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Tiny Boxen

Posted by michael on from the blink-and-you'll-miss-it dept.

swg101 writes "These people (openbrick.org) have developed a small computer designed for open source and free software. I quote: "This great little Linux box can be used as a firewall, micro-server, PABX, thin client, multimedia, almost anything imaginable. It contains a fanless 300 Mhz x86 compatible Geode processor and 128 MB SDRAM. Software can be installed on a Compact Flash or on an optional Hard Disk." Sounds like a nice solution for many applications."

6 of 282 comments (clear)

  1. Truely Quiet and Cheap by fm6 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Hmm. If Flash memory gets just a little cheaper, you could have a serious desktop computer with no moving parts at all. Or you could install a disk drive that emphasizes low power consumption and limiting noise, rather than performance. There are a lot of desktop users who hate computer noice and dislike power waste.

    Of course this all depends on availability of good Linux apps. It isn't just the Linux emphasis of the boxes designers. Windows is just too bloated to run on this kind of system.

  2. I want one, by brad3378 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ... For my home entertainment center,
    I especially like the Fan-less processor to cut back on noise.
    but...
    I have looked near and far, and can't seem to find a TV tuner card that will fit in those "small form factor" / low profile PCI slots. Do they even exist?
    Any suggestions besides going the USB route?
    (USB isn't fast enough for a good picture IMHO)

    In most cases, I'd rather have a large tower than a "book-pc", but since I'll be running this 24/7, a 50-100 watt power supply should hopefully cut back on my electric bill.

    After taking a peek at the article, I gotta admit it does look cool. Too bad it is not black ;-)

    --
    1. Re:I want one, by kko · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Hey, while you're looking at the OpenBrick, you could also check out Via's Eden.... you can get a nice Via C3@800, sitting on a mini-itx mobo inside a small case with a ~50W power supply...
      check out www.mini-itx.com...
      I'm using one of these babies right now (I'm playing with the 533MHz version), and I'm getting the 800MHz version in about two weeks...
      I'll just slap 128MB RAM, and a 15GiB hdd I've got laying around... BTW, it runs just fine with the OpenBSD 3.1 GENERIC kernel...

      what????!!!!! *BSD is dying???!!!!! AIYEEEEEEEE!!!

      --
      No, seriously, I just come here for the articles.
  3. Clusters by bwt · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It would be *very* cool if these things could be clustered together to make a scalable server. Need a database server? Then get 32 of these, each with a HD for ~$10K and cluster them together. Each comes with one HD, so you've got your RAID array. Need more power next year? Add 8 more.

    With the coming onslaught of DRM on faster processors, the obvious solution is to find better ways to scale existing hardware products.

  4. Soekris by ksw2 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've been eye-balling a similar system over at Soekris. Same idea, but with 2 or 3 NICs integrated.

  5. Other options by -tji · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There are several other small boards that would make excellent Linux network servers. But, most of the ones I have seen are not sold in small quantities.

    Such as this board: Nexcom EBC563

    It uses the low power / low heat VIA C3. The C3 is MUCH faster than the Geode used in the "OpenBrick". It has 3 NIC's, making it a great firewall.

    Now, only if I could buy it, in a small case..