A PC That Helps You Think

As has so often been the case throughout the course of human history, what’s old is new again. A London-based company called Caligra has rediscovered the same basic computer-in-a-keyboard design that dominated the early era of personal computing, and has repackaged it as the modern way to compute. While that idea may not be new, they may be on to something. Their c100 Developer Terminal looks like it has real potential to help us reclaim the simplicity and focus of a distraction-free workspace.

The case of the computer is CNC-milled from a solid block of aluminum, giving it plenty of heft that you won’t find in, for instance, the Raspberry Pi computer-in-a-keyboard models. Looks aren’t everything with the c100, however. It also comes equipped with an 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor, a 1TB SSD drive, and 96GB of DDR5 RAM, which is worth more than its weight in gold these days.

The c100 isn’t meant to be a computer for Grandma to check her email. It was specifically built to accelerate the speed of progress in offices, workshops, labs, and factories. Toward that goal, the machine runs a custom, Linux-based operating system called Caligra Workbench. It doesn’t waste screen space with decorations, has no notifications to distract the user, and all around it was built to give knowledge workers room to think deeply and create.

The keyboard was also built for speed and efficiency. Don’t worry, the alphanumeric keys are all in their usual places so you won’t have to relearn how to type. However, the numeric keypad to the left might throw you for a loop initially. With time, that should make you more productive. The team at Caligra designed this layout to minimize hand movements and maximize typing speed.

In an unusual addition, the computer comes in two parts. A tool storage area at the top can be detached from the main computer, or they can be folded together to save space. This might be an idea that looked good on paper that doesn’t pan out in real-world use, however. I can see the tool storage portion of the case winding up in a drawer more often than not.

At $1,999, the c100 isn’t cheap, but given the hardware contained within the case, it’s not too bad either. If you’d like to snag one for yourself, you can preorder the computer with a $99 deposit. Caligra anticipates shipping the c100 in 6 to 8 weeks.