DeskHog, an open-source developer toy

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall impressions & purpose

  • Many find DeskHog “seriously cute” and charming but admit it’s close to useless in a practical sense—positioned more as a fun dev toy than a productivity tool.
  • Some ask why an analytics company is building hardware; a PostHog team member explains it started as a Tamagotchi-like side project that snowballed, aimed at delighting developers and subtly reinforcing the brand.
  • The device can show real-time PostHog metrics, so it doubles as merch that can be expensed, but several commenters still feel its primary value is play.

Company name, branding, and marketing

  • The “PostHog” name sparks a side thread: confusion over “hog” implying pig vs hedgehog, mention of off-color internet slang, and debate over whether the name is weird or clever.
  • Some note the name and DeskHog both generate a lot of free publicity and help the company look like a fun place to work, which is recognized as effective marketing.

Hardware, capabilities, and “Can it play Doom?”

  • The core is an ESP32-S3 board; people immediately ask if it can run Doom.
  • References are shared to ESP32 Doom ports and Retro-Go/PrBoom; consensus is it’s technically possible but may need RAM/storage tweaks and likely compromises (e.g., no sound).
  • Commenters praise the ESP32-S3 as a strong, modern microcontroller that’s approachable for hobbyists.

Usefulness, size, and aesthetics

  • Several criticize the 1.14" screen as too small for dashboards or games, and some call the hardware ugly. Others wish for an e-paper or “Pro” version with a better display.
  • A few defend it as a toy where “being fun” is enough, but critics argue even toys need compelling activities.

Hardware accessibility and rebranding concerns

  • Multiple comments celebrate how easy hardware tinkering has become (ESP32, Arduino, MicroPython) and predict more software companies will ship hardware experiments and swag.
  • One critical thread objects that DeskHog is essentially a branded enclosure around an off-the-shelf Adafruit dev board, and finds the marketing language (“we included an I²C port”) somewhat misleading.

Adjacent ideas and alternatives

  • Discussions veer into macropads/stream decks, smart LED/status displays, small ESP32 gadgets, AI-powered “rubber duck” debugging toys, and similar hackable devices with larger or different displays.