavier and with a specific keyboard.
jordand 6 hours ago [-]
I got an unsolicited LinkedIn connection request from a Sales Rep at Caligra (who wrote in the note) offering to 'send one over' to me essentially as a "trial" of this workstation. Says a lot that this is a serious part of their sales strategy.
I smell Amiga, especially if it is "designed to run Workbench."
kensai 6 hours ago [-]
Are there any independent reviews of the c100? I want to know more about the keypads and bindings they added.
serf 5 hours ago [-]
underwhelming specs, price, ergonomics. marketed for pros, but gated from them by a $240/yr contract for a fedora reskin.
another step back towards unix I guess, but bell didn't charge yearly.
(edit, remembered it wasnt at&t)
esperent 6 hours ago [-]
Price aside, I'm all for mobile form factors that are not laptops. Laptops are an ergonomic disaster.
But I'm not a fan of connecting it to the keyboard instead. Why not just a mini pc with a built in battery?
hmokiguess 7 hours ago [-]
For a second, I thought that top part was like a tmux screen where I could run a multiplexer with agents and ... geez I'm tired, so much AI ugh. (Worst part is that I think I'd have fun with something like that)
rjrjrjrj 4 hours ago [-]
Cool, but in the way the computers on Silo and Severance are cool.
Not "I'd actually use this" cool.
anentropic 6 hours ago [-]
Can you get one with the numeric keypad on the right side?
Gormo 1 minutes ago [-]
Putting the numpad on the left is actually a potentially great idea. It lets you keep your right hand on the mouse or arrow keys, while entering numbers with your left, rather than having to switch your right hand between them constantly. If you could retrain your muscle memory to use the numpad with your left hand, it'd be convenient for any use case that requires numeric data entry with more complex navigation than just tab/shift-tab between fields.
orbital-decay 5 hours ago [-]
This looks like a cursed mix of different Apple eras. And has a paid Linux distro inside, amazingly powered by Homebrew of all package managers.
Gormo 13 minutes ago [-]
Looks much more Amiga/ST inspired to me. Apple never had a "wedge" form factor Mac, and the OS design seems to be both named after and visually reminiscent of the Amiga's. The command key and use of Homebrew seem to be the main Mac-like things here.
Good look. What are the advantages over MAC or cloud VMs? If it is $500~$1000 it could be a good gift. And is the current size a little big? Could it be put into a bag?
iammjm 6 hours ago [-]
But is mobility really what they were going for? I’m not sure, because they also purposefully increased the size and weight by adding the frunk
ygouzerh 6 hours ago [-]
I felt as well that they miss their window. This kind of rectangular shape with keyboard + computer would be great actually for digital nomad / people going to coworking spaces, but looks way to heavy.
watusername 6 hours ago [-]
> digital nomad / people going to coworking spaces
Laptops with built-in screens make infinitely more sense for this population.
lapkaaaa 7 hours ago [-]
The tray is really funny, but i doubt it'll find many customers
boguscoder 5 hours ago [-]
Im mostly curious if R&D was self funded or its a problem of kickstarter-like bakers now? This wont pay off
zerkten 6 hours ago [-]
My fingers are curling up at the look of the angle on that keyboard. I love the idea and the aesthetic, but I could never use this full time.
insanitybit 6 hours ago [-]
Looks extraordinarily unergonomic and I don't get why I would need a number pad as a developer.
torginus 6 hours ago [-]
As someone who does CAD on the side, I couldn't live without one.
insanitybit 5 hours ago [-]
Yeah fair enough.
xnx 6 hours ago [-]
The children yearn for the Osborne.
kelseyfrog 7 hours ago [-]
Why does it have a frunk?
ge96 6 hours ago [-]
You can put your w in there
convolvatron 7 hours ago [-]
why does it come with attached storage unit for my calipers?
tartoran 17 minutes ago [-]
> why does it come with attached storage unit for my calipers?
You could store the primary tools you use there as to declutter your desk. In my case though the storage box would end up probably covered with clutter over time.
I don't dislike it though, this is not for a person like me.
floren 6 hours ago [-]
Cuz you're a MAKER, just see the box of BOJACK-brand screws on top of the power supply in the action shot.
Does checking work email count? Or buying something from Amazon?
7 hours ago [-]
speak_plainly 7 hours ago [-]
I'm glad PC manufacturers are taking snack drawers seriously. A shot of the IO would be nice and is the computer in the keyboard or in the snack box?
ppnpm 7 hours ago [-]
So a toolbox attached with a keyboard that has opposite layout, some new shortcuts and an OS that can be reproduced easily. So what's the point? One can go for design and hardware but is this really something that stands it out in 2026? I was wondering what I would put in the toolbox, maybe earphones, mobile stand, stationary?
iammjm 6 hours ago [-]
The mouse seems like the most obvious choice for mobility. Other than that: pens? Or maybe lock the phone inside for a distraction free environment
iamleppert 5 hours ago [-]
No specs on the CPU or anything but the memory and storage? This looks like a product for a wealthy, trendy maker studio.
zemlyansky 6 hours ago [-]
tool storage -> egpu dock
roryirvine 5 hours ago [-]
You'd need better ventilation for that, surely?
dist-epoch 6 hours ago [-]
Basically Teenage Engineering doing a laptop.
rvz 6 hours ago [-]
After seeing the price and the build quality, there's no more excuses for developers to suggest that they can't afford a Mac or Windows or Framework computer after buying this.
This should be the standard quality for Linux machines.
caust1c 6 hours ago [-]
My RSI flared up just looking at this keyboard. Hard pass!
iririririr 6 hours ago [-]
flagged. this should be on showHN. pretty much an Advertisement
juliend2 6 hours ago [-]
Wait, what's the ruler that can stay over any open program, in the demo video?*
Is it coming from another project or is it built-in?
I also like the multi-modal scratchpad on the bottom half of the screen.
Edit: ok this is not a distro in the classical sense.
Edit 2: call me perv. but I'd love to see the back of the box where all the connectors are.
This looks well built with a lot of attention to detail. It’s impressive that the price isn’t higher for this level of machining and build quality on a low volume product.
I could see this doing well in some niche studios where they value design of all of the products in the office, but it’s a tough niche. The graphic and video designers are all going to be buying Apple. The CAD and engineering people want something with a real GPU. Most developers want a laptop that they can take with them. It’s nice that parts can be upgraded, but anchoring to that CPU is tough.
Is it a window? It seems likely to me that we're going to be paying the LLM tax on all of our consumer electronics for the rest of our lives.
If memory manufacturers believed that elevated demand were likely to persist indefinitely, expanding supply to reach the optimal market-clearing price is exactly what taking advantage of the situation would look like.
The extent to which they're not investing in expanded production capacity is the extent to which they manifestly don't believe the current demand spike will sustain over the long term
In this supply constrained market, DRAM manufacturers literally aren't the ones deciding to increase prices, buyers who are bidding up the price of future capacity are the ones increasing the prices.
Do they? Is that why they've committed to literally doubling their production capacity in 5 years?
And most of that is just announcements from SK Hynix and CXMT coming online. Samsung's announcements are more conservative, and Micron is barely building shit. All of it put together still drags far behind demand, according to every financial statement by every DRAM manufacturer.
This is intentional because DRAM historically follow boom-bust cycles. Literally, they have all said they are intentionally aiming to build less than demand. Nobody wants to be stuck paying for a fab that isn't running at capacity 10 years from now.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sky-high-dram-prices-set-1229...
The closest such advance in recent years didn't happen and instead turned into the macbook neo. Apple could have released an OS for the iphone pro max model of phones that allow them to boot Mac OS when attached to a docking station. And sold a laptop formfactor docking station.
Personally speaking I was buying it primarily for the design aesthetic (an industrial design partner from Pentagram was involved), but I've come to enjoy the Workbench OS UI features and associated shortcuts; I use it as a secondary work machine for various data science applications.
I can attest to the general build quality which so far seems high to me.
https://www.pentagram.com/work/caligra-c100-developer-termin...
There is something very "Apple 1-button mouse" about it, for sure
https://customer-i8ks9tgi5lkllj0i.cloudflarestream.com/c60aa...
But https://caligra.com/workbench/#pricing suggests it's an awkwardly-reskinned Fedora with a $240/year subscription fee.
So, er, yes. WTF?
Site looks good but it might mean c100 have no substance, thus at least had to make the site and their gadget pretty.
You can put things in this box, which is an unusual accessory for a computer.
They also made an OS which will cost a lot of money per seat per year.
Then they took many clean smooth fingerprint-free photos and made a web site to try to sell it.
The web site makes the box look nice but does a poor job explaining the rest.
It sounds similar to System76, where they make pretty PC and OS (like Pop! OS) that goes with it
Oh yes, no matter how good a product is, if marketing sucks, it might not roll.
its a computer. it does computer things, and you can use it for whatever computer things you want.
The esthetic and form factor is the appeal
Am I missing context here that others have that make this website sufficient?
It's an "all in one" in that it has compute and a keyboard. But the mouse isn't integrated (literally just a wired mouse you lug around with it) and no display. So you can't actually walk it right up to a bench and start using it like a laptop. It has built in storage for your "stuff" but again, it's not fully portable so what else are you going to be carrying with it? Is it supposed to be used by a developer or a technician? And if a technician, why portable and why a non-standard keyboard layout? I haven't even gotten to the Workbench software yet, which seems to be appealing to neither an engineer nor a technician and is a Linux OS that somehow costs more than Windows.
This is silly and it bothers me more than it probably should that they say this "is designed for offices, workshops, labs, and factories" when this doesn't seem like they've spent any time in those environments. I'm just gonna keep shipping Asus Nucs running NixOS to my technician workstations and let my engineers use laptops.
What a waste of material and machining time!
but much larger, heavier and with a specific keyboard.
another step back towards unix I guess, but bell didn't charge yearly.
(edit, remembered it wasnt at&t)
But I'm not a fan of connecting it to the keyboard instead. Why not just a mini pc with a built in battery?
Laptops with built-in screens make infinitely more sense for this population.
You could store the primary tools you use there as to declutter your desk. In my case though the storage box would end up probably covered with clutter over time.
I don't dislike it though, this is not for a person like me.
This hardware runs an operating system that requires a subscription for commercial use? https://caligra.com/workbench/#pricing
Does checking work email count? Or buying something from Amazon?
This should be the standard quality for Linux machines.
Is it coming from another project or is it built-in?
I also like the multi-modal scratchpad on the bottom half of the screen.
Edit: ok this is not a distro in the classical sense.
Edit 2: call me perv. but I'd love to see the back of the box where all the connectors are.
* link: https://customer-i8ks9tgi5lkllj0i.cloudflarestream.com/c60aa...