Blog

Hi all,

Jesse here, still CWO of whomtech. We have good news and bad news, but not in that order:

the bad: hofstadter’s law

It always takes longer than you think, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law

Hofstadter’s Law

We’re pushing back the Kickstarter launch to June 18th. Before you complain, 90% of you didn’t even know roons existed until last week; I can see the mailing list signups.

This strategic delay will let us swing through Kickstarter’s windows on June 18th at maximum velocity, by giving us time to:

• Finalise manufacturing plans
• Produce actual high-quality videos
• Bask in the glowing reviews as they roll in;
• Suppress any negative reviews, using the vast whomtech media apparatus;
• Optimise the Good News outlined below

the good: peripherals

Some solid progress on the peripheral interface! With this extra month, we may be able to include ones of the peripherals in the Kickstarter — hopefully the Display Peripheral for text.

Getting the roons core shipshape is still our top priority, so no guarantees — but we think we have a good chance.

minor updates

• Studio lighting and proper camera acquired! Potato camera to be phased out
• Review kits continue to fly out across the world; some very positive initial feedback
• Improvements in progress for the simulator — commands, keybindings, large pattern support, de-suckification
• Some very helpful discussions with manufacturers — the plan is taking shape!

external links

Last week I forgot our traditional external links segment! These links are unrelated to whomtech, but you might find them interesting.

Relevant links:

• Building a computer in Conway’s Game of Life
• Lego mechanical computer that runs Snake (warning: loud)
• A look into the Rockwell Retro Encabulator, upon which the whomtech encabulator is based

Irrelevant links:

• Beating every version of Pokemon simultaneously
• A raccoon tries to catch snow

what’s next?

We do all the things listed under the Hofstadter’s Law section.

Until next week, or some other unspecified time,

Jesse

CWO, whomtech

whomtech custodet custodes ipsos

Hi all,

Jesse here, CWO of whomtech, back with another weekly newsletter. It seems incredible — unbelievable, even — that this post marks the 248th in the series!
Lots of news this time, so let’s dive in.

show hn

roons got to the front page of Hacker News! Thank you to everyone who upvoted/commented, and welcome to everyone who joined the mailing list from there.
Now that our mailing list has grown 10x in 24 hours, our finest extrapolationists tell us we should reach total planetary coverage in a matter of days.

turbo encabulator

Inspired by convolvatron’s HN comment, I got around to hacking together a motorized encabulator, scavenging parts from an old prototype:

This lets me test our prototypes at a consistent pace. More excitingly, it means we can power super large grids. I want to showcase a ludicrously large computer for the Kickstarter video — we’ll see just how ridiculous we can go.

themes

In addition to our standard colour scheme, whomington classic, I’m pleased to present two new roons themes: unspecified voxelgame, and fair-use manufactorium.

These pay tribute to your favourite crafting games, such as CubeWorld and Production Line. Will these themes be available in the Kickstarter? My lawyers say no, but my heart says yes.

(If you happen to be associated with any particular crafting-type game and would be interested in a cross-promotion, get in touch at support@whomtech.tech)

minor updates

• Review kits have gone out to 3 different countries! I’m including the one we’re based in (which is a closely guarded secret)
• Got some unexpected (but v positive!) feedback from one of our main inspirations — have sent them a review kit, fingers crossed!
• Right after sending out review kits, found and fixed a stupid bug where parallel beams sometimes jostle each other.
• I blew up one of my 3D printers, axolotl; now have to wait a week for a new heat block. Sad!
• Found a 0.1mm offset in one of the parts that was causing excess friction; now ensmoothened.

socials

I’ve finally set up the whomtech socials. Watch as we pester larger, more successful organisations for attention, like a kitten attacking a big sleepy dog.

• X
• Instagram
• TikTok
• YouTube

Every like/subscribe/tik brings us all one step closer to enlightenment and universal harmony. Don’t do it for us, do it for your own spiritual growth.

the beacons are lit

whomtech calls for aid!

It’s only (checks sundial) 2.5 weeks until Kickstarter Day — May 21st. Our strategy is simple: bust down Kickstarter’s door, grab all the loot, and reach 1,000% of our goal before they realise what hit ’em.

But we can’t pull off this heist without your help. Please share roons with your friends, enemies, and complete strangers. Get them on the mailing list — stand over their shoulder and needle them until they do it. Tell them it’s for a meme, they’ll understand.

If you’re considering backing the Kickstarter, we’ve got some early bird rewards (details very soon!). Pledges in the first 24 hours really help us with the algorithm, so nabbing those rewards early is the kind of thing a really cool person would do.

Because if not you — then whom?

what’s next?

Currently the whomlab is a hive of scum and villainy activity as we scramble to get everything in place. Over the next couple of weeks, expect:

• Polished videos and images, with real studio lighting!
• Demos of more complex devices you can build
• Actual, y’know, details of the Kickstarter campaign
• _business

Until next week, or whenever I remember,

Jesse

CWO, whomtech

whomtech custodet custodes ipsos