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A 2" height restriction is going to be almost impossible in a non-laptop form factor, and almost all laptops are bigger than the 1" you're talking about.

What Mini-ITX boxes have you looked at?

Check out Mini-ITX.com. You'll find stuff like Hoojum for lunchbox-sized computers, or you can find something like the Albatrons Viiv Nano-PC that will accomodate almost all the specs you're talking about (when it goes into production).

If nothing else, buy a laptop, then take off the keyboard and screen. I've worked on Dell laptops and it's pretty simple, I don't imagine that other models would be too difficult.

Hoojum Cubit 5 - in chrome.

Very sexy :-)

Compare the Mac Mini with Hoojum products. Coincidence? Engaged made made the same comparison.

Dude, what are you talking about?! Are you trying to compare apples to oranges: huge, ugly, loud & power-hungry PC box with a SFF Mac?! Lets be honest and compare Man Mini to SFF PC.
The *closest* possible SFF PC configuration to compare Mac Mini is:

Hoojum Cubit 3 Case: $214.20
14.7cm(H) x 21.0cm(W) x 21.0cm(D)
(Mac smaller: 5.08 x 16.51 x 16.51)

Panasonic Slotload 24x CDRW/DVD Drive $124.20

EPIA MII 12000 LVDS 1.2Ghz Motherboard $232.20
PentiumM with ITX motherboard will cost much more, Pentium IV/Celeron is not good for SFF PC - too much noise from cooling system and power demanding

Seagate Momentus 40GB 5400RPM 2.5in HDD $135.00

256MB DDR PC2100 DIMM - EPIA M Compatible $66.60

Lex 60W Silent PSU Kit $63.00

Windows XP Home OEM $124.20
-----
TOTAL: $959.40
(All prices are from www.mini-itx.com, i'm sure that you can find some parts cheaper, but not too much)

Mac Mini: $499

And even without looking at a price Apple still wins due bundled software and box dimensions.

The image of the Hoojum kinda reminds me of the old motorhead creado.

"If it don't go... chrome it."

or try the Cubit, which is in my opinion the prettyest available.

Good suggestion, but I don't have Sky and have no intention of getting it. My TV reception is pretty poor where I live, but even when I was getting great reception with my Freeview box, there were still times there was *nothing* worth watching on, IMHO.

Basically, I'm fed up of casual TV browsing. I can't recall the last TV program I'd actually make a point of watching regularly. Yeah, I watch it, but not that much.

I wouldn't consider going for a PC-based solution unless it was in a small, attractive (*), and more importantly, *very* power-efficient and noise-free box. Plus, I'd need a Freeview card, so already it's getting quite expensive, and that's ignoring the time taken to set up MythTV (maybe it's easy; I haven't checked it out).

It might be cool for doing it for the sake of it, but I don't really have the time, money or inclination at present.

(*) Damn... when the hell is the Nanode finally going to come out.... it's already delayed.

Any of the Via based PCs should do the necessaries. They're mostly very quiet, with minimum fans in the case, and probably have a decent disk that doesn't make much noise. Via mobos also support CF cards and the like, so you could even make it diskless, if you want.

http://www.hoojum.com/
http://www.hushtechnologies.net/
(and many more besides for you non-europeans)

The same could be said about the Apple Newton Message Pad 2100. Not exactly a market sucess, but try to by one used and you'll still shell out more than $200 ($100 if it is broken)!

The problem with the cube was its position relative to the current line of Macs, and its relatively steep price ($1800 for the 450MHz version, $2300 for the 500MHz one - not including monitor).

That said, my last check on ebay showed these things still going for $500-$600. Not too bad for a silent, small form factor PC. I think the Hoojum Cubit3, packed with a GHz Via C3 (about equivalent to a Celeron 600MHz) would cost you about $1000, without much more performance.

Go to the forums at mp3car.com. You'll find all the "nerd out your car info" you could ever want to know.

On another note, has anyone seen the Hoojum case for the nano-itx? I thought it was pretty cool.

I've not bought a PC from them yet, but I like the look of Hoojum. They certainly seem to be the most ethical manufacturer I've come across. Does anyone else know of any companies that do similar things?