SCRATCH-BUILDING YOUR OWN LAPTOP

Our open-source machines are made from off-the-shelf parts and see near-daily use.

Written by Bunnie Huang

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ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, I ENGAGED IN AN ADMITTEDLY QUIXOTIC PROJECT TO BUILD MY OWN LAPTOP. By I, I mean we — namely, Sean “xobs” Cross and me. Building your own laptop makes about as much sense as retrofitting a Honda Civic with a 1,000hp motor, but the lack of practicality never stopped the latter activity, nor ours.

My primary goal in building a laptop was to make something I would use every day. The project was also motivated by my desire to learn all things hardware, and my passion for open hardware. ...

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