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Gizmo Turns Old PCs Into Linux-Based Thin Clients

Posted by timothy on from the reclaim-the-old-and-make-it-new dept.

An anonymous reader writes "LinuxDevices has published an article about the 'PC Reviver', a small device that replaces hard drives in aging computers with a solid-state flash memory drive that boots an embedded Linux OS. The 'revived' computer can then be used as a thin-client network appliance for Citrix, Windows, Linux, and/or browser-based server-centric computing networks."

32 comments

  1. OMGWTFBBQLOL by MoOsEb0y · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    that thing looks ghey! Who would trust their data to a 64 meg flash stick? propz to gnaa -moose

  2. I can do that by Apreche · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Take a Compact Flash card, put it in a very simple converter that allows it to be put directly into an IDE slot sans ribbon cable. Mount it, partition it, format it. Build custom linux system on it, possibly based on knoppix. Put a whole bunch of kernel in there with not a lot of userspace. Use dd to make a bunch more of these things.

    The only difference is I don't think compact flash drives are solid state.

    --
    The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
    1. Re:I can do that by Andy+Mitchell · · Score: 1
      The only difference is I don't think compact flash drives are solid state.

      I believe any storage device with no moving parts can be termed solid state. Anyone know for sure?

    2. Re:I can do that by venomkid · · Score: 0

      I think he was referring to the fact that not all compact flash cards are without moving parts, like IBM Microdrives.

      --
      vk.
    3. Re:I can do that by TeknoHog · · Score: 2, Informative
      I think he was referring to the fact that not all compact flash cards are without moving parts, like IBM Microdrives.

      Microdrives are not flash cards, they are hard drives. Even though they have a CF connector.

      Flash refers to 'flash EEPROM' which is different from an ordinary EEPROM in that it can be quickly erased (and possibly read/written too) in blocks instead of single bytes.

      But my computer still has moving electrons and photons ;)

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    4. Re:I can do that by baywulf · · Score: 2, Interesting

      On a CF card, if the OEb pin is tied to ground, the card follows the IDE protocol on powerup. It is just a matter of slight wiring change which is what the converter does. BTW from personal experience you get much better performance using a CF card in USB2.0 bus instead of IDE bus.

    5. Re:I can do that by venomkid · · Score: 1

      Microdrives are not flash cards, they are hard drives. Even though they have a CF connector.

      Heh, yeah. I know what the name means. Guess I should have put the "flash" in quotes.

      Functionally, they're similar, so I don't really differentiate. When my camera's unloaded, it asks for a CF card and it's satisfied even if I feed it a Microdrive.

      I still managed to get modded overrated, though.

      *boggle*

      --
      vk.
    6. Re:I can do that by MarsDefenseMinister · · Score: 2, Informative

      Years ago, when radios were built mostly with vacuum tubes, the transistor radios were marvels of technology. They were emblazoned with little words, announcing that the radio you were holding had "16 transistors" or something like that. The implication was that the more transistors, the better. Another way the marketers would emphasize the high-tech nature of the product would be to put the words "Solid State" on the case. To users, that meant that there were no vacuum tubes inside, only transistors. Vacuum tubes also have no moving parts, so solid state means that it is built with no moving parts, and WITH transistors.

      --
      No weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men.-Ronald Reagan
  3. I don't get it by BCoates · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It looks like all this thing does is replace the hard drive. Even if you don't have a drive sitting around with your semi-old computer, they cost less than the $150 this does, and it'll probably work on a weaker system than a pentium with 64MB ram.

    Or are you paying for the software on the flash drive, too?

    1. Re:I don't get it by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Even cheaper, burn a Knoppix CD.

      --
      You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
    2. Re:I don't get it by Nagus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Often the hard drive is the most important bottleneck in older machines. I don't know exactly how fast the Flash ROM in this thingy is, but it's surely faster than some random old hard drive.

      My guess is that many old machines will be plenty fast enough for use as a terminal (which is the intention of this product) with this bottleneck removed.

      Now, if their software is well-done it might well be worth the price, in some situations. If you just replace a hard-drive, you still need to install, configure and administer some sort of OS on it. If what comes with this is better than what you can do in $150 worth of time, it's worth it.

      --
      Wenn ist das Nunstruck git und Slotermeyer? Ja!... Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!
    3. Re:I don't get it by Looke · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Getting rid of a noisy and unreliable harddrive is a definite plus, as anyone who have heard the noise difference between a classroom full of Win95 computers and the same computers running as Linux thin clients without hard drives will agree.

      That said, Linux thin clients (LTSP) can easily boot from a floppy or a PXE network card, without needing expensive, specialized flash drives.

    4. Re:I don't get it by AJWM · · Score: 1

      Maybe so, but a hard drive won't boot up in 15 seconds.

      Also, one point of thin clients (which this is designed for) is that you don't have to worry about the users loading a drive with data that needs to be backed up or new software that has to be supported (or interferes with what you are supporting).

      --
      -- Alastair
  4. Pointless by Kris_J · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Working sub-4Gig hard drives are not hard to come by. For that matter, Win98 boxen complete with valid licenses are hardly rare. What exactly does this do that someone who understands the concept couldn't put together themselves?

    1. Re:Pointless by renehollan · · Score: 3, Insightful
      What exactly does this do that someone who understands the concept couldn't put together themselves?

      Save them the time to roll a flash-friendly distro?

      --
      You could've hired me.
    2. Re:Pointless by llefler · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Save them the time to roll a flash-friendly distro?

      Exactly. I have several spare 128m CF cards for my camera. I have the IDE adapter that I bought over a year ago. But I never seem to have time to put together the OS to run on it.

      Just need to get a minimal config to run rdesktop, xterm, and VNC. But you also need to mount /home to a network drive and move /var either to the network or RAM. Knoppix might be a good start, but it's way too big and would need remastered.

      It hasn't been a priority, but it would be nice to have a PC/Terminal with no moving parts. Unfortunately, $150 is too much for a hobby project I really don't need. (just want)

      --
      It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. -- Harry Truman
    3. Re:Pointless by Thag · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Working sub-4Gig hard drives are not hard to come by.
      In NIB condition? In lots of 50 or more?

      They stopped making full-sized drives under 4 gig years ago. You might scrounge a couple, but to be useful for a real business you need a lot more, and worn-out old drives are going to be an immediate maintenance problem.

      Bigger newer drives aren't going to be addressable by older BIOS chips.

      Jon Acheson

      --
      All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
    4. Re:Pointless by Kris_J · · Score: 1

      If you're comparing an old hard drive to an embedded solution, surely you just have a standard image. Keep a set of (cheap, old) imaged hard drives around and if one fails throw it out and replace it.

    5. Re:Pointless by Kris_J · · Score: 1

      Aren't there enough distros for this sort of thing already?

    6. Re:Pointless by renehollan · · Score: 1
      Dunno. Maybe. Heck, I used to roll custom embedded Linux distros for in-house use (though, when "embeded" means on the meager 9 Gb SCSI disk, you're pushing the meaning of the word).

      I'm sure you could look at LinuxDevices.com and find a distro you could put on that hardware, and then customize it, etc.

      Of, for $150 buy the thing all ready configured for you. You decide how much your time is worth.

      --
      You could've hired me.
  5. The advantages? by polyp2000 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It seems to me that the "advantages" for this thing are its ease of installation. Literally a "Plug'N'Play" linux with a few nifty tools thrown in to make use as a thin-client a little simpler.

    I dont think its anything that a reasonably experienced linux user couldnt set up on a usb flash "ala - Mandrake-Move" (cept those older Pentium Class PC's will probably not have USB slots. They seem to be claiming the flash drive has fast boot times. Older 4gb drives might not be comparably quick (although I doubt this there are probably other reasons other than RPM and data-seek times) that make their solution nice and quick.

    Now what would be really really nice, is to see something like this using one of those tiny hitachi 4gb numbers....

    Nick ...

    --
    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
  6. Not pointless at all by StillDocked · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The point is that it would make a great tool for offices that have a need for a larger number and are unwilling to have someone spend the time prefabricating them indiviually. It is a question of convienence for me.

    That being said, from a convienece point of view, Win98 boxes just don't work in my (our) environment here (antivirus issues, et cetera) and I would be loathe to have any hoisted upon me. We already have embedded Linux thin clients, and if we could convert older machines at $150 per, that would be wonderful. It would save us money and time.

    I think we are going to order a couple of units as test units to see if they work in our thin client environment.

    1. Re:Not pointless at all by Kris_J · · Score: 1

      A locked-down 98 box that just runs a Terminal Services or Cytrix client could almost get away without anti-virus protection -- particularly if it contained no user files and just used a standard image that could be swapped in on a new hard drive if a virus did hit it.

  7. Not really pointless, but expensive by jbarr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    To some, this may seem pointless, but if it's truely plug-and-play, it could be a boon for many applications.

    At home, I have several "older" computers with Windows installed, and they are pretty much used exclusivly as "Remote Desktop termianls" accessing a "server". Being able to eliminate Windows in favor of a quick-booting system would certainly be welcome. And never having to worry about local configuration, local backups, etc. again would be welcome.

    But yes, for $150.00, I could set something up myself, but not everyone is as tech-savvy.

    Anyone know of a good "do-it-yourself" alternative?

    --
    My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
  8. organisation will 500 low usage PC's by tod_miller · · Score: 1

    These run office, email, and web.

    They needs to upgrade them to run the new version of XP.

    They see this.

    They think, aaah, we can controll everything and make sweeping changes and upgrade in minutes.

    *knock knock*

    Who's there?

    Microsoft!

    Microsoft who?

    Microsoft who just bought you a jag and a place in a university of your choice for your brat kids.

    Oh, you'd better come in then.

    --
    #hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
  9. A Solution in Search of Problem? by rueger · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This strikes me as one of those neat solutions that sadly won't find a market.

    A few years ago, when a new business class PC would run the better part of two thousand bucks, this would make sense. In today's corporate setting a new PC with Windows licence wouldn't cost significantly more than than the PC Reviver.

    If your existing stock of PCs are old enough that this is the only way of making them useful, what other hardware failures are looming?

    --
    Three Squirrels
  10. Damn... $150 for this thing... by GreenKiwi · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wow! They want you to spend $150 to revive an old PC? Why not spend $150 more and buy a brand new one. You can pick up a Dell PowerEdge server for $300. And it'll have a 2.4ghz Celeron and a 40gb drive.

    Ah well... just doesn't seem worth upgrading the other.

    kiwi

  11. price is very high. by geohump · · Score: 2, Informative

    Price for the hardware seems high. Just take one of these devices below:
    http://purchase.winstation.com/mall/Flash_Disk_Mod ule_Horizontal.asp http://www.disklessworkstations.com/cgi-bin/web/in fo/fdm.html?id=IUiSsDnP http://www.idotpc.com/TheStore/Desktop/890Spec.asp ?Product.id=890&Cate.id=11
    And flash it with LTSP ( http://www.ltsp.org ) and you have the same thing. Plug it into an old PC, and you have an instant thin client which doesn't need to boot over the network. The kernel is embedded and LTSP supports pretty much all of the services listed for this device, and it looks like they will be adding support for "FreeNX" same as asterisk.

    1. Re:price is very high. by itwerx · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Price for the hardware seems high.

      Totally agree.
      What I'm wondering is if this $150 version is setup to preserve the FLASH? I.e. is there some RAM on board for temp files and the like? Or does it die in a couple years of use because it's been written too many times?
      Or does it depend entirely on workstation RAM? (In which case I wonder how much is really needed for decent performance?)
      In any case, probably any CD distro would already be setup to not try to write to the boot media so that might be a useful approach as well. (I.e. just dump the CD distro into a FLASH device).
      Anybody done anything like this before...?

    2. Re:price is very high. by FictionPimp · · Score: 1

      with newegg selling 85.00 1 gig USB flash drives. I'm about to explore the possiblity.

  12. What's so thin about it by ClosedSource · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So you take a fat computer that could already handle browser-based apps, replace the hard drive with a new device and add $150. The end result: less functionality at additional cost.

  13. PXES by Ricdude · · Score: 1

    I use the PXES boot cd image for just this purpose. I'm typing this on the PXES PC in the kitchen, which is really an X terminal to the Linux PC in the bedroom. X rules.

    --
    How's my programming? Call 1-800-DEV-NULL