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I got a second machine to use as a server. I have a fast, noisy machine I use for development, and a quiet, slow machine I use as a webserver. The quiet machine is built on the mini ITX VIA Eden fanless CPU/mainboard combo, it has a Seagate Barracuda IV HD, and an external brick power supply. It makes absolutely no noise, and it's powerful enough to handle as my mail, file, and printserver. I could probably spin the drive down when it's inactive, and it really wouldn't make any noise at all. The mini-ITX setup cost me around $350, total.

So.. Like the passively cooled Hush systems?

1. The Nano-ITX cpu/chipset from VIA also does HD mpeg decoding in hardware.

I don't see any HD connectors, just RCA and S-Video. Would the data come over the ethernet jack from another machine?

The Nano-ITX cpu/chipset from VIA also does HD mpeg decoding in hardware. Getting technical docs out of VIA is a blood/stone issue, but the existing community peeps have managed to get the SD HW mpeg decoder working, and you'd expect it to be substantially similar.... You'll need an HD MPEG capture card though because the chip's nowhere near fast enough to do it in software

(The Hoojum [see above link] box also looks very very nice, at least IMHO :-)

Simon

Right now I'm looking into getting an old, old laptop with AC adapter for use as a server
you might be interested in mini itx. you've probly seen that before though... but it seems to fit what you're looking for

Too late - you already can ;)
Toaster PC at mini-itx.com

You could do something like this.

Or just use mini-itx pc's, they're much more silent, and use less power...

You can always build your own mini-itx rack thing.

It consists of lots and lots of Mini-ITX boards :D

Click here :)

I'm doing this now, both at work and at home. The clients PXE boot, download a Kernel, and then run remote X-sessions from the server. An easy way to get this setup is download the K12LTSP custom fedora ISO's to setup the server. It says it is designed for use in schools, but it works equally well in other envirnments. It works really well all in all. Having a $200 client with no moving parts the size of a paperback book is really appealing. Once the Nanode comes out, I plan to set my wife up with one. She can't wait to get the room heater she has now off her desk.

Re: One point that particularly struck me: according to Gruber, 'Unix nerds who care about usability are switching to Mac OS X in droves'

BS. I personally know three former apple users who have moved straight from Apple to x86 Linux. Two to XandrOS and one to Debian. KDE with karamba is plenty 'pretty'. Plus, their new mini-ITX cases are silent, small and of a more pleasing 'modern design'.

My personal experience leads me to believe this is not the case...

Don't forget, IBM is also manufacturing VIA's C3 processors.

You mean Like This?

All the working bits are crammed into the PSU, the rest of the case just has a disco ball in it. Pretty neat case to have sitting on the desk with the side panel off.

I thought that project was kind of dull when I first saw it. It's not improved with time. On the other hand, I really like the look of the new Nanode PC from Mini-ITX (same site), designed by Hoojum.

Take a look at this picture and the cat. Now look at your desktop PC and imagine a cat standing next to it. The nanode really is that small.

I want one.

The site with the rest of the info is here.

D.

I thought that project was kind of dull when I first saw it. It's not improved with time. On the other hand, I really like the look of the new Nanode PC from Mini-ITX (same site), designed by Hoojum.

Take a look at this picture and the cat. Now look at your desktop PC and imagine a cat standing next to it. The nanode really is that small.

I want one.

The site with the rest of the info is here.

D.

A couple of months ago, Linux Journal covered the Bass Station, a converted monster ghetto blaster that is used to stream audio and video to anyone within range of its WiFi antenna. The owners use it as a kind of a mobile Internet block party.

I found it inspiring. They used the Mini-ITX motherboards, and with the upcoming Nano-ITX boards, even smaller and more portable mobile access points can be constructed.

Boy, Glen seems to like the sound of his name, from this feedback form to your post. It has a creepy Branch Davidian feel to it. Also, I once lived near Glen Gardner New Jersey, which wins the Google popcon in a big way. Maybe that's why it creeps me out.

Something like a Tranquil Smooth Server perhaps? Mini-ITX based, with Smoothwall Corporate pre-installed.

Pictures

Someone has already made a cluster out of mini-ITX machines. While it may not be the fastest cluster in the world, I bet my university would rather throw a bundle of these into a small closet, rather than dedicate a huge lab to a bunch of ATX cases... especially given our space problems.

a portable beowulf cluster

Apparently it's perfect for mounting on cats.

I had trouble finding this from the supplied link, this one works much better:

Nanode Computer

I can see getting one of these. Finally a PC with the slickitude of the Apple iCube, and NO FAN!

Here's some pictures and specs from the Nano-ITX PC that Mini-ITX.com is selling.

They are the same people that built a computer inside a Windows XP box a while back.

Yeah, I love this one. It seems to defy the universal law that toast always lands butter-side down, and cats always land on their feet. Or maybe they're inferring that it's a pussy magnet? Either way, I want one ;)

It does seem to have a mini-pci slot on the bottom according to this. This could make for one cool car computer for DVDs, mp3s, and GPS navigation. Low power consumption, low heat dissapation, and good performance for audio and DVDs.

As this picture shows it would be good for Suse users

Check out www.mini-itx.com for more info on this and a soon-to-be-released Nanode design.
Oh, in anticipation of the inevitable Beowulf post, scroll down the mini-itx page a bit...
Well, mini-itx based rather than nano-itx, but still.

There is a perfect prebuilt system for a media centre as well.

Mini-ITX has some pictures here

This is very similar to a Mini-ITX [mini-itx.com] project I saw a while ago.

The main difference is, the Mini-ITX page shows you how everything is layed out inside the picture frame.

buvcjfkojz

Go to this Mini-Itx site and scroll down to the review of "Teeny Weeny PCs"

Hope this helps!

Go to this Mini-Itx site and scroll down to the review of "Teeny Weeny PCs"

Hope this helps!

If you want to display just snapshots, why not pick up an older color PDA with a cradle? They look great, run on low power, and can be had for about 100 bucks. Rigging them into a custom frame is easy, as the hardware is small.

Sure, you're not getting a 17" LCD, but let's be real... You're not getting a 17" LCD. A mini ITX board is easy to come by (I've got a spare if anyone wants one), as is a tiny HDD (Microcenter routinely sells 5gb strips for 15 dollars). Of course, you could always pick up a T-cube

Or bypass style and class altogether and get one of these things.

Note: above links courtesy of Mini Itx.com.

If you want to display just snapshots, why not pick up an older color PDA with a cradle? They look great, run on low power, and can be had for about 100 bucks. Rigging them into a custom frame is easy, as the hardware is small.

Sure, you're not getting a 17" LCD, but let's be real... You're not getting a 17" LCD. A mini ITX board is easy to come by (I've got a spare if anyone wants one), as is a tiny HDD (Microcenter routinely sells 5gb strips for 15 dollars). Of course, you could always pick up a T-cube

Or bypass style and class altogether and get one of these things.

Note: above links courtesy of Mini Itx.com.

If you want to display just snapshots, why not pick up an older color PDA with a cradle? They look great, run on low power, and can be had for about 100 bucks. Rigging them into a custom frame is easy, as the hardware is small.

Sure, you're not getting a 17" LCD, but let's be real... You're not getting a 17" LCD. A mini ITX board is easy to come by (I've got a spare if anyone wants one), as is a tiny HDD (Microcenter routinely sells 5gb strips for 15 dollars). Of course, you could always pick up a T-cube

Or bypass style and class altogether and get one of these things.

Note: above links courtesy of Mini Itx.com.

This is very similar to a Mini-ITX project I saw a while ago.

The main difference is, the Mini-ITX page shows you how everything is layed out inside the picture frame.

Any idea what screen it is using? I've been looking for a LCD or even a color CRT that would fit the SE/30's opening without major modification to the case or fitting a smaller LCD (like this) for a while now.

that's pretty damn cool.

The problem with being a geek, is that you never run out of cool crap that you "have to" buy... they keep bringing cooler and cooler shit to market.

just when I thought I wanted a mini-itx mobo for my PVR project this comes along... oy vey!

e.

The boards I'vs seen do have an ethernet port...

For a real EPIA cluster, check out this:

If the heatsink is massive, and it's made of aluminum, it probably makes up a significant number of the atoms in the computer. As a result, the Pentium M mini-itx board probably uses more electrons. It also, purely coincidentally, uses more electricity than the Nehemiah boards.

Here's your link, by the way.

Give us an f*@king demo, not just some rendered shoot of what it might look like and some specs of what it might do. Don't bitch unless your bitchin' where the damn system.

You could build a system by the time it comes out.

Anyone trashing Infinium here has not bothered to try out Infiniums offerings themselves. If you lazy asses would go to their web site you'd see that they have produced many great things already, including a really cool logo, an Acrobat PDF file with cool graphics embedded in it, and a kick-ass schweeet streaming video file that has techno beats, flashy words and graphics flying all over the screen, I was was like "Whoa! That logo is cool!" I want to upgrade my connection to T3 so I can download the bigger versions of the promotional versions, and here them in Dolby Surround!

The problem with most lame-ass gamers these days is everyone expects to go to the store and buy a plastic box and you bring it home and plug it in and "play with it", as if pushing buttons and controllling things on the screen really matters. Well that's old thinking. Now days we don't have to hold a gaming system in our hands to appreciate it. We can just download a promotional video clips (that are all free by the way, why pay for games when promotional videos are free?) and it shows you what the system would look like, that is if you wanted a plastic box taking space in your home, but we don't have to actually hold it and play it, do we? No!

Infinium is taking the next bold step into "non-interactive promotional gaming" and all of you are just screwing around wasting money on your Pac-Man ancient history non-promotional I-have-to-hold-it-in-my-hands gaming systems. Losers! All of you! I'm never reading Slashdot again, at least not until I come back to work on Monday, I swear, all weekend no Slashdot!

Small, fast, efficient music server. Just plop in a massive hard drive, decent motherboard, etc, and you're good to go. For software, just run an old version of Windows, pop a good streaming music server on (Icecast maybe? Heard good things about it).

If you're asking if modern consumer OSes based on the x86 range are bullet-proof and idiot-proof enough to power a device as easy to use as an answering machine or VCR, then I'd have to say no, these are still hobbyist devices.

one of the MII boards with PCMCIA & CF slots built in

mini-itx.com

You'll be paying a whacking premium for something called a "media center"

check out Mini-Itx.com. Most of them are running windows, but if it's the 50s Radio or the alien, that's where to go... the OS is really secondary.

Which is currently only on Mini-ITX boards, it's an evolution from the Cyrix line of processors and isn't a great performer. Fine for low-CPU things or MPEG playback (it has hardware assist) but currently limited to ~1GHz, and even then performs more like an 800MHz P3.

Lots of info at www.mini-itx.com

Simon.

Have you ever noticed how ANY case mode that gets posted here at /. sucks to high heaven?

Like that x-box "mod" where they made it bigger AND uglier?

Where is all the cool shit like the Millenium Falcon mod where the guy took the time to FUCKING LIGHT UP THE HYPERDRIVE! And did it so it looks like the hyperdrive? And cut a hole into the top of the hard drive and put a LED inside the HD bezel.

Or the Aircraft Carrier Mod? Or the god-damned G4 Cube PC, where it still actually LOOKS like a G4, complete with top loading DVD drive?

I mean, if they're going to post an UGLY Mac case mod, they might want to post this one, which is probably the worst case mod I've EVER seen.

Yeesh. I get so hopeful every time I see this kind of thing pop up it completely shuts my brain down to the drivel I've seen before. I need to filter "Case mod" out of stories in the RSS feed I get.