Little Linux Systems For Whatever Ails Ya

An Anonymous Coward writes: "Looking for small pre-built systems for custom Linux-based projects or products? Look no further. LinuxDevices.com has assembled a handy reference list of small systems that can serve as ready-made platforms for prototyping applications, or as the basis of application-specific Linux-based systems and devices. The style, performance, and costs of these systems vary greatly."

Comments

Embedded Linux

[HerrGlock]

This is one place that can make a buck with Linux. Embedded stuff is required and not having to pay a tax per unit sold is preferable to what has been the way.

So far it's been a bit painful, but an OS as a give away is going to be the way to go. Hardware and service all the way.

DanH

Great list!

[JediTrainer]

It looks like a great place to start looking, for sure. Because of this, I'm definitely going to be looking at all of these models, and it made the choices easier (esp. having the reviews linked in).

My only wish, though, is to have an approximate PRICE listed so I can compare everything at once. And perhaps a chart of specs, comparing all the apples and oranges for me.

Re:ails ya

[Guppy06]

"5 hours to figure out how to install a new modem"

Personally, I think the trouble to get the hardware working initially under Linux beats the heck out of the lifetime of fustration that Windows drivers tend to give me.

Linux is playing it smart

[ioman1]

This is a very good start. As with every great company, you start little and work your way up. Marketing and word of mouth are what will bring people to your company. Be Os should pay head to this advice.

Re:Neat stuff

[ConsumedByTV]

And what do you use it for?
Have you tried the Linux or *bsd or even beos compaitable products?
Were you trained with windows and so you didnt go on to anything else? How about Macintosh? How do you know linux is unstable? Did you configure it right? There are a million more ways to think about this, but its a biased ideal that makes it so that windows will have a large user base. I think linux is better than windows for the home market. My grandma doesnt want a blue screen, but she can install debian from start to finish with a clear concious because she knows that she is helping.

This is all very cool but...

[Davoid]

has anyone tried to purchase one of these units? I would like to build a nice little firewall box or something... so where can I get one of these little gems? Of the ones that DO have any sort of place you can buy them they are waaay overpriced. I mean the darn PPC bRIQ (or whatever it is called) is $2,500!! I can get an iBook for almost half that complete with CD, monitor and keyboard.

It is all very well that these devices seem to be available but if they aren't easy to get or are priced prohibitively... what is the point?

There's an old saying...

[lavaforge]

That says: "When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail."

While I'm still learning about design, I sometimes question the effectiveness of trying to put linux onto anything you can get your hands on.

Wouldn't it be more effective to for some of these smaller devices to move more of their functionality to a hardware level? This is not a rhetorical question. I actually would like to know...

Hardware vs. software; custom vs. COTS

[alienmole]

Implementing functionality at the hardware level makes less and less sense as general-purpose processing hardware becomes cheaper and more powerful. For example, it has become cost-effective to put an intelligent chip (e.g. the PIC microcontroller and its ilk) in places where previously, only specialized circuitry was used. The result is typically more flexible - because it can easily be reprogrammed - and more powerful, because it can do "intelligent" things that more dedicated hardware often can't, like connect to the Internet or display data on an LCD.

The same kind of logic applies to many embedded Linux applications. Rather than spend resources designing custom hardware and custom software, it makes sense to use an off-the-shelf and well-understood hardware platform, along with an OS which comes with source, which allows it to be customized and stripped down as small as you need it, to the point where it can fit on a floppy or even a watch.

Instead of wasting time reinventing the wheel, smart designers will choose and customize components that already do most of what they want, which frees up resources to focus on the specific functionality they need, rather than on features that don't have much to do with the application, like memory management and task scheduling.

On some technical level, it might be appealing to have a machine that's been designed from the ground up to do one function, and only one function, with nothing extraneous. But in practice, this tends to be expensive, and the end result is often less flexible.