20 Jan 2016: EOMA68 15.6in Libre Laptop Prototype partially assembled

Assembly is progressing. PCB1 is an extremely tight fit: some minor adjustment will be needed in another iteration. The right-hand edge has had holes for PCB3 manually carved out at the moment. Adjustment to the design at this late stage (prior to FOSDEM 2016) by splitting the back edges into two so that the friction hinge doesn't burst the layers apart: this has had some consequences, that also need to be resolved... lots of things still to do, but at least this first functioning prototype is coming together. The bamboo panels are still with USPS, they left Chicago on the 18th January.

Also done today is an explanatory video showing the components in-place. The strange but crucially important thing shown by this video is that the weight of the battery (240g) is sufficient to stop the laptop (containing a 450g LCD) from toppling backwards. The total laptop weight can therefore be estimated to be around the 1.1kg mark, as the plastic is around 220g. The bamboo has yet to arrive but is expected to be only around 100g. PCBs and components likewise only around 100g.