Swiss Micros makes HP 'act-alikes' - programmable

[grsbanks]

I now own three SwissMicros units. A DM12L, DM16L and DM41L. Well, four if you count the DM42 beta unit delivered to work (and I'm working from home today, worst luck...)

I can concur that the hardware is of excellent quality. These Voyager-like units are built like tanks and the rubber feet both make them stay in one place on the desk and reduce the noise of the keyboard action.

They are also incredibly flexible. Over time, the DM41L has become my "go to" machine but I preferred the action of the DM12L. So, what did I do? I swapped over the guts of the machines (the keyboard domes are fixed to the printed circuit board) and simply re-flashed them with the firmware to match the front plate and keys. (Very minor) problem solved!

Computation-wise these machines behave exactly as the original HP machines do, but considerably faster, because they use the original HP microcode running on an ARM-based system clocked at up to 48MHz. The exception to this is obviously the DM42, which uses Thomas Okken's Free42 and the Intel BCD library instead of the original HP-42S microcode.

It has also been mentioned that SwissMicros provide regular firmware updates to iron out problems and add new features. It's true. See here for the firmware history. I've recently been involved in the testing of an across-the-board update that brings some interesting stuff to the table, so development of these products is alive and well. Before you ask, I will say no more than this...

Given the attention to detail in the manufacture of these machines and the level of access to the guys who actually design them that you get, I do feel that the term "knock-off" was a little unfair.