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I remember hearing about OQO a long time ago; I was even invited to an early meeting where the prototype was shown. (It looked just like the "machine" they keep trotting out for press photos.)

If they introduced this three years ago, it might have sold. Now, there's the Cappuccino PC, which has been through several revisions since its introduction. Likewise, I can build a Mini-ITX PC for a fraction of the price of this new OQO. Furthermore, I can run any OS I want; this OQO can only run Windows XP. Yuck.

I'm afraid that I can't endorse the OQO. Sorry, guys. Next time don't produce so much vapour.

Sincerely,
Seth Finklestein
Miniature Computer Expert

You could also check out Cappuccino PCs, they have a wider selection and even carry barebones kits.

Uh, Bullshit.

Get a scale. You don't have a desktop PC and UPS that weigh that little unless it's a laptop carcass. I would bet, at minimum, 35-40lbs.

I've shipped over 100 computers in the last two months, and even the little 1U jobbers are over 20lbs, without the UPS. Hell, even a little BookPC weighs more than 10 lbs.

I have one of these that only weighs 2 lbs, but the UPS that powers it for about 45 minutes weighs 25lbs.

If you're thinking that the Via C3 is enough for your drive bay you have a solution already:

http://www.cappuccinopc.com/1baypc.asp

They even sell them as barebones. There's also a 2-bay one with a P4.

...between this and that?

I have to pay even more for a version of windows I don't want and will just fdisk away for a hardware upgrade. Wonderfull. Don't see an OS free option eaither, man MS has the manufactures by the balls on this. Looks like a great notebook to put mplayer and the Gimp on to.

As stated earlier, I think they could possibly have worked a 10 key number pad off to the side, that would have made a great addition to.

Give it a roll up LCD and a keyboard and you might even be able to fit the whole thing in a bag for portability.

We have a bunch of these in our labs. We've had these for almost a year now... Notice its a few inches smaller as well... The PIII and PII versions are much smaller as well, as we have those in our labs too. Cool little buggers...

Have you checked out this place?

For example, this?.

-Small-ish at 11.5" x 10.75" x 2.5".
-Quiet at 25 dba
-Full sized horizontal PCI slot to add hardware MPEG
-Cheap-ish at sub $500

But you still have to deal with VIA (I guess its not that Linux friendly).

If that one doesnt work, there are other Intel based systems (my favorite).

Have you checked out this place?

For example, this?.

-Small-ish at 11.5" x 10.75" x 2.5".
-Quiet at 25 dba
-Full sized horizontal PCI slot to add hardware MPEG
-Cheap-ish at sub $500

But you still have to deal with VIA (I guess its not that Linux friendly).

If that one doesnt work, there are other Intel based systems (my favorite).

Have you checked out this place?

For example, this?.

-Small-ish at 11.5" x 10.75" x 2.5".
-Quiet at 25 dba
-Full sized horizontal PCI slot to add hardware MPEG
-Cheap-ish at sub $500

But you still have to deal with VIA (I guess its not that Linux friendly).

If that one doesnt work, there are other Intel based systems (my favorite).

These are smaller(Dimension: 150mm x 106mm x 32mm (6" x 4" x 1.25")), cheaper ($499), have higher clockspeeds, have TV/VGA out, touchpad, but no cd, ... and can be bought online, even without windows (+ $125).

Exists since at least 2 years

I'm in the market for a tiny computer, does anyone know how this compares to Cappuccino PCs?

Think someone needs to seriously consider changing the title of this article.

I also don't think it'll replace laptops either since laptops are designed to be portable PCs not requiring a separate screen, keyboard, etc.

Could you use it on a Plane?
Could you use it on a Train?

They already have a tiny PC you just plug into any monitor and keyboard and suddenly it's your PC. It's called the Cappuccino Mini Book PC.

Only twist with this is Intel's device adds wireless connectivity, so it's compatible with about 0.1% of PCs currently in use. Can't wait to buy one!

So how is it better than a cappuccino pc that has been out for years?
http://www.cappuccinopc.com/

==>Lazn

So, how's this smaller, better looking or more efficient than the cappuccinopc reviewed by Ars Technica almost 18 months ago?

The Cappucino TX-3 has had similar or even better specs for quite a while now, and its pretty similar in size:

-Intel 815 motherboard
-1.2 Ghz Intel Pentium III processor
-512MB 144-pin PC133 RAM
-30 GB internal hard drive
-Your choice of 24x CD-ROM, 8x DVD-ROM, or 8x/8x/24x/8x DVD/CD-RW combo drive
-Built-in 10/100 base-T ethernet (RJ45)
-Internal 56K V.90 modem
-Four USB ports (USB 1.1)
-Two FireWire ports (IEEE 1394)
-No operating system installed.
-All standard I/O ports built-in
-Dimensions: 6" x 5.75" x 2.25"
-Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year

Also, CappucinoPC have the Mocha P4 machine which is slightly bigger and has specs rivaling current fully loaded computers.

Check out these links:

Cappucino TX-3 at Thinkgeek
Mocha P4 at Cappucinopc.com
A review of what appears to be the Mocha at Tomshardware

I'm thinking of doing the same thing when I move into my new house. I'm thinking of using a Cappuccino with a wireless keyboard and mouse (or a touchpad) and a 15 inch flatscreen. It's small enough that I'm thinking of mounting the cappuccino underneath the cabinet (upside down.) Since I'm going to run ethernet through the house, I'll just have a jack in the cabinet.

Or more specifically, the Mocha

www.cappuccinopc.com

somehow i forgot one tiny pc that has even been reviewed on /. before: the Coffee line of computers
Mocha PC: P4, up to 1 GB RAM, 2 NICs (1 gigabit!), modem, video, sound, firewire, USB 2.0, pcmcia slot, cd drive, hard drive, all in 198x161x62 mm for $1159 on up.
they have others, but right now the Mocha is their most feature-packed.

i have one of the espresso's - it heats up like crazy and requires cool-down period or it won't reboot. Maybe they should have named their computers after ice cream instead of coffee.

Then, Taco reposts a story about a 'universal remote control' that timothy posted on Saturday (it's still listed on the front page of slashdot over on the right).

Then, Taco posts this very obvious press release/advertisement about a small form-factor PC and slashdots the poor manufacturer's web site. I guess that's what you get for advertising on slashdot when you run IIS.

Does this have anything to do with OSDN's recent decision to close FreeCode? I guess I would be a little jittery if my parent company closed down one of its subsidiaries. Of course, that wouldn't qualify as "News for nerds. Stuff that matters" as much as the CappucinoPC press release, so that won't be posted today.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Gandhi

on the site of the original post (slashdotted now).
i'm from italy, so i had to pay 100$ for the ups guys and i had to pay the money in advance.

To answer your question, the smallest PCs as a matter of volume, will probably laptops or Cappucino PCs. You could fit 4-6 of them in the same volume of a standard desktop PC.

But, it sounds like you are looking for a high density solution. Perhaps you plan to do some server clustering? For this, the solution is going to be a blade server or something like it. Cubix is one of the best and oldest in this business.

Someone else pointed out the MiniBook PC, which is also sold as the Capucino G1

RedHat is an option, but I wonder how well everything works. And it's fairly expensive (about 1000USD), but you get lots of goodies in a very small package:

6.2 x 5.8 x 1.8" x 2 lbs
Dvd or cd drive
10/100 RJ45 Ethernet
irDA port
AV/SVideo/VGA(1280x1024x24bit) video out
Stereo out, microphone in, internal speaker
Up to 256M ram
MPeg2 decoder w/motion compensation
2 USB, 1 serial, 1 parallel, ps2/ mouse & keyb
V.90 modem (winmodem?)
PIII to 1GHz, Cel @ 700Mhz
10-30G HD

Amazing specs. Anyone have any linux experience with this thing?

This unit and its smaller sibling have been discussed before on Slashdot -- it's smaller sibling is called Expresso was discussed http://www.slashdot.org/articles/00/04/18/2326253. shtml.

There is a review of the unit at http://203.120.86.4/products/hwharddrive/story/0,2 000008984,20199957,00.htm.

I did end up purchasing one of the Capaccino's -- nice unit, 1Ghz PIII, 20Gig HD, DVD, 512K RAM, ethernet, etc. Has pretty much everything I wanted but a 3D chip. Since it takes so little space, but can't be a game machine for me, I use it as a very portable server.

-- Herder of Cats