jsco.org — The AMD PIC, rebranded as the decTOP, is now actually available for purchase and confirmed to work with Linux. For $99, you get an 8 Watt, fanless, 366 MHz AMD Geode based PC with a 10GB disk and 128MB of memory (both upgradeable), along with a keyboard, mouse, and ethernet adapter. This guide walks through the [X]ubuntu installation process.
Jun 20, 2007 View in Crawl 4
grendeltJun 21, 2007
Haha, I was thinking the same thing.
orangetideJun 21, 2007
There are better choices for a tiny little server. I think this makes a good little browser appliance and not much else.for $70 you can get a Linux box that is good for serving up simple things and being a firewall and is way less than 8W of power too. <a class="user" href="http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS2837651365.html">http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS2837651365.html</a> .. and you get TWO ethernet ports on that cheap system.if you want something a little more powerful there are other choices out there (I think a used powerpc Mac Mini is low power and makes a very powerful server)there is also that KuruBox which is a harddrive + ethernet + linux as a storage appliance that you can do other things with. (think of it as a LinkSys router with a fast 3.5" harddrive)
orangetideJun 21, 2007
it can suck MPEG2 over the network faster than it can decode them, so I don't see what you're complaining about the usb 1.1 networking for. the issue is really that the CPU just isn't powerful enough to watch fullscreen DVDs on it. and forget about mpeg4.I think of it as a cheaper non-portable version of Nokia's internet handheld.a 3Ghz dual-core full-tower desktop with dual nvidia cards and 2GB of RAM is also useless for tons of things.
smackheroJun 21, 2007
buying a monitor from the thrift store is a bad idea. i was browsing through a thrift store and thought i'd pick up a cheap CRT, took it home, and it wouldn't even turn on. you can't test that type of product at the store, and they have a sold "as is" policy.the cheapest you'll find a monitor for, regardless of what type, is probably $50. no way you can get a reliable one that's guaranteed to work for less than that. heck, a video cable alone will cost you $5-15.the OLPC is still the only practical/affordable solution for its designed purpose.
bloatyJun 22, 2007
Crappy and simple are two different things, your grand parents dont want or need a 4000MHZ 64 bit overclocked computer with 10GB of ram to check the news and maybe e-mail every other day.this is a perfect solution for grandparents, a small, efficient, simple, secure way to check the news or buy a sweater, they dont need a power user pc that's pverclocked hot enough to cook and egg on.BTW is it just me or did the new comment system break the spell check?
sonicdevoJun 22, 2007
Awesome idea about the car computer. Check out mp3car.com, these guys have the sysreqs down to a fine art... big forum full of posts to this end.
queenstarshaJun 22, 2007
my theory is that it's 'cause their only feelings of superiority come in implying that women/people over 60 can't use computers. when said people get a 1992-era machine with an OS no one knows how to use on it and they have any problem at all, that only makes the feelings of superiority better.
sashomashoJun 22, 2007
i don't understand you all moaning people, of course you can get 1ghz machine for this amount of money, but it will be noisy as hell, bulky and inadequate. this small package comes with everything needed for noisefree nights while downloading/seeding/firewalling, can be positioned everywhere in your room and will not affect your electricity bill... sounds perfect to me...
jgabrielsAug 18, 2007
I too am looking for a sub 100 computer for basically the same application.The decTOP worries me a little though as it is a repackaged AMD Personal Internet Communicator and I believe productionhas stopped on it so when they are gone, you're out of luck.Have you found anything besides the Norhtek? You can find it sold by a US distributor here:<a class="user" href="http://www.wdlsystems.com/modperl/view_services.cgi?r=detail&prod_num=1EBOX23&aisle_id=1006">http://www.wdlsystems.com/modperl/view_services.cgi?r=detail&prod_num=1EBOX23&aisle_id=1006</a>Anyways, I would love to talk to you, email me at: j o n g a b r i e l s @ y a h o o . c o m
charlietunaOct 3, 2008
Oooh, someone's feeling cranky!