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The screen aspect ratio is locked at 16:9 even though no such monitor exists for PC

While I won't argue that it's stupid to have a locked aspect ratio, you are very much mistaken in your claim. Even if we ignore the fact that you can easily hook up your PC to your full HD tv or projector, there are quite a few 16:9 monitors on the market.

BenQ has at least one series of Full HD monitors
Samsung has at least one full HD monitor
Acer has 8 models tagged as 16:9 HD
Fujitsu Siemens has at least two models

it looks from here http://sp.fujitsu-siemens.com/dmsp/docs/ds_esprimo_e.pdf like its only the screen that draws 0 watts when ts in standby - looks like the power for the screen is routed through the pc box and so they just make the pc turn off the power to the screen when the pc is in standby. It is a bit hard to tell, as the first part of it seems to be written in engrish

I like the bit where he complains about the crapware and payments:

He assailed OEM system builders for including bad, buggy, or just plain useless apps on their machines in exchange for a few bucks on the back end.

I've worked in one of the vendor companies. Why do you think that places like Fujitsu Siemens, Dell and the like have the tag lines that say "[Insert company] recommends Windows Vista® [pick a version]"? It's because Microsoft give them kickbacks and payments for it!

Where's the difference between saying "Yes, use Windows Vista [version] because we get paid" and saying "Yes, have this 'useful' bit of junk on your machine because we get paid (a proportionally smaller amount, because it's a smaller app)"?

I researched this a couple of weeks ago, there are some notebooks not made in China, but these are mostly high-end expensive ones (as expected) from Japanese,Taiwanese and Korean manufacturers. However, i was unable to find something quite like a T series (I'm writing this on a T42), unless you live in Europe where Fujitsu-Siemens sells several interesting models like the http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/products/deskbound/workstations/celsius_h.html Celsius H mobile workstation. The high-end models are even made in Germany in what must be the last notebook factory in the "west".

Thanks to those who replied pointing that Fujitsu-Siemens also produces AMD64+trackpoint notebooks (I really didn't know about that).

Fujitsu-Siemens seems Linux-supportive enough on their website :
"Linux is a core part of our technology solutions aimed to solve specific business problems. Fujitsu Siemens Computers is a full-line infrastructure provider with close cooperation to leading Linux distributors, ISVs and service partners. Fujitsu Siemens Computers offer best-in-class support for Linux, Windows, Solaris with the same level of support and commitment for all operating systems. [...]"

The rest of the page focuses Linux use on servers; it isn't clear whether they support (or even acknowledge) Linux on their notebooks, but at least it's an auspicious start; On the less-auspicious site there's the ubiquitous "Fujitsu Siemens Computers recommends Windows® XP Professional" banner on top of almost EVERY PAGE on their website, but then they probably are forced to do that by some part of their Windows OEM contract with Microsoft.

Regarding my quest for an AMD64+trackpoint notebook: checking their website , their current AMD64 offerings are limited to the Lifebook S2110 and A3040, and neither has a trackpoint... They seem to follow the same strategy as HP, that is, keeping the AMD64 offerings on the "low end" (relatively so: Fujitsu notebooks are more expensive than most other vendors') and the trackpoint offerings on their "high end" (which seems to be Intel only).

<sigh> at least it's another vendor to monitor.

The fat borders around the screen are really not nice, IMO. I wait for the day when somebody makes a monitor with zero border. I just bought a Fujitsu-Siemens Scaleoview C19-1W, same design as the W19-1 in the picture, and it only has a 1.5cm border.

As many of you fellow ./ friends will suffer with pain while typing. I will give you a link to a cheap but good keyboard. I think its about 80$ if you find the rigth dealer. I seen it for abow 200$ too from special "health at workplace" shops.

http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/products/prof_acces sories_mainboards/keyboards_mice/special_keyboards /kbpc_e.html

For you thats to lazy to click on the link,
Its a split keyboard, with height adjustment,
and free degree split between left and right keyside.
The keys feels abit "lose" when typing the first week, but after that they feel just right.

It saved my hards for sure. I used to have pain while typing, and it mostly gone now.

Yep. They also manufacture mainframes jointly with Siemens: http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/products/bs2000/

For example:
"New heights achieved with SAP R/3 high-end computing:
23,000 SD benchmark users; LINUX entering business critical computer environments"
An old press release. Fujitsu Siemens have been offering large SAP installation running on Linux, lately SuSE I bellive.

Check this out.

While the manufacturer's page doesn't mention it at all, the keyboard and trackpad of this little powerhouse are detachable and use Bluethooth. I'm sure you need more than a laptop can provide as an HTPC, but maybe you can get one of the keyboards as a spare part.

I assume it has batteries that need to be charged, and I don't know how that would happen without the laptop to chrage it.

STYLISTIC ST5011D:

1.54 kg

Up to 6/8 battery hours (depends on the battery model)

From 40GB to 80GB HD

From 256 to 2GB DDR333 SDRAM

And more...

There are many tablet PCs without real keyboards built in.

But more powerfull ... and older... The first is already known by a lot of people fujitsu-siemens Activy and work under XP embbed.
The second is less known and the site is not in english but it works really well. Dreambox and run under Linux !

Maybe Fujitsu support Primecluster on RedHat Enterprise Linux AS?.

This product is one of the Oracle RAC architecture certified but only with Solaris.

I recently bought myself a Siemens C1020 Lifebook, and noticed a funny thing in the manual. It gave instructions on how to turn off the notebook for both windows and linux operating systems, and also provided the following link: http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/Linux
I didn't pay too much attention to it, as I was more interested in running FreeBSD on my Fujitsu-Siemens C1020

But since you asked, I've just had a look at the site.

To quote: "Linux is the dominant operating system for Internet service providers (ISPs) and, for example, its use by public administrations is increasing. The co-ordinating and consulting office for information technology of the federal government of Germany recommended to use open source software in government bureaus. It was suggested that open software such as the operating systems Linux or FreeBSD could be used on servers as well as on desktop PCs."

Having a poke around it now, I've just discovered http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/partner/linux/serve r.shtm
which provides a list of machines, including laptops, which are certified Red Hat and SuSe hardware.

I'm not sure if you can actually buy them without windows yet, but they are certainly moving in the right direction, so if you can't find a winfree supplier, maybe support them. And, heh, just noticed as checking the links, you can download a desktop background with Tux on a surfboard.

I recently bought myself a Siemens C1020 Lifebook, and noticed a funny thing in the manual. It gave instructions on how to turn off the notebook for both windows and linux operating systems, and also provided the following link: http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/Linux
I didn't pay too much attention to it, as I was more interested in running FreeBSD on my Fujitsu-Siemens C1020

But since you asked, I've just had a look at the site.

To quote: "Linux is the dominant operating system for Internet service providers (ISPs) and, for example, its use by public administrations is increasing. The co-ordinating and consulting office for information technology of the federal government of Germany recommended to use open source software in government bureaus. It was suggested that open software such as the operating systems Linux or FreeBSD could be used on servers as well as on desktop PCs."

Having a poke around it now, I've just discovered http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/partner/linux/serve r.shtm
which provides a list of machines, including laptops, which are certified Red Hat and SuSe hardware.

I'm not sure if you can actually buy them without windows yet, but they are certainly moving in the right direction, so if you can't find a winfree supplier, maybe support them. And, heh, just noticed as checking the links, you can download a desktop background with Tux on a surfboard.

I recently bought myself a Siemens C1020 Lifebook, and noticed a funny thing in the manual. It gave instructions on how to turn off the notebook for both windows and linux operating systems, and also provided the following link: http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/Linux
I didn't pay too much attention to it, as I was more interested in running FreeBSD on my Fujitsu-Siemens C1020

But since you asked, I've just had a look at the site.

To quote: "Linux is the dominant operating system for Internet service providers (ISPs) and, for example, its use by public administrations is increasing. The co-ordinating and consulting office for information technology of the federal government of Germany recommended to use open source software in government bureaus. It was suggested that open software such as the operating systems Linux or FreeBSD could be used on servers as well as on desktop PCs."

Having a poke around it now, I've just discovered http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/partner/linux/serve r.shtm
which provides a list of machines, including laptops, which are certified Red Hat and SuSe hardware.

I'm not sure if you can actually buy them without windows yet, but they are certainly moving in the right direction, so if you can't find a winfree supplier, maybe support them. And, heh, just noticed as checking the links, you can download a desktop background with Tux on a surfboard.

And what about this one?
Scovery xS

We are using them as in our company it's the only existing x-terminal sold today with a usable grafic resolution.

Fujitsu-Siemens' Lifebook E has had it as an option for a while. I think that one is pretty neat, and AFAIK it's certified by the manufacturer to work with Red Hat and SuSE. An off the record, they also say getting Debian on it is unproblematic.

babelfish it

cool (ha) but I still like the graphics of the fujitsu mobile H.

I use pro/e all the time on a dell inspiron 7500 with the UXGA+ screen; it was the ne plus ultra of it's day. It's still very nice, but the graphics card is starting to be a bit dated.

I don't really chafe at the 700mhz processor, plenty quick for almost everything, and 512MB is enough for most regular web surfing, and it'll always take overnight to run a FEA optimization.

But with FEA, 512MB isn't enough. 1 gig is a lot better for the models I use - which are always simplified. And as one can never be too rich or to thin, one can never have too many pixels (or too fast a graphics card). I dream of the day when multi terabyte main memories and terahertz processors make intractive FEA a reality...

Until then, my next laptop is likely to be the current ne plus ultra of the laptop world, and it isn't the sony in this article, but the Fujitsu Siemens Mobile H. Check it out: 1 Gig main memory, 64MB Quadro4 to go, encrypted HD and boot!, bluetooth detachable keyboard (!), 1.9Ghz P4, 1600x1200 pixel display (!!) (+ dual head a 2nd UXGA display), S/PDIF out (!!!!) AND certified for Linux!!!!!

Not sure if this is sarcastic or not, but the iPAQ is only second-ugliest after the new Cassiopeia.

The Jornada was IMHO the best looking of the PPC2002 devices and will only be superceded by the upcoming LOOX in terms of sexiness ;-)

However, you're definitely right about how much looks matter. The iPAQ was just riddled with quality control problems and design flaws (no onboard memory expansion, no simultaneous button presses, dust under the screen, digitizer problems, etc.), but it won the PocketPC battle by a long shot merely because of hype and its 'sleek' silver color (though I personally think it looks like shite).

It's dissappointing to see the Jornada go the way of the dinosaurs because I will never consider an iPAQ after Compaq's history with quality control (not to mention the butt-ugly design). Hopefully another manufacturer will set up to the plate to replace it (Dell?) ... and PLEASE Microsoft, let them design their PocketPCs the way they want to - the limitations on button arrangement, screen type, etc. just stifles innovation and expansion.

My mother wants a laptop, and I think one of these will be the choice.

However, I want built-in Bluetooth support, and a Crusoe and DDR RAM would be nice too.

. .

btw this one has a smart card reader to boot ;) ..

Okay, gotta add this, because this beast, the Fujitsu Siemens Celsuis Mobile H apparently has encypted disks as standard.

You can't see it from the spec sheet from this linked pdf spec sheet sorry no Google text cache :(

But if you go to their rather elegant, but annoyingly Flash only presentation and click on "product" at the right and then "security" at the middle, up pops the words "Encrypted Hard Disk : The information stored on the hard disks cannot be read elsewhere even when connected to another computer"

This is one mean machine : 1.13GHz Mobile PIII - M, 5 Channel Dolby Digital out, Quadro 2 Go w/ 64MB vram and TwinView, 15.1" 1600*1200 display, firewire (but annoyingly as an either / or option for ethernet and modem), Detachable wireless keyboard which uses Bluetooth (but annoyingly it seems a proprietary conection), Smartcard reader, and so on.

Do check it out, however I've not even been able to get their UK branch to tell me how the encryption works, if hardware or software - whether EFS under Win00 add to this or make things worse e.g. and what to do if you absolutely *must* do a data recovery job, let alone for someone to quote me. Nor is there any info about the crypto disks in the manual [pdf] or the bios setup guide [pdf]

I've heard estimates this thing is $5K, and not likely to be sold direct in the US. Which is sad and silly of them. I figure more than a few people would get these, despite the tag and the relative bulk and weight.It looks darn good for its size . .

Even allowing for disk i/o being waay down on my UltraSCSI 160 desktop (but 1GB RAM might compensate a little :), in other aspects this is the first time I've though of a laptop as an *upgrade* (and I have a Quadro based Elsa card to boot, and _need_ that card to be there).

So someone get one to review or something. Laptop security is on of the most important issues out there for businesses. It's why Win 2000 Pro get's some respect in this field (EFS as standard), but laptop security in general is rarely well thought out or just plain hard to do.

This an option / aspect / feature I bet plenty other prople than just me want to know more about. It gets me wondering if this encrypted drive and access features (card and fingerprint) are bios level (there seem to be some bios only related aspects to protect bootup) and whether we migh see some *nix running happily on hardware like this, or whether there some annoying custom driver set involved. And no I've not found any drivers on the support site which look like they're suspects as of yet . . Man, would I like to talk to someone who actually has one of these blah blah rant etc.

== Idle Random Thoughts. Usual Disclaimer Apply ==

. .

btw this one has a smart card reader to boot ;) ..

Okay, gotta add this, because this beast, the Fujitsu Siemens Celsuis Mobile H apparently has encypted disks as standard.

You can't see it from the spec sheet from this linked pdf spec sheet sorry no Google text cache :(

But if you go to their rather elegant, but annoyingly Flash only presentation and click on "product" at the right and then "security" at the middle, up pops the words "Encrypted Hard Disk : The information stored on the hard disks cannot be read elsewhere even when connected to another computer"

This is one mean machine : 1.13GHz Mobile PIII - M, 5 Channel Dolby Digital out, Quadro 2 Go w/ 64MB vram and TwinView, 15.1" 1600*1200 display, firewire (but annoyingly as an either / or option for ethernet and modem), Detachable wireless keyboard which uses Bluetooth (but annoyingly it seems a proprietary conection), Smartcard reader, and so on.

Do check it out, however I've not even been able to get their UK branch to tell me how the encryption works, if hardware or software - whether EFS under Win00 add to this or make things worse e.g. and what to do if you absolutely *must* do a data recovery job, let alone for someone to quote me. Nor is there any info about the crypto disks in the manual [pdf] or the bios setup guide [pdf]

I've heard estimates this thing is $5K, and not likely to be sold direct in the US. Which is sad and silly of them. I figure more than a few people would get these, despite the tag and the relative bulk and weight.It looks darn good for its size . .

Even allowing for disk i/o being waay down on my UltraSCSI 160 desktop (but 1GB RAM might compensate a little :), in other aspects this is the first time I've though of a laptop as an *upgrade* (and I have a Quadro based Elsa card to boot, and _need_ that card to be there).

So someone get one to review or something. Laptop security is on of the most important issues out there for businesses. It's why Win 2000 Pro get's some respect in this field (EFS as standard), but laptop security in general is rarely well thought out or just plain hard to do.

This an option / aspect / feature I bet plenty other prople than just me want to know more about. It gets me wondering if this encrypted drive and access features (card and fingerprint) are bios level (there seem to be some bios only related aspects to protect bootup) and whether we migh see some *nix running happily on hardware like this, or whether there some annoying custom driver set involved. And no I've not found any drivers on the support site which look like they're suspects as of yet . . Man, would I like to talk to someone who actually has one of these blah blah rant etc.

== Idle Random Thoughts. Usual Disclaimer Apply ==

. .

btw this one has a smart card reader to boot ;) ..

Okay, gotta add this, because this beast, the Fujitsu Siemens Celsuis Mobile H apparently has encypted disks as standard.

You can't see it from the spec sheet from this linked pdf spec sheet sorry no Google text cache :(

But if you go to their rather elegant, but annoyingly Flash only presentation and click on "product" at the right and then "security" at the middle, up pops the words "Encrypted Hard Disk : The information stored on the hard disks cannot be read elsewhere even when connected to another computer"

This is one mean machine : 1.13GHz Mobile PIII - M, 5 Channel Dolby Digital out, Quadro 2 Go w/ 64MB vram and TwinView, 15.1" 1600*1200 display, firewire (but annoyingly as an either / or option for ethernet and modem), Detachable wireless keyboard which uses Bluetooth (but annoyingly it seems a proprietary conection), Smartcard reader, and so on.

Do check it out, however I've not even been able to get their UK branch to tell me how the encryption works, if hardware or software - whether EFS under Win00 add to this or make things worse e.g. and what to do if you absolutely *must* do a data recovery job, let alone for someone to quote me. Nor is there any info about the crypto disks in the manual [pdf] or the bios setup guide [pdf]

I've heard estimates this thing is $5K, and not likely to be sold direct in the US. Which is sad and silly of them. I figure more than a few people would get these, despite the tag and the relative bulk and weight.It looks darn good for its size . .

Even allowing for disk i/o being waay down on my UltraSCSI 160 desktop (but 1GB RAM might compensate a little :), in other aspects this is the first time I've though of a laptop as an *upgrade* (and I have a Quadro based Elsa card to boot, and _need_ that card to be there).

So someone get one to review or something. Laptop security is on of the most important issues out there for businesses. It's why Win 2000 Pro get's some respect in this field (EFS as standard), but laptop security in general is rarely well thought out or just plain hard to do.

This an option / aspect / feature I bet plenty other prople than just me want to know more about. It gets me wondering if this encrypted drive and access features (card and fingerprint) are bios level (there seem to be some bios only related aspects to protect bootup) and whether we migh see some *nix running happily on hardware like this, or whether there some annoying custom driver set involved. And no I've not found any drivers on the support site which look like they're suspects as of yet . . Man, would I like to talk to someone who actually has one of these blah blah rant etc.

== Idle Random Thoughts. Usual Disclaimer Apply ==

. .

btw this one has a smart card reader to boot ;) ..

Okay, gotta add this, because this beast, the Fujitsu Siemens Celsuis Mobile H apparently has encypted disks as standard.

You can't see it from the spec sheet from this linked pdf spec sheet sorry no Google text cache :(

But if you go to their rather elegant, but annoyingly Flash only presentation and click on "product" at the right and then "security" at the middle, up pops the words "Encrypted Hard Disk : The information stored on the hard disks cannot be read elsewhere even when connected to another computer"

This is one mean machine : 1.13GHz Mobile PIII - M, 5 Channel Dolby Digital out, Quadro 2 Go w/ 64MB vram and TwinView, 15.1" 1600*1200 display, firewire (but annoyingly as an either / or option for ethernet and modem), Detachable wireless keyboard which uses Bluetooth (but annoyingly it seems a proprietary conection), Smartcard reader, and so on.

Do check it out, however I've not even been able to get their UK branch to tell me how the encryption works, if hardware or software - whether EFS under Win00 add to this or make things worse e.g. and what to do if you absolutely *must* do a data recovery job, let alone for someone to quote me. Nor is there any info about the crypto disks in the manual [pdf] or the bios setup guide [pdf]

I've heard estimates this thing is $5K, and not likely to be sold direct in the US. Which is sad and silly of them. I figure more than a few people would get these, despite the tag and the relative bulk and weight.It looks darn good for its size . .

Even allowing for disk i/o being waay down on my UltraSCSI 160 desktop (but 1GB RAM might compensate a little :), in other aspects this is the first time I've though of a laptop as an *upgrade* (and I have a Quadro based Elsa card to boot, and _need_ that card to be there).

So someone get one to review or something. Laptop security is on of the most important issues out there for businesses. It's why Win 2000 Pro get's some respect in this field (EFS as standard), but laptop security in general is rarely well thought out or just plain hard to do.

This an option / aspect / feature I bet plenty other prople than just me want to know more about. It gets me wondering if this encrypted drive and access features (card and fingerprint) are bios level (there seem to be some bios only related aspects to protect bootup) and whether we migh see some *nix running happily on hardware like this, or whether there some annoying custom driver set involved. And no I've not found any drivers on the support site which look like they're suspects as of yet . . Man, would I like to talk to someone who actually has one of these blah blah rant etc.

== Idle Random Thoughts. Usual Disclaimer Apply ==

. .

btw this one has a smart card reader to boot ;) ..

Okay, gotta add this, because this beast, the Fujitsu Siemens Celsuis Mobile H apparently has encypted disks as standard.

You can't see it from the spec sheet from this linked pdf spec sheet sorry no Google text cache :(

But if you go to their rather elegant, but annoyingly Flash only presentation and click on "product" at the right and then "security" at the middle, up pops the words "Encrypted Hard Disk : The information stored on the hard disks cannot be read elsewhere even when connected to another computer"

This is one mean machine : 1.13GHz Mobile PIII - M, 5 Channel Dolby Digital out, Quadro 2 Go w/ 64MB vram and TwinView, 15.1" 1600*1200 display, firewire (but annoyingly as an either / or option for ethernet and modem), Detachable wireless keyboard which uses Bluetooth (but annoyingly it seems a proprietary conection), Smartcard reader, and so on.

Do check it out, however I've not even been able to get their UK branch to tell me how the encryption works, if hardware or software - whether EFS under Win00 add to this or make things worse e.g. and what to do if you absolutely *must* do a data recovery job, let alone for someone to quote me. Nor is there any info about the crypto disks in the manual [pdf] or the bios setup guide [pdf]

I've heard estimates this thing is $5K, and not likely to be sold direct in the US. Which is sad and silly of them. I figure more than a few people would get these, despite the tag and the relative bulk and weight.It looks darn good for its size . .

Even allowing for disk i/o being waay down on my UltraSCSI 160 desktop (but 1GB RAM might compensate a little :), in other aspects this is the first time I've though of a laptop as an *upgrade* (and I have a Quadro based Elsa card to boot, and _need_ that card to be there).

So someone get one to review or something. Laptop security is on of the most important issues out there for businesses. It's why Win 2000 Pro get's some respect in this field (EFS as standard), but laptop security in general is rarely well thought out or just plain hard to do.

This an option / aspect / feature I bet plenty other prople than just me want to know more about. It gets me wondering if this encrypted drive and access features (card and fingerprint) are bios level (there seem to be some bios only related aspects to protect bootup) and whether we migh see some *nix running happily on hardware like this, or whether there some annoying custom driver set involved. And no I've not found any drivers on the support site which look like they're suspects as of yet . . Man, would I like to talk to someone who actually has one of these blah blah rant etc.

== Idle Random Thoughts. Usual Disclaimer Apply ==

The called it Workbook and the Name is Programm!
750 P3, 512 MB RAM, 32gig HD, Celsius GM3 GFX Module (Card) (ATI GFX-CPU)- 16 MB of additional frame buffer and Texture ram and JUST PLAIN ROX with OpenGL.
Detachable Keyboard, DVD, 15" High End TFT Screen, etc, etc...

They built this thing for 3D Designers on a Trainride. Fastest Notebook out there.
It's yours for, you sitting?, 7500$. You won't get smaller and faster than that.

Hi,

I've been hunting high and low for a decent, small box-sized PC-compatible computer for about a year now. Trouble is, here in Germany it is close to impossible to get one unless you are willing to pay about 3 to 4 times the price of a normal computer with similar components.

- I first tried to build the box with a normal desktop case, but not only was it ugly, it was also quite loud. My dream machine is a PC-compatible system that looks like a stereo component and that is silent.

- vanilla, plain set top box hardware is hard to get in Germany if all you want is a quantity of "one".

- those few set top boxes being sold are proprietary and come with long-term contracts, so hacking them is not an option. We did not have an "iOpener" happening here, yet.

- there are very few "small" computers on sale over here. Those you can get usually are "thin clients" like the Dell Onmiplex or the Compaq Desktop iPaq that are not equipped with a TV out.

- Looking at its specs, the Multitainer is my dream machine, but it appears to have been a massive failure. I tested it at my local electronics store and it had a lot of stability problems. Also, it is curious that I cannot get a *new* machine anywhere in Hamburg (one of the major German cities). The few stores that want to sell the Multitainer all have "returned" devices from unsatisfied customers - still for a price tag of 1000 to 1250 dollars.

- I once had a hold on a bki810 computer. It was really nice, except that a) it was not upgradable with more recent CPUs and b) its TV out was sub-par. But my main problem: It was LOUD! It had the noise level of a vacuum cleaner! I tried to replace the fans, but no chance: Local electronics stores did not offer silent fans for that size...

- I've phoned down the local listing of office suppliers for small computers, but none could help me.

- I've also checked the very popular electronics classifieds, the local German eBay-style sites etc. Noone seems to sell used hardware.

After all these attempts, my summary of the problems with "build your own set-top box" is:

* Normal PC hardware is too loud. And surprisingly, some thin clients are, too.

* Few thin clients have a TV out or can be equipped with one.

* Those few thin clients that have a TV out offer a lousy picture quality, usually off-centered or not full-screen on a PAL TV. Yes, I've tried several TV out cards and none of them could come near my very cheap DVD player's TV out. Is it really that difficult?

All in all, I just wish the Multitainer would have been better. It's everything you'd need: Standard PC hardware components and a clever combination of stereo and video connectors. But apparently, it had engineering problems.

------------------

The closest match I found at Egghead is: "Fujitsu/Siemens Scovery 211 Multifunctional Terminal, LINUX Workstation (New)". One search gave a price of $129, another $104, but neither yielded a working link. This appears to be an auction, and may already be ended. At the home page for the machine, it appears the Scovery 110 is 200 MHz diskless Windows CE 8MB flash, while the Scovery xS is a reg'lar PC with Celeron or P3, optional disk, 32MB flash, Linux. Would Timothy care to elaborate? -0