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After being inspired by the classic 8-bit computers of his youth, Dimitrios Kalfakis was motivated to make his own version in a minimalist and economical fashion. And the resulting computer - dubbed the "DemUino" is a success. Instead of modifying other peoples' code, Dimitrios wrote his own simple interpretive programming language that is similar to BASIC, and input is accepted from the PS/2-style keyboard (which the circuitry is mounted inside) or an RS232 serial port.

It's an amazing feat considering the constraints of the hardware, however is quite usable as demonstrated with some example programs. Furthermore users can save and retrieve their code to the EEPROM for a neat storage solution. And the LCD fitted to the keyboard just tops it off nicely.

With a reasonable battery you could have a portable PC that's certainly something different. We love it, and you can find an extremely well documented website about this and other related projects on Dimitrios' website. And for more, we're on facebook, twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well. 

If you're wanting to make your own Arduino-compatible computer such as the DemUino above, you'll need an ATmega328P MCU with Arduino Uno bootloader:

This is the same Atmel AVR ATmega328P microcontroller used in the official Arduino Uno, as well as our Eleven, EtherTen, USBDroid, and other boards. Perfect for building your own Arduino-compatible project directly on a breadboard or on a custom PCB, or for replacing the MCU in an existing board. Comes with the Arduino Uno bootloader pre-installed. Better still, it even has a special label stuck on top with details of the pinout, so you don't even need to look up the datasheet when connecting it up in your project! For more information and to order, click here!