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ASUS Barebones: Multimedia Even Sans Hard Drive
technomegalomaniac writes "This new stylish
barebones combo from ASUS (case+motherboard) is going to outdo Apple in 'the way it looks matters' department. Customizable to your heart content, no OS included (obviously, since you need to buy your own hard drive). Comes with 'Instant On' software that lets you play CDs, DVDs and MP3s without entering the primary OS thus bypassing the long boot process. Definitely a living room toy." Doesn't beat Apple hardware in my eyes, but still looks like a nifty box.
Might actually be good for a dorm room, where space is limited. I do wonder how functional the built in stuff is, though.
Price is the thing I was looking for as well. I tried half a dozen retailer on ASUS' list and on not one could I find the system listed.
Oh, and I don't like the handler either. The suggestion to build it to stack with TV components is a good one. Ye olde slimline desktop would be perfect. Mix that with a nice big hard drive and MythTV and you have a system.
Now, if there was only TV worth watching.
Garry AKA -Phoenix- Rising Above the Flames
Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes
...a *car battery* had sex with a clock radio. That's the lineage I see. Some clunking noises, a blare of static-filled AM talk radio, a drip of battery acid... and a few QA iterations later the creature was born.
The ivory one must look nicer though, right? I only saw a thumbnail of it before I closed the window.
It sounds like a gimick to me. The case is nice, but paying 240 for the case plus paying for the cpu + memory + hdd + graphics + decent soundcard isnt worth it. Unless you have decent parts lying around, it is better to hook up your computer (or a slower, silent comp with a good soundcard) to your sound system and put a remote on it.
I have an A7V classic that's been upgraded to a 2.2GHz Athlon XP-M. Quite reliable and far from obsolete.
But frankly, the S-presso has a long way to go if you think they're going to outdo Apple in "the way it looks matters department." It's too bad the G4 Cube never took off. That is what I would consider a living room toy. Minimalist and elegant. In contrast, the S-presso from the pictures looks like it is encased in cheap plastic made for a 5-year-old. Its shape doesn't look like it will complement components in a home-entertainment rack. If I had one of these puppies, it would probably be sitting behind a chair.
If I'm going to have something like this in my living room, I want it to be quiet. That means I want it to be cool. But this thing has a Pentium 4 motherboard.
I'd really rather have a 90nm Athlon64, with "Cool n Quiet". And whatever 3D chipset has the best performance/heat ratio. (Probably an ATI chipset... too bad the drivers suck in Linux. Are there any nVidia chipsets that can run Doom 3 but don't also heat your room?)
A PowerPC chip would also be good. Hey, Apple -- you ought to make a living-room Mac.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
While I think this is a great idea, I always find these "innovations" are a couple of years behind as soon as they're launched.
Two years ago I would have loved one of these. Today, I expect my HTPC to play DivX/XVid, and stream from a network server as well. DVDs? That's old school!
And embedded also means it probably can't be upgraded all that easily to add these features; it'll mean buying version 2 in a year's time, by which time my requiremens will have moved on...
That said, while I don't consider myself an early adopter, I suppose I am by most (ie non Slashdot readers) standards.
Ok, I agree with you that it is just as ugly as your ordinary beige box, BUT... it's not a beige box. ASUS tried their best to make a good looking non-beige box... and failed. This thing IMHO is just as ugly as a beige box. I wouldn't want one of these in the living room either.
I found this the other day. This looks very pretty klosspc. I'd love to see any reviews on this one!
just to rip that touch panel out Unless someone knows where I can get a similar screen for less than the case?
No sig for you!!
The fact there's a space that needs filling beside your GameCube is proof that it doesn't fit fine.
black, with a colored LED-ish LCD panel
Some unfortunate news for you -- even if you found a way to make it fit nicely on your shelf (the strange shape and that puffy handle aren't helping on this one...), black is not an option.
That's "Starry Blue".