Linux Powers Lilliputian PCs

An anonymous reader writes "Gumstix is launching a whole line of dinky little PCs little larger than a Big Red Plenty Pack. The first Netstix model targets server, sniffing, and network simulation. The next model will be USB-powered, followed by models with SD/MMC slots and built-in WiFi. They come with Linux 2.6.17, and lots of room for user applications."

Comments

want one^h^h^h 1000

[chriss]

Nice: 200MHz XScale, 64 MB RAM, 16 MB Flash (3MB occupied by OS), 100MBit Ethernet, CF-II slot, 1-3/8 * 4-1/8 inches (35 x 103mm). Even nicer: the next version with integrated WiFi. All done by a company of 26, with no intention to grow, but to automate more if more work has to be done, so prices will fall.

Not so nice: $186.5 for one, $165 in volumes of 1000. I know, this is still very cheap for something in "industrial size", but too much to build one into my door bell, one into each phone, one into each light switch (the joy of being unable to turn of the light due to an 500 error), one into the fish tank, one into the fridge to finally order milk like we have been promised for years.

But give it some years, and I will have a log of how many minutes I brushed my teeth based on the report my eToothBrush send wirelessy to my server.

Re:want one^h^h^h 1000

[Sqwubbsy]

Why would you use a whole computer when all you need is a signal and a transmitter?

Of course this reminds me of the story about a guy giving a speech at a chipmaker convention reminiscing how 25 years earlier a guy had given a speech at the same hotel saying the microchip industry will never be that big because you don't need a chip in every doorknob.
And here, 25 years later, every doorknob in the hotel had a chip.
Go figure.

Re:want one^h^h^h 1000

[1u3hr]

Just in case you weren't aware, you happen to be a pretentious asshole. The story had both inches and centimeters.

TFA said "device measures 1-3/8 x 4-1/8 inches (35 x 103cm)".

Centimetres, millimetres; only a pretentious asshole would distinguish between those gay units.

Most of us Americans learned how to convert between various units of measure in elementary school

Metric mishap caused loss of NASA orbiter.

Perfect!

[Anonymous Coward]

This will be just the right amount of computing power to, say, monitor the tire pressure in my Bronco or use an infrared LED trip sensor to turn on my desktop computer when I walk through the front door.

I figure you'd need Linux for that, right? Java too, probably?

Re:Perfect!

[Schraegstrichpunkt]

Heh. Yeah, and VMware to run Windows Vista.

Centimetre conversion is off

[shut_up_man]

1-3/8 x 4-1/8 inches isn't 35 x 103cm, it's ~ 3.5 x 10.3cm. Otherwise that's a rather enormous teeny Linux server.

KuroBox

[Anonymous Coward]

I just got myself a KuroBox. This is a fantastic little thing. It's a full computer (headless). It's excellent for a home file server or web server. Its decently cheap. You add you own hard drive. If you've done a chroot before, you should have no problem setting it up with you own custom linux. I used debian. But you can use Gentoo or others too.

How much $$$ ?!?!!!

[bluesguy_1]

Uhhh.... I can go out and buy any number of devices around $50 that will all of this and much more with OpenWRT. Granted they aren't as small, but they almost all include 802.11g and several have USB2.0. For the increased capability, and reduced price, it's a far better deal unless you absolutely need something that tiny...

Framebuffer module

[wowbagger]

I'd like to see them make a simple, stupid framebuffer module for these things - just NTSC or PAL resolution output at 256 colors would be plenty - look at what the old Atari/Apple/Commodore computers could do.

I want to use these as a very simple display for home automation - hang one on the back of the TV, use a PIN switch video port (or the video input on the TV), run about a 40 by 24 character display - not fancy, but enough for display.

A frame buffer like that could easily be implemented in a small FPGA now-a-days.

Of course, a tiny X server or VNC client would be even better.

Lilliputian?

[Anonymous Coward]

So, are they big endian or little endian?

Re:i dont get it

[Qzukk]

Am I missing something?

Your inner geek.

A Good First Application, in-line services.

[Kamiza Ikioi]

For these types of items to really take off, they have to be Walmart marketable. The best way to do that is to create a device everyone would want to use. An in-line firewall would be such a good application. One Lan-in, and either USB or Lan out cable, and a small server sitting in the middle acting as firewall, spam filter, pop-up/phishing blocker, and if they could squeeze it in, a virus blocker. Or, better, yet, one device that does each really well and really fast, and then chain several together to do each feature.

Connect, connect, safe and secure PC. The mass market for these products remains in constructing single, highly specialized but widely sought after features, that require no setup or a completely automated setup. LAMP on a micro-server isn't really that sort of product, even if it would be fun to play with. The market is in daemons on USB, preferably in-line or on its own dedicated node (though that's a bit wasteful, imho) - firewalls, independent shared drives, dns (plug and play opendns via in-line from modem to router), and even time servers (maybe with a little back lit LCD display, and adjustment controls on the outside). These tasks are currently being pushed into virtualization. But moving occasional services into a cheap occasionally used device would be even better.