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The Last Psion | Alex

@thelastpsion.com

380 followers 85 following 200 posts

Psion hardware/software hackery, especially SIBO/EPOC16 (Series 3, etc). Made #PsiDrive, a USB Psion SSD drive. Slowly rewriting the SIBO C SDK. ⚠️ WARNING: Will sidequest ⚠️ 🦣 https://oldbytes.space/@thelastpsion 🦑 https://github.com/thelastpsion

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The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · Nov 15

Maybe I should do an #introduction?

I'm Alex and I have a PDA problem.

For a quick summary, take a look at the alt text for these photos and the hashtags below. I also wrote a longer intro here: oldbytes.space/@thelastpsio...

#retrocomputing #Psion #RP20240 #Pascal #HaikuOS #PCB #MAME #16bit

Photo of a fully constructed PsiDrive 0.0.1, including a Raspberry Pi Pico mounted on top. There is a SIBO solid state disk (SSD) plugged into the 6 SIBO-SP pins. A microUSB cable is plugged into the Pico. To the left of the PsiDrive is 128K Flash Psion SSD.

A screenshot of a KDE Plasma desktop, running on Arch Linux. The main window in the background is Konsole running an SSH session to a Haiku box, which is running tmux. In the foreground is a Remmina window, connected a VNC session on the Haiku box. On the Haiku desktop, three copies of the MAME-based Psion emulator are running - a Series 3, a Siena and a Series 3mx. The 3mx is running the game "Horace In THe Mystic Woods."

A screenshot of KDE Plasma running on Arch Linux. The background window is Kitty running tmux. In the main tmux pane is NeoVim showing some CTRAN-ng source code, written in Object Pascal. In the smaller pane on the right is CTRAN-ng's help output. In the foreground is a copy of DOSBox Staging, also showing CTRAN-ng's help output. Both have been compiled with Free Pascal.

My stand at this year's RetroFest at the Centre for Computing History in Cambridge, UK. On the right you can see: an MC400, a GeoFox One, a Siena, a Revo, a Shelly (Revo prototype), a selection of Series 3 machines (3, 3a, 3c, 3mx), a Series 5, a 5mx, two Organiser II units, an HC120, two Workabouts, a Workabout mx, PCBs for the 3a, 3c, 3mx, a 3c (with two gold star stickers) and some SSDs. On the left is an EPOS unit running Linux (openSUSE microOS Kalpa) with three copies of the SIBO emulators, based on MAME. In the middle is a boxed Workabout, a Workabout mx in a dock, a 3mx with a non-working 4MB mod, a working PsiDrive, and some PsiDrive PCBs, dotted around the table are various Psion-branded cardboard boxes.

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Shane McKee @shaneir.bsky.social · 1d

Just upping @thelastpsion.com's post over on LinkedIn - Alex is doing a super (and important) job - #Retrocomputing is not just #Nerdstalgia - it is exploring vital territory in human/tech interaction. #Permacomputing #Psion www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

#retrocomputing #nerdstalgia #permacomputing #checkyourdrawers | Shane McKee

Alex has been doing a brilliant job bringing together people interested in the old Psion machines. Although #Retrocomputing can be thought of as #nerdstalgia, re-exploring the functionality of these d...

www.linkedin.com

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The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · 1d

Sure, the iPhone is all well and good. But can you physically support an entire building with your pocket computer?

The Organiser II was built to last. This LZ64 is in amazing condition.

#Psion #RetroComputing

A Psion Organiser II LZ64, powered on, next to its leather case.

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 6d

Isn’t this Disaster Recovery 101?

Have plans on paper in case of cyber-attack, firms told

Prepare to switch to off-line systems in the event of a cyber-attack, firms are being advised.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Nanoraptor @nanoraptor.danamania.com · 9d

ADHD folk. Do you feel you often live at an anxiety level of 2,147,483,647 and then suddenly people around you start panicking and you just cannot, because boom, you've hit panic level -2,147,483,648?

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The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · 10d

Also moved to #Codeberg is #EDisAsm, an #EPOC16 tool to explore and dump ROM, RAM and SSDs on ASIC9 #Psion machines (i.e. 3a, Siena, 3c, 3mx, Workabout 1, Workabout mx, Pocket Book II and Pocket Book III).

codeberg.org/thelastpsion...

#RetroComputing

edisasm

An exploratory tool developed for investigation into Psion's 16 bit SIBO architecture and EPOC16 operating system. Designed to work on the Psion Series 3a/c/mx, Siena, Workabout 1, Workabout mx, Acorn...

codeberg.org

The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · 10d

Next to go to #Codeberg are #libsibo and the #PsiDrive plans.

codeberg.org/thelastpsion...

libsibo is long due a rewrite. I've been thinking about moving away from the Arduino core and over to the RP C/C++ SDK for over a year now. The Qualcomm purchase has nudged me over the edge.

libsibo

A collection of Arduino libraries for communicating with peripherals compatible with Psion's SIBO range of computers.

codeberg.org

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The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · 10d

#HIVEMIND: Passkeys. Worth using?

Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Andy Toone @lockfarm.bsky.social · 10d

OK BlueSky network, can we do the six degrees of Kevin Bacon thing? Does anyone know Ian Livingstone or someone in similar tech/tabletop gaming/boardgame area? I've got a tech demo that I'd love to take further, or at least show to people who might 'get it'.

Reposts appreciated.

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The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · 11d

I've finally moved #CTRAN to #Codeberg.

codeberg.org/thelastpsion...

Although I'm not working on the project right now, it's constantly on my mind. I will be widening the scope of the repo from just CTRAN-ng to a new #Psion SIBO C SDK with new tools.

ctran

Recreation of CTRAN.EXE, the Psion OO C preprocessor from the SIBO C SDK.

codeberg.org

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The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · Sep 13

Just going to leave this here...

psion.community

#Psion #RetroComputing

Psion Community

psion.community

Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

JC 🎃🪐🌄📚🍉 @jcdenton.xyz · May 24

Of course my #psion 5mx runs #doom

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Keith Pound @keithpound.com · Jun 4

Day 4: nostalgia

My collection of Psion PDAs from the 19080s and 1990s. I also had a Revo, but that died years ago….

#mbjune #psion #retrocomputing 📷

a photo of three Psion handheld computers

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Noah Chinn @noahchinnbooks.com · Jun 11

Revisiting my trip across Canada got me pining for my old Psion 5mx. Remember PDAs, back in the days before smartphones? Well, as a writer, this one stood above the rest. But can I find a modern equivalent?
www.noahchinnbooks.com/2025/06/11/r...
#retrotech #retro #psion #oldisnew #handheld #portable

Return of the Psion 5… Sorta… - Noah Chinn Books

Revisiting my bike trip reminded me how much I used to love my Psion 5. It was the first bit of tech I owned that made me feel like I was living in the future. For context, we need to go back. Wayyyyy...

www.noahchinnbooks.com

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Shane McKee @shaneir.bsky.social · Jul 31

Isn't she lovely? #Psion

Repaired Psion Siena organiser. The hinge on the right was gone, but is now repaired with a little help from my favourite thing, JB-Weld. So far so good - not ruling out the possibility it might need a re-do and a bit longer to cure...

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Rowan Hall @rowanhall.co.uk · Aug 6

After looking at this Psion 5mx I went for a hoke for others. Kinda surprised me, were tucked away all over the place. Bottom left and bottom right were mine from new. I think the others were bought for parts or repair but were never looked at. I think I have a 3 somewhere also, with the wee screen?

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Shane McKee @shaneir.bsky.social · Aug 17

Mind you, here is something close to peak UI strategy... still love these things! Don't have to talk to 'em; they don't talk back... #Psion

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Shane McKee @shaneir.bsky.social · Aug 27

Brilliant write-up of a brilliant project, and the power of #Nerdsniping: @colinhoad.com has made an OPL Language Server for programming #Psion handheld computers! With due credit to the persuasive powers of @thelastpsion.com www.theregister.com/2025/08/27/v...

Classic Psion fan releases PoC language server for OPL

: Vintage computing boffinry to please palmtop enthusiasts

www.theregister.com

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The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · Aug 27

Guilty as charged. 😁

Colin Hoad @colinhoad.com · Aug 27

Well, here's a turn-up for the books: yours truly being featured in an article on El Reg! It's all @thelastpsion.com's fault, of course 😆

The Register @theregister.com · Aug 27

Classic Psion fan releases proof-of-concept language server for OPL

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Colin Hoad @colinhoad.com · Aug 27

Well, here's a turn-up for the books: yours truly being featured in an article on El Reg! It's all @thelastpsion.com's fault, of course 😆

The Register @theregister.com · Aug 27

Classic Psion fan releases proof-of-concept language server for OPL

Vintage computing boffinry to please palmtop enthusiasts Vintage computing enthusiast Colin Hoad has released a gift to anyone who fondly remembers Psion's classic EPOC-based palmtops and their Open Programming Language (OPL): a language server which brings modern quality-of-life features to the OPL programmer, regardless of their development environment.…

dlvr.it

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Colin Hoad @colinhoad.com · Aug 25

On language servers, refactoring code and the joy of Pascal
www.colinhoad.com/getting-into...

Getting into the Pascal groove | Colin Hoad

After the recent breakthrough I had with getting my language server working, I decided to invest some time into refactoring what I've built so far - partly to make the work of extending the language s

www.colinhoad.com

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Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

Iain Shepherd @lainshep.bsky.social · Aug 16

256! Luxury! wuffs.org/blog/buildin...

Who can I at here? Oh hello @thelastpsion.com. I loved my Series 3a and 5mx, and still have them somewhere

"16 Shades of Grey" - Building a Psion/EPOC32 Emulator - Ninji's Website

a bunch of weird and random technical stuff

wuffs.org

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The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · Jul 30

Compiling took about 95 minutes. Now comes the agonising wait for the linking (with ld) to finish.

I really need to look at using lld.

The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · Jul 30

This takes just over 4 hours on the M93p, so I'd guess it'll take about half the time. Mind you, linking is probably an hour of that.

The Last Psion | Alex @thelastpsion.com · Jul 30

Got myself an upgrade for my #HaikuOS box - a Lenovo Tiny M75q gen 2 with a Ryzen 5 Pro 4650GE and 32GB RAM. It's not the fastest processor in the world, butPassMark says it's almost 3 times faster than the M93p with a Xeon 1275Lv3.

Let's see how it performs compiling #MAME.

Screenshot of a tmux session running on Haiku, viewed from a Kitty terminal session via SSH, running on KDE Plasma on Arch.

Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex

arturo182 @arturo182.bsky.social · Jul 29

New RP2350 stepping just dropped, E9 fixed.

www.raspberrypi.com/news/rp2350-...

RP2350 A4, RP2354, and a new Hacking Challenge - Raspberry Pi

New A4 stepping of our RP2350 microcontroller now available, with security and other improvements. Plus: another RP2350 Hacking Challenge!

www.raspberrypi.com

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