Published on: June 6, 2025
Remember when turning a computer on meant instantly jumping into code? No bloat, no distractions—just you and a prompt? That’s the experience I’ve been working to bring back with the EndBOX: a small, resilient, nostalgia-packed, all-screen computer that boots straight into the retro-inspired EndBASIC environment you already know.
And today, six months after its inception, I’m excited to formally show you the first working prototypes—though they are still rough and need refinement. Let’s dive into the goals for the EndBOX and what it could become with your help.
Who is the EndBOX for?
First and foremost, the EndBOX is for the hacker types: those of you who love tinkering with systems, languages, and hardware. But more specifically, the EndBOX caters to those who grew up with simpler computers and know that, to truly understand the fundamentals of computing, you have to experience them from the ground up with as few layers of abstraction as possible.
That said, EndBASIC has always been about providing a learning tool for coding. That was my original goal when I set out to create this language, and that goal is still very much alive. So… the EndBOX can also cater to educators as an all-in-one platform to teach kids how to program through a toy that feels personal.
What makes the EndBOX special?
The EndBOX is intended to be a small, portable device that bundles:
- an embedded computer board,
- a tablet-sized screen, and
- a slim OS that boots straight into EndBASIC.
Why a screen and not a keyboard though? After all, old BASIC machines from the 1980s bundled the computer into the keyboard and let you supply the TV—I mean monitor. Personally, I feel this is not the best form factor in this day and age of touch screens. I want the device to feel playful. And I want to give you the freedom to connect different input peripherals as you see fit.
Put another way: the EndBOX aims to offer a standalone device that can run EndBASIC programs—and how you interact with them, be it via a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, a game pad, or even GPIO-attached inputs… should be up to you. In fact, some programs may not need input at all!
What hardware will the EndBOX have?
Right now, I have built two different EndBOX prototypes:
The standard model, which sports a 7" HDMI touch display, USB ports, and a GPIO port (which is usable from EndBASIC but not easily accessible in this build). The current prototype is based on the Raspberry Pi 3B+, but future builds will likely use a smaller board for a thinner profile.
The prototype of the EndBOX I. The micro model, which sports a tiny 128x128 LCD and a micro USB port. The current prototype is based on the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W.
The prototype of the EndBOX I Micro.
Both models provide Wi-Fi to access the EndBASIC cloud file sharing service and should (eventually) also support Bluetooth for peripheral connectivity.
What OS will the EndBOX run?
The EndBOX will run, for lack of a better name, the EndBOX OS. This OS is a quick-to-boot disk image, built on NetBSD, that just exposes EndBASIC. The primary goal behind the OS is get you to a prompt as quickly as possible while offering “advanced” features like USB input and Wi-Fi connectivity. A secondary goal is to be resilient to power cuts: you should be able to yank power and reboot the machine at any time to get back to a known-good state, just like you used to do.
The EndBASIC shell is a fork of EndBASIC that integrates with NetBSD’s console framebuffer and other hardware interfaces, and that provides a mechanism to control the machine from within the EndBASIC interpreter. In particular, the system exposes a CONFIG.BAS configuration file—inspired by MS-DOS’s CONFIG.SYS—to tune the behavior of the machine (such that you can, for example, modify the font used by the console or configure Wi-Fi networks).
Want to help? Here’s how!
While I have a prototype in my hands, I cannot provide one to you just yet. Distributing electronics is a tricky business, and to do it correctly I need to make a plan and deal with various legalities. Plus, depending on scale, I’ll have to figure out production since, for now, I only know how to build a limited number of units.
So what I’m wondering today is whether YOU feel this is worth pursuing at all. The EndBOX isn’t just a computer—it’s a philosophy. It’s about computing that’s transparent, approachable, and fun. It’s about helping the next generation fall in love with programming the way we did: by typing on a real machine, with no distractions, and watching code come alive instantly.
Sounds crazy? Yes, it sure does! And that’s why I need your support. Here is what you can do:
Subscribe to updates to be notified of further developments.
Sponsor the project by choosing the membership tier that best fits your wishes and budget. There is no better way to really show commitment to the idea.
Share your thoughts over email, Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon, or Discord. Your choice.
Maybe join me at BSDCan 2025 next week, where I’ll be talking about the foundations of the OS.
Early supporters will have a chance to influence the direction of the project. You can help me decide which technical features need to come first—performance? support for more input devices? support for sound? more language features?—and you can also help me decide on the direction of project—different hardware? focus only on the OS? provide only DIY kits? create prebuilt boxes?
Truly Serious Supporters will get early access to prototypes of both the hardware and the software and help shape how the final build looks. So, don’t wait!
