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Low-Cost Board Runs Linux, Google Apps
An anonymous reader writes to mention that hardware hacking enthusiasts can now get their hands on the guts of the Everex TC2502 Linux PC for just $60 (USD). The compact x86-compatible "gOS Dev Board" offers a lightweight Linux-based OS designed for use with Google Apps. " Along with a Firefox browser supporting the Google toolbar, gOS includes local productivity applications, such as OpenOffice.org. However, its main goal is "coherently packaging Google Apps to give users the idea that they can use Google as their main environment," explained Paul Kim, of Everex. "
"a lightweight...OS designed for use with [web apps]"
aka: Thin Client
Coming soon to a handset near you! Oh, wait...
What exactly is the BIG DEAL? I would still need to buy a disk drive ($50), some RAM ($30), a box/supply ($30), a monitor ($100), a keyboard and mouse ($20), and perhaps some speakers ($15) ... the motherboard and CPU are no longer the major expense in putting together a PC. Heck, newegg has the Celeron D315 (2.26GHz) for $38, and an MSI barebones system (box, 300W power supply, motherboard) for $70. Add in another $100 for HD/RAM/KB/Mouse an you have a pretty decent system for $208.
The more you regulate a company, the worse its products become.
> This is just a motherboard, with a C7 processor...
Ya, that was my problem with the piece too, no reason for it to be on linuxdevices since it is just another Via Mobo+CPU deal, this time blown up to the MicroATX form factor instead of the Mini-ITX VIA normally prefers. $60 for Mobo and CPU is OK I guess but not especially newsworthy.
"Devel" board to me implies something to develop for an embedded 'target'. What is the target system this board aims at? A PC running an x86 Linux isn't embedded computing. It isn't new, interesting or different. Linux on x86 is now mainstream. A decade ago a commercial outfit pushing Linux systems would have been newsworthy.
Democrat delenda est
Apparently the only thing you need to peddle low-performing VIA-based crap these days is just to call it a "Dev Board". Hardware hack? What hardware hack? This is a basic run-off-the-mill PC motherboard. With a sloooowwww C7. If you're not hardware-modding your existing motherboards (via SMBus devices, or something else...) you are NOT MODIFYING THIS ONE EITHER.
"This is not a "low-cost board running Linux"... this is "a run-of-the-mill PC that can run Linux". And you're kidding yourself if you think that you cannot buy the same motherboard cheaper by going around these wily marketeers. What joke... and a slashvertisement. Buy Everex! Google in Everyone's Home!
Let's see what it DOESN'T have... This is like, seriously, 2004 tech here...
1) No gigabit.
2) Questionable AGP chipset
3) See 2 - No PCIe, given this is AGP.
4) VGA? At least not CGA...
5) Lots of legacy I/O ports no one cares about.
If you think you cannot by a BETTER motherboard for $60 is... well... I want some of whatever it is that you're smoking.
$9 more, NVidia graphics processor, Athlon 3200+, same 0-MB of RAM...
You'll need a heat sink. Avoid installing >1 DIMM. Does that qualify as 'close'?
This board doesn't compete with an Athlon 3200 on performance/cost, it does however blow it out the water on efficiency. I want a router/firewall box and having it running 24/7/365 means the electricity adds up and the Athlon ends up far more expensive. I don't have the exact figures but when I worked this out for my parents file server we found that it was cheaper over 2 years to swap their 2Ghz Durion that they already had (cost £0) for a MiniITX very similar to this (cost ~£120).
Basically if I could get one of these in the UK for ~£40 ($80) I'd buy it without a second though.