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Shuttle XPC Linux Network Appliance

Posted by michael on from the little-black-noisy dept.

NoPants writes "Another big name looks like it's going to shack up with Linux. Shuttle, the maker of those small little cube looking PCs, is adopting Mandrake Linux with their newest network appliance XPCs. You can check out a review of the machine at Sudhian."

14 of 186 comments (clear)

  1. The installation review is really impressive by plover · · Score: 5, Informative
    Skip the review of the Shuttle appliance for now. The reviewer perfomed a click-by-click installation review of both Mandrake 9.2 and Windows XP on the machine.

    Bottom line: Mandrake was easier and faster to install than XP. It had just as many pretty pictures, and it required less knowledge on the part of the user regarding networking, hardware, etc. It took 40 minutes instead of 50, and required only one reboot as opposed to the nine+ required to install XP. And when it was done, the reviewer had far more applications ready to run installed on the machine.

    His conclusion was that Linux is indeed ready for the desktop.

    --
    John
    1. Re:The installation review is really impressive by Eberlin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I had always ranted to anyone who would listen about how many times one had to reboot Windows (in my case, win98) during/after installation. Oh I've found new hardware, let's reboot! Same song and dance for a network card, a USB mouse, the sound card, a video card, the webcam, etc. Then it's installing MS Office which requires at least another reboot, if not two.

      My install of RH9 took a few minutes and one reboot -- after which I've got my devices working (yeah yeah, issues with Linux hardware support but if you're careful, everything is supported out of the "box"), have most of the software I need, and am pretty much ready to go. Then you install APT, run the update/upgrade, and maybe reboot again just for fun.

      For a base install (without the extra tweaks), RH9 seems to be more convenient. In all cases, though, especially for updates, broadband comes in very handy.

    2. Re:The installation review is really impressive by mm0mm · · Score: 5, Funny

      I had always ranted to anyone who would listen about how many times one had to reboot Windows

      Reboot is one of the biggest annoyances that made me switch to Linux. I can't tell you how many times Windows reboot interrupted my downloading ISO images from alt.binaries.vcd.xxx. Now I'm so glad I switched to Linux and understand why people are so fond of it.

  2. Re:from the little-black-noisy dept... by adpowers · · Score: 5, Informative

    I agree. I made one of these little machines for someone yesterday. It only has two fans in the system, a power supply fan and a CPU/system fan. Plus, the system fan is a 'smart' fan, so it scales its speed based on the temperature of the CPU. It is loud when you first turn it on, but as soon as it detects that the CPU is a safe temperature, it backs off. I couldn't hear it at all over my normal computer. Even with my normal computer off, it is still very quiet. Unless you are running Prime95 or gaming or something, it should stay fairly quiet.

    I was really impressed with the little XPC machine. My mom thought it was cute machine and I was like, "This is what I have wanted to make for you!"

    adpowers

  3. Network Appliance? by signalgod · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What exactly qualifies this small form factor computer as a network applicance?

    I'm just curious...

    --
    --------------------------------------------- SignalGod ---------------------------------------------
    1. Re:Network Appliance? by erikdotla · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I have to agree with the original poster. It's seamless, simple, kiosk-like software that makes a computer into an appliance. Form factor and cool knobs are a start, and have the potential to allow an enthusiast to turn it into an appliance, but it sure isn't an appliance out of the box.

      After I complete my Mandrake installation, how do I instruct my non-techie brother to copy a video he downloaded to the appliance, and then play it on the TV? I have to write some script to monitor a folder for new videos and play them automatically. Same for pictures? Need some sort of folder monitor and slideshow. Not to mention I have to set up the shares. Forget it.

      A true appliance won't even need a keyboard or mouse. It's front panel would have all the controls you need and well documented usage instructions. I don't have to telnet to my microwave, nor do I have to telnet to my complicated DVD and surround sound equipment, which supports VCDs and the like. I put them in and they start. I put food in, press a button, and it gets hot.

      Since this is a computer-based appliance, it should have the option for remote configuration. Perhaps I'd name my machine Linguo. I'd expect to dump a video to \\linguo\Play_Video and press a video button on the front panel. When it's done, it would archive it into a DVR-like system that I could call up and play later using http://linguo from any computer in the house.

      I'd dump a picture to \\linguo\Pictures and press a picture button on the front panel and it would start a slideshow. Another front panel button would flip it into thumbnail mode (like my digital camera) and a few arrow keys and the picture button would let me view the pictures.

      I'd dump an MP3 to \\linguo\Music and press a music button on the front panel. It would start playing the first track and would have two buttons - album select, track select. If I had 4000 MP3s up there, I might choose to visit http://linguo and ask it to play a specific song.

      Of course, a standard tv-style remote control unit should eliminate the need for even the web server, though it should maybe stay for the "select one song from 4000" example, where a PC interface is simply the most efficient.

      Ideally, I'd never even install the OS, and wouldn't even know or care what it was running. All I know is that it creates shares on my network compatible with Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux, and it works.

      That's an appliance.

      --
      # Erik
  4. Speeding up....... by psi42 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is where things start to pick up...

    With a Linux distro bundled with hardware, buyers of said hardware do not need to go on their own initiative to download and install linux. It is right at their fingertips, bundled with their new barebone. They've just bought a Penguin Powered system, and chances are they will try linux out and not just delete it...... And then they will see the light.....

    And this is where Linux on the Desktop really starts to expand......

    Let it begin.

    --
    Defenestrate Windows...
  5. Mirror! by FiberOpPraise · · Score: 5, Informative

    Since the site is dying at 10 posts already:

    Mirror!

  6. Re:Asus DigiMatrix by ERJ · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah, I was looking at this too as a mythtv frontend to a mythtv server. Anyway, in my exploration I found this site:

    Linus on ASUS DigiMatrix

  7. Re:from the little-black-noisy dept... by konfoo · · Score: 5, Informative

    The only problem is that it *doesnt* stay quiet. I have one of these on top of my TV. The fan on the CPU is a POS, and the two little fans are the same brand. After about 3-4 weeks of being on continuously they are all whining at 100 decibels. I've pulled the plug on the two case fans, but the CPU fan continues to whine and rattle. Cheap-ass POS.

  8. Just got my own Shuttle system by Bander · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I just built out my own Shuttle system a couple of weeks ago, based around the SB65G2 and a P4 3Ghz. Unless you've seen one in person, the "cube" format is smaller than you expect from pictures.

    The quality of the case and motherboard are very impressive, the cooling solution for such a small system is very clever. In addition, the instructions that came with the system are very clear, with photographs that detail each step of the build.

    I'm dual booting it between XP and Redhat 9, and both are running great on the system.

    -- Bander

    --
    What we need more of is science!
  9. Re:from the little-black-noisy dept... by lantius · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've built a few of these as well. My mother loves the one I got her for Christmas, even though it took her a while to understand that it was the whole computer and not just an external cd-burner, which is what she had asked for. =) Even better yet, on the noise fron though Shuttle has finally released a new version, the Shuttle Zen, which features an external laptop-style power brick adapter. Hence, only one fan total and it has even less equipment inside to cool. Very smart! This is of course old news to folks who prefer the Mini-ITX formfactor (or the absolutely tiny Nano-ITX or other such shrinkages), where external power and no CPU fan leads to truly silent computing.

  10. Good article... by jdtanner · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Another good article from these guys.

    My point is, surely your experience of installing an OS is largely dependant on the *extra* hardware that you have e.g. 802.11b card etc

    I think it is great that Linux can get a fairly "standard" PC up and running without too much hastle these days. However, it is the glitches encountered with "non-standard" PCs that mean it isn't quite ready for the end users desktop.

    Just my two pennies worth...

    1. Re:Good article... by FlipmodePlaya · · Score: 5, Informative

      My thinking is just the opposite. I've experienced installs of XP (during a short lived dual boot experiment) and Linux on my PC. I have plenty of potentially problem causing hardware, like my Hauppage 401 capture card and Mad Dog 52x CD burner. SuSe, the only distro I've installed since acquiring the afformentioned hardware, had both of them working after the install. It even threw in KWinTV for TV viewing, and K3B for burning. With XP, I had to use the install CDs that came with those products. That added about 1/2 an hour onto my install time, factoring in reboots. My long winded point is that Linux seems to have already surpassed Windows in terms of auto-configuration for hardware. This is especially helpful during a frustring OS install.

      Another good thing about Linux, it was able to make use of my fancy new NVidia 5900 as soon as I put it in. A quick configuration dialogue (two or three clicks, no settings had to be changed) and I was done with it. With Windows, I was forced to run in a very low resolution while tracking down the NVidia drivers for it. Again, Linux makes using new hardware easier and faster.

      One more story, I bought a USB keyboard to replace a broken, old, PS2 one. Linux autoconfigured it, and I was done with it as quickly as I was with the video card. In Windows, I could not type a password to log on, because it did not recognize the USB keyboard. I had to borrow a working PS2 one from a friend so I could log on, and then plug in the USB KB. I then had to use the character map utility for a bit as I installed the new KB. It took me an extra two days to get a KB working under Windows!