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Blurring the Line Between Laptops and Desktops
bart_scriv writes "BusinessWeek looks at the latest offerings in ultra-portable PCs, offering up some specs and pictures. Some of the highlinghts: removeable 19-20 inch LCD dispays, dual NVIDIA cards and customizable exteriors. On the downside, some of these machines weigh almost 20 pounds and all of them sport a pretty high price tag — they probably won't be replacing desktops or laptops anytime soon."
That's not a portable! My laptop is heavy at 8lbs and it sucks to carry around with all of the gadgets and gizmos. Heck... even my SFF is lighter than 20 pounds. I love the concept but the weight has to improve big time.
Slashdot.. where people join together in deliberate ignorance.
What's "ultra-portable" about a 20" form factor and 20lbs of weight?
The worst of both worlds. Big and heavy, thus hard to move around. Performance hit and battery life woes too!
I've heard this guy has just filed a lawsuit. Apparently he holds the patent for method and aparatus for blurring the line between laptops and desktops.
Karma: Positive (probably because of superiour intellect)
What the hell gives those things the name ultra-portable? For that matter, who would actually want any of these things? It has none of the advantages of a laptop, so basically it's a desktop that costs more than most laptops, with mid to high-range performance.
There would probably be a market for such PCs in offices, hospitals, etc etc, still for us this just means hard or impossible to customize, expand, personalize/tweak/mod. So far only Apple managed to sell such hardware to a somewhat considerable average user base, this IMHO should be a sign to care about. And there are also what you would call zealots - and if you wish, I'm also one - who'd never buy a desktop PC for home use pre-built. Of course at work we always order Dells and the like, as any other sane human would do, and this is one of the possible target market - which I was talking about in the beginning - and these places will probably drop really big money for these smaller machines.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
Of course knowing that didn't stop me from cursing about how heavy my bag was while lugging it around the subway on the way to the clients!
How many people here are looking for a 15+ lb. machine to replace their desktop priced at $2000+ USD?
Okay, now how many people are looking for a sub-5 lb. machine in a laptop form factor that can run basic productivity software with excellent battery life priced at less than $800 USD?
Why are there so few options for the latter scenario? And an even better question: why are there so many options for the former scenario!?
1. Cost in the more than $2000 range, up to $5000.
2. Adopted in developing countries, where power is much more unstable or harder to get - easier to recharge this from solar cells or power that's only on a few hours a day.
3. Reminds me of the old "luggable" portables one hated having to lug around, especially give the 20 lb weights.
4. Might be good for someone off the grid, with a portable high-speed connection (satellite dish or long-range WiFi?)
5. Might also be good for someone who is retired and moves infrequently (snowbirds).
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Laptops are great, they are so handy. I am sitting on the sofa writing this, something I can't do with my tower PC. The price of laptops is reasonable these days too.
Frome TFA: 'LIMITED CAPACITY TO CUSTOMIZE'
Agreed! The one thing that makes me still want a tower PC at times is that it is much cheaper and easier to upgrade a tower PC with the latest gadgets. Try upgrading the graphics card in a laptop computer, or installing a TV card... Ugh!
I'll probably be modded down for this...
What you've just described is simply a high-end laptop. My 2-year-old Toshiba laptop even has a 7200 rpm hard drive (upgraded, but still 7200 rpm). It also has tv out and handles multimedia well. I can attach a 2nd monitor and watch hdtv-resolution video with no problem at all. I frequently play Unreal Tournament 2004 at 1024x768 with 32 bit color, and it does fine (unless I max out the quality settings with stuff like trilinear filtering, at which time it overheats the improperly cooled video card).
Didn't we used to call these luggables back in the day?
You hauled around a big honking box which had the monitor and everything built it. They were utterly immense.
A 20lb 'laptop' is kind of a scary thought.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
>>"ultra-portable PCs..." "...20 pounds"
Excuse me? What's that word again? "ULTRA-portable?" Compared to what, exactly, a steam powered Babbage Difference Engine? That's 20 pounds PLUS the weight of the bag PLUS all the shit you carry around with it including a charger, probably an extra battery (if battery life is as bad as the article says), CDs, mouse, books, etc.
Who would this appeal to? I just don't get it.
I know what "ultra" means. Do they? I believe the phrase they are looking for is Semi Portable, not Ultra Portable.
That's like saying Windows is Ultra Stable or Linux is Ultra Simple!
Tom "Ultra Brilliant" Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
-Tom
... processor performance is still gimp and in general the video cards in laptops (vs luggables) suck. Those are 2 big points for developers. The rest is just gravy :)
While I own a powerbook, just about any 12-15" laptop with a decent video out, and a couple of USB ports works great both ways.
my 12" powerbook normally sites on my desk with a USB keyboard and mouse plugged and on the keyboard tray and a 19" LCD off to the side. I can use both displays at the same time(a feature found in all OS's now a days) and the hot swap mini dvi port means i can unplug the 19"lcd and plug in my 27" tv, sit back and watch a dvd. Both displays automatically switch to the settings I like for each.
Then when i do travel I just have to carry a 4.5 pound notebook, and a light case containing a couple of cords a USB travel mouse. Most of the time while traveling i don't even both with carrying a power supply because I have 4 hours of wireless web surfing, and more if i turn off the wireless card.
That's called the best of both worlds. And as I stated you can do that with XP or linux as well(not sure about hot swap monitors for either, but that's relatively minor)
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
>>It would be good for lan parties, but I suspect it's really a way to get people to take their work PC home.
2Gb Pen drive. 4 ounces vs 25 pounds.
I agree with your sentiment. These luggables are a solution in search of a problem.
but I'm realizing that there's a lot of people don't really need a lot of the features of their laptops - they're not moved often, they don't ever use them without plugging them in - but they do want some kind of portability and the tidiness (no mouse, keyboard or video cables, just one power thing). Seems to me an updated version of those fold-up-into-a-briefcase computers would do well, especially if they were easy to upgrade, but then what do I know?
there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
If "ultraviolet" means light that is beyond violet "ultra-portable" means beyond portable. i.e. it's too heavy to be considered portable.
...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
That's like saying Windows is Ultra Stable or Linux is Ultra Simple!
Good flames, but for the win you need to insult Windows, Linux and Mac all in one sentence. You only managed two out of three.
I'll probably be modded down for this...
I have had a Dell XPS Gen 2 for about 6 months now and I love it. Performance in Linux is spectacular and I get to boot in to Windows to get my frag on in a high FPS way. It's important to keep in mind, however, that the "desktop replacement" laptop is not designed for the jet setting business crowd that has to lug bags through an airport 1-4 times a month. I'm guessing that, demographically speaking, that crowd is less interested in video games than the typical power desktop owner anyway, and that's really what these behemouths are made for - the ability to game.
Does it suck to stand in a security line for 30 minutes with one? Hell yeah. Don't buy one if you are going to find yourself in that situation often. But don't let an innappropriateness for one application color your opinion for the technology as a whole. If you want a small laptop, you can buy a small laptop. If you want a portable gaming machine, you can buy a big laptop If you want a small laptop and a killer gaming machine in one, you can get it at the Have Your Cake And Eat It Too store. (It's owned by Best Buy and right now they have $4000 mail-in rebate coupons for them.)
http://biphome.spray.se/baxtrom/t1000/
Can I run Visual Studio .NET and a full install of SQL Server 2005 on it with relatively large (20 gig or so) databases?
If not, it's absolutely useless to me, as shiney as it is, and regardless of how many games you play on it.
Why is everything a chance to evangelize or an opportunity for a sales pitch?
WHY DONT YOU MAC CLOWNS EVER SHUT THE FUCK UP? I've never seen a mac in use by anyone but trendy mcpopcollars and wannabe computer guys. Face facts, it doesnt run the software that I (or the majority of the world) need on a day to day basis.
It's really easy to "just work" when it has such limited usefulness, and it's easy to "not need drivers" when it's hardware specs are cast in stone on high Mt Jobs.
Fortunately for me, it's also just easy to install the drivers and software I need on a PC.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Here is what I'd like to buy: a laptop, but without the keyboard, monitor, touchpad, speakers, and optical drive. Basically a little brick I could carry back and forth between work/home and drop into a docking station that's hooked up to a full-size keyboard, mouse and 21" LCD monitor. If you ditch all the human I/O devices (keyboard, touchpad, monitor, speakers) and commit to using an external optical drive, the thing shouldn't be much bigger/heavier than a portable hard drive.
Alternately, I'd be happy with a "very fast" portable hard drive that has an elegant plugin interface to a desktop box. Then I could install everything on that drive and just lug it back and forth. The issue there is that I'd need to have "very similar" hardware in the two locations.
This fits into the category between portable laptops and stationary PC:s. It smells like a reversed Origami project really, which is normally a category between a handheld and a portable laptop.
I'm sure it's actually going to be used by some, but there's never going to be a market for a beast like this until we have foldable screens and a maximum of 4 KG (8 pounds) or so. Seriously, even my 23" monitor is portable to some extent, but that's not a reason to carry it under your arm.
Full Tilt
Quasi-portable.
from Webster's:
1 : having some resemblance usually by possession of certain attributes (a quasi corporation) 2 : having a legal status only by operation or construction of law and without reference to intent (a quasi contract) [emphasis mine]
...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
...think of it as serving the same function as an iMac.
Your basic Shuttle PC weighs about 4kg before you add the disk and CPU, takes standard PCI cards, has an optional handle for the top, and costs about $200-300 empty, maybe $700 heavily loaded, plus you'd need an LCD monitor of whatever size is convenient and a little keyboard. That'll weigh a lot less than these misnamed monster laptops, use standard parts so there's a viable upgrade path, and cost 1/4 as much.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Boy, you get awfully angry over such a nothing. Maybe you need psychiatric help.
Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
I consider my iMac G5 a portable desktop. It weighs about 20 pounts, and I even bought a custom case (with backpack straps) that makes it easy and pretty safe to carry it around. It sets up in seconds, and the new iMacs are even lighter.
I took it carry-on on a flight to Hawaii (for work) and had no problems, TSA was way interested, oohs and ahhs.
I'll ignore the rest of your pointless comment but respond to this:
.NET and a full install of SQL Server 2005 on it with relatively large (20 gig or so) databases?
.NET clone) and any of its IDEs. I run a 5GB mySQL database on it (far faster than SQL Server for most tasks) also with no problems. I'm a software developer and use it for work anywhere I choose to be.
Can I run Visual Studio
It runs Java (you know, that
I was a software developer on Windows for 10 years and happily switched to Unix/Mac. You wacky Windows zealots will never get me to use that OS ever again.
Developers: We can use your help.
ABORT, RETRY, FAIL? (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/highlinght s)
OK, so it's got an optical drive, but otherwise fits your bill: Mac mini.
Well I'm pretty sure the new MacBooks can with Parallels Workstation (http://www.parallels.com/)... I'm hoping to replace my 12" Powerbook and Dell Latitude for this reason. Sorry if this pisses you off... I guess...
You need a hug.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
There has been a class of portable computer called a luggable since the early 1980s - don't start calling it a laptop luggable!!
:-(
;-)
In order of size we have:
PDA
Palm Top (nothing to do the Palm OS)
Notebook - so named for being the size of a5 notebook
Laptop - but has anyone noticed modern laptops will die from heat dissipation problems if you actually use it on your lap.
Desktop replacement - a laptop that proves battery technology still has a way to go.
Luggable - very heavy portable computer that usually runs only on mains voltage; if it has a battery it lasts about 30 minutes or weighs more than small car. Actually, luggable battery power is designed for UPS type operation rather than real world usage. There are special batteries for military luggables that last between three and twenty four hours depending on mission requirements - these are quite expensive as you may imagine.
These days the difference between a high end luggable and a mainframe is mainframe carry-on luggage bags have to be made to order.
heh, i have been toying with an idea like that for some time (i think i even have a journal entry about how i envision it here on slashdot.
you dont realy need that much similar hardware, but licencing issues will show up when going windows...
in windows you can set up diffrent hardware profiles, and linux never have a big problem detecting and loading the right drivers at boot-time.
btw, i belive i spotted a entry on engadget where some company was planing a imac-clone with a replaceable hardware box. the hardware was stored in a box the size of a PSU and a had handle for easy removal and transport. this was buildt into the back of a LCD-panel...
comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
Yeah, I want a MacMini too!
The cake is a pie
IMHO, a notebook sitting on my wheezing high-pitched hot air at me is annoying. I'd rather have a deskside CPU box, with a larger, quieter fan.
I wonder if there are any desktop replacement notebooks that don't have fans? (Or, if they do, have very quiet fans...)
As far as I know, all the Dell notebooks have fans. Sure, when the machine is idle, the fans don't run. But, once you start doing some amount of work, expect the "wheeeeeeeee".
Keep in mind that the majority of the world also doesn't need to run Visual Sudio .Net or SQL Server with a 20 Gig database.
It's called "Server" for a reason.
So you're the one who lost all those Social Security records!
involving millions of records, tens of gigabytes at a time, on a pentium M lapt
seriously though, i wouldn't take my Powerbook anywhere near a 40-person raid encounter in WoW
Here's my idea for a portable desktop: The computer and storage can be in a backpack, with a laptop shaped screen and keyboard that wirelessly hook up to it. That way you can have a lot of computing power, but still be able to carry it around, and have a lightweight, ergonomic device to hold and use. You could plug the backpack in, and carry around the laptop-like I/O device, which would have plenty of space for batteries. A battery for a fully powered desktop computer would probably be too heavy to every carry around.
Stupidity is like nuclear power, it can be used for good or evil. And you don't want to get any on you.
A desktop should never try to become like a laptop. It is, in contrast, the laptop's eternal dream to become a desktop..hence the phrase "Desktop Replacement".
Can you imagine a "Laptop Replacement"? All the other desktops would call it a pussy.
you don't want gma 950
It exists (sotra), behold the OQO! Its a little brick with a screen and keyboard that you can dock and use as a full PC. Not quite what you asked for but close.
"I've never seen a mac in use by anyone but trendy mcpopcollars and wannabe computer guys. Face facts, it doesnt run the software that I (or the majority of the world) need on a day to day basis."
.NET really serves its purpose, doesn't it?
/.tters that may be reading this - personally, I can't help but to feel like chuckling when I read about how so many people who posted to this article mention how heavy laptops used to be, are now, and apparently will be, when Apple has provided such a slim and light unit. Of course, Mac OS X won't serve everyone's particular needs, but when I think about the sheer weight and girth of these new offerings from the major widget manufacturers, and the fact that they will SOON be available, I wonder if anyone would consider installing Windows XP or Vista on a MacBook Pro...when Apple works out the kinks.
h an-Dot-NOT, just let me know if you require any more reasons as to why Mac users won't 'shut the F up'. I'm dying to tell you.
Wow. I guess this guy doesn't get out much. Apparently the world doesn't need MS Office, Final Cut Pro, iLife, Doom 3, MySQL, C++, and a multitude of other applications, programming languages, and games that are available. I guess since this guy's so smart, perhaps he can tell me how these companies somehow make a profit and pay the bills by providing software that he and the majority of the world 'don't' need on a day-to-day basis. I guess the US Army doesn't need the farm of Xserves they use to keep their Website running. I guess the sizeable percentage of music production studios and film houses - both indie and pro - don't need the plethora of software that helps give their projects life.
I guess the rest of the world relies only on SQL Server and Visual Studio on their laptops while they sip lattes at their local coffee houses. I guess all of the scientists, students, business owners, soccer moms, musicians, digital artists, magazine editors, and IT professionals (like me) don't use anything but Microsoft's wares to fulfill our every computing need. I guess we're all 'wannabe computer guys', just like the engineers at Apple, right?
Wow, what insight. I'll bet you can create an entire two-button Web form all by yourself in Visual Studio. Heck, I imagine that you can probably link controls and textboxes to records in your 20 GB database of p0rn and view them at will! Boy, ADO
Outside of the dual GPUs and incredible weight of the aforementioned 'portable' products, my 17" PowerBook has all of the features listed. Including a wide-screen. And my Apple weighs less than seven pounds, and is about an inch thick. It feels like I'm carrying a magazine. That's why we won't 'shut the F up'. Mac users pretty much have everything that they need, including database software and development tools. For the most part, they like their computers, and like using them, instead of having to just deal with them.
And about the article, for the rest of the
Hey, Mr. Me-And-The-Rest-Of-The-World-Needs-Nothing-More-T
Can't help you with the hug, though. Cheers.
(there goes my karma)
"Oh, yes, you did, Brett...yes, you did!"
...Neither would I. ;)
"Oh, yes, you did, Brett...yes, you did!"
I really did!
Had to carry compaq 18 lb monster, thru o'hare airport, thru snow, to our destination for an engineering test.
sigs are for losers (except to point out that sigs are for losers)
Big laptops are nothing new - what's interesting is the Samsung M70 with a detachable screen. Finally!
Consider the potential options:
- LCD dies -- go buy a replacement screen instead of sending in your entire notebook for repair
- keep a backup LCD
- Laptop motherboard dies - keep the screen and buy the notebook without the LCD, saving $100's
- buy a lower resolution LCD screen and upgrade later
- Detach and use on a stand for a more ergnomic fit -- or use 2 LCD screens.
- keep two screens at home and work. travel with screen-less notebook for less weight
I don't know if/when it will happen, but I look forward to the day the notebook industry implements a standard LCD/notebook cradle or other physical interface to attach LCD screens.
I agree that Shuttle SFFs are more upgradable, but they weigh much more and are not nearly as portable.
A light dual-core Shuttle SFF like the G5 2000 Series weighs 3.2kg net and 4.8kg gross (other models weigh more). I'll assume "gross" weight includes disk, CPU, etc. Shuttle's light 17" semi-portable LCD (has a handle) weighs 4.3kg net and 6.4kg gross (the better model weighs more). I'll assume the gross weight includes the LCD's power brick. Not including keyboard/mouse and speakers, that's 11.2kg (24.7 lbs) for a light Shuttle SFF with 17" LCD that (together) are only semi-portable (you need a good carrying bag).
A Dell XPS M2010 weighs a total of 20.8 lbs (9.4 kg), but that includes its 20.1" LCD, full-size detachable keyboard, 8 speakers w/subwoofer, and AC adapter. Sure, it has less upgrade options than a Shuttle SFF. But (unlike most laptops) the Dell monster does have two hard drive bays with RAID support, a much larger (20.1") built-in widescreen LCD, and is much more portable than the Shuttle bundle. For my money, I'd take a Shuttle but I'd rarely transport it. However, it's not comparable to Dell's monster portable.
"Laptop" is just a traditional name we have used for foldable portable computers. I like to call the Dell XPS M2010 a "briefcase computer," but more people understand what you mean if you call it a big fuckin' laptop.
TO START
PRESS ANY KEY
Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...
Has anyone bothered to see the Kensington port replicators that come with the 'ultra-portable' DELL light weight laptops? :)
You have to physically connect 4 cables to the thing: power, USB, monitor (oh just try the USB video... it is GRRREAT*sarcasm*), DVD reader...
At least with this one you probably don't have as much to attach and detach!
I don't know... i didn't rtfa... i'm just ranting!
I fondly remembered how cool it was that you could actually carry a computer home from work.
I am getting old.
http://oldcomputers.net/osborne.html
Ok. So it works for you. Great. No, no sarcasm here, that's really great. I'm even happy for you.
But did you really need a whole 5 paragraph essay to say that? "It works for me." 4 words. Barely a complete sentence. Gets the point across though.
Thanks for your explaination though. And no, not everyone needs MS Office, Final Cut Pro, iLife, Doom 3, MySQL, C++, and a multitude of other applications. Mostly they just need one or two of the above.
My distinction between laptops and desktops is that one can be carried, and one cannot. My desktop cannot be carried. If you make a 20 pound computer with a handle, there is no way that's blurring the line - it's still in the desktop area firmly by my standards.
I do the same with my 12" iBook, and it's great - at home I set it on the desk and plug everything in, then I unplug everything and stuff it in a backpack. Most of the time when I'm away from home, I don't need to do anything that would be difficult on a 12" screen, and the small size is much more convenient to haul around.
:-( I'm hoping Apple figures out how to make a 13" MacBook Pro; the new MacBooks look awesome but I want decent video (mostly because of Quartz 2D Extreme which should be working in Mac OS X 10.5).
There are small PC laptops available, of course, but apparently most people haven't seen them, because I very frequently get comments on how small my laptop is (plus it's white and has a glowing Apple logo on the back, so that tends to stand out too).
The only downside is, my iBook isn't quick.
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
You want either a Mac Mini, or an USB drive.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
I was looking for some portable device to, well, be portable. I realized that I was pretty much the only one who's actually interested in those. 17-inch laptops are fugly and simply stupid, they lose the point of being a PORTABLE computer. The battery life generally tends to be around one hour at max on those things, to power their 1.000.000 RPM harddrives and their 40 GHz octa-core processors. Please kill me.
o hai
Mac mini?
http://www.frenchgeek.com/
Neither's exactly right. The mini isn't designed to be portable, so there's no docking interface. It's also bigger and heavier than some ultra-ligth laptops, and it has fans. Because it's not designed to be portable, the ergonomics aren't 360 degrees. Turn the thing upside down and that's obvious. I was imagining something like this, but without the display, keyboard, touchpad and battery. It weighs 2.2lb with all that stuff, so fiture maybe 1.5lb without.
A USB drive would work, except that the USB interface somewhat nukes the drive's performance and requires additional cpu usage to manage the communication. A portable Raptor-X with FireWire 800 would be nice. The issue there is that if I'm going to have a single OS installation running on multiple hardware profiles, the OS had better have support for it. Another poster indicatd Windows does. If that's true, then the "really fast portable hard drive" solution migt just work. All that's missing is a smallish desktop case with a nice "slot" interface for the drive, so I wouldn't have to fool with cables. I'm imagining something similar to the old "slot" interface used for 8-track tapes.
At least 20 lbs., possibly as much as 40 or 50, the Kaypro that I remember seeing in a magazine was also called a portable, but it is what we today call a luggable. It was as big as a suitcase. It is in a shape that can be carried and it has a handle, but you don't want it on your lap.
My newest desktop PC has a handle built in to the case and it is only 30 lbs. or so, but it is definitely not a portable.
--Somewhere there is a village missing an idiot.
Okay this post is completely pointless and will probably sound like an infomercial, but the staff got a sneak peek of these just weeks ago and I can tell you that we all wanted one of these babies, if only they'd deduct them off our payroll in instalments :)
:)
It's such a weird beast due to its size, but from what I saw it is rather well designed with the handle and all. The wireless dockable keyboard and mouse are just so sexy. I'm not privy to any information beyond my tech support duties, but it's a safe guess that they had the newly-annexed Alienware folks involved in this project. Now I'm not a Dell fanboi in any way, they just give me money every two weeks which goes to the local OEM supplier in my neverending quest for more power, but if Dell made a Billco-approved XPS with 8-drive RAID-0 and quad-dualcore-opteron sweetness I just might kiss someone's ass for a staff discount
-Billco, Fnarg.com
Reminds me of my TRS-80 Model 4P I used to lug back and forth to work, back in the mid-80's.
;-)
Except it's probably a billion times faster, has way more colors (the Model 4P just had green), and boots slower!
No matter where you go... there you are.
More or less, as others have commented, such machines exist today. What is interesting, though I have never found a web page on them, and none are available on eBay, is that in the early 1990's there was a 286 or 386 PC that was pretty much the same thing, and the company that made it (can't remember their name) called it the "Brick PC". It was very small for a "full power" (of the time) PC, and it had all the needed ports (serial, parallel, video, etc). It was smaller than the laptops of the time, slightly bigger than a Mac Mini today. They must not have sold many, though, as I have yet to see one pop up on eBay, yet I see Altairs, Sols, and IMSAIs all the time (granted, all of these machines probably sold more copies than the Brick PC)...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
Panasonic has exactly what you describe, called the Toughbook CF-07. It's a bit out of date, though, with only a Pentium 3 and 128 megs of RAM. You could probably build one with a mini ITX motherboard, or get a Mac Mini as others have suggested.
... are our command:
/.
http://www.cappuccinopc.com/cappuccinoez3.asp
Sincerly
IANAL but write like a drunk one.