Linux Appliances

Has anyone else noticed the proliferation of little Linux appliances? The latest couple that have been submitted are the PIA (which runs on a Celeron and looks to be available for $300). The other is from Indrema which is still vapor, but with things like a wireless keyboard and an SVHS port, it looks like a cool game box. Rumored release for it is November with a sub $500 price tag. These guys are getting close to what the NetWinders wanted to be a year ago ... What else does the Linux appliance future hold?

Comments

But is it because Linux is superior?

[Anonymous Coward]

Or merely cheap? If the latter, why not use Free/Net/OpenBSD?

My guess is the Linux == Big Bucks approach. Any Linux-based system gets free advertising in web sites frequented by people who would likely buy them (this article is proof of that). And companies know that having a Linux product, no matter how proprietary the hardware, API, etc might be, means a chance at a huge IPO.

Sorry guys. I'm not buying it. Have there been any consumer device running Linux that have sold well to non-Linux users? Both the TiVo and i-Opener seem to appeal to the slashdot crowd, which in the latter case, seems to be a bad sign for retailers. I just don't think that Slashdot readers can make up enough of a market to justify all this hype. Maybe if the Yoppy has a successful launch things will change. I know it would change my impressions.

the future of Linux appliances

[RJ11]

Well let's just say I'd rather have my toilet kernel panic than have my car get a general protection fault.

Owning the PIA

[miracle69]

I purchased a PIA a while back when they were still $350. It pretty much had exactly what I wanted for a living-room machine. It was bare bones, cheap, and had linux installed. Plus, the pic looked cool.

I'm currently happy with it - but wasn't when I opened the box...

The box is cube shaped - something not quite expected from the pics. This isn't a bad thing in my situation, because it sits in my living room, and most people think it is a subwoofer. So, that's a plus.

I pulled it out of the box and plugged it in. It uses Debian - Potato that they've modified a bit. The install instructions tell you how to plug everything in and log in - using username tux and a password which I don't remember. (Instructions are gone) Nowhere can the root password be found. For a newbie, this probably isn't a problem, but I personally didn't like the idea that 1) the company I purchased this machine from knew the only user name and password, and 2) I didn't have root to amend this situation.

But the box brought up a nice KDE desktop and it looked like anyone with a bit of computer experience (setting up dial-up networking under windows) could get on line relatively easily. I ordered mine with the ethernet card, and there were no instructions on how to hook the machine up to a local ethernet - so this option probably isn't for newbies.

What to do? Well, I put in a floppy and CD-ROM drive (both unneeded extras that aren't in the default shipping setup, and both of which I have extras laying around) and installed RH 6.1. This went fairly uneventful. The machine ran fine, but the 32mbs were just too little for me, so I put 64mb in there, and it's a nice living room desktop. Nothing fancy - just functional. MP3s, Internet, email.

For $300, it's not a bad setup - if you can put a little work behind it.