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Space Cube – the World's Smallest Linux PC

Barence writes "Meet the Space Cube — the world's smallest fully functional PC. Primarily designed for use in space, it somehow manages to cram a working PC with USB ports, card readers, audio outputs and proprietary interfaces into a tiny cube chassis measuring just two inches square. It runs a basic Linux front-end, which the blogger takes a look at, and there are some great photos of the device being loomed over by everyday objects like coffee mugs and cellphones. It has connections for controlling various electronics used by ESA, NASA and JAXA, but it will also apparently be for sale to the public soon, for use by amateur engineers and robotics clubs."

2 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How does a cube... by acdc_rules · · Score: 5, Insightful

    certainly 2x2x2 which is 8 cubic inches. looking at the photo you get the idea the author of the article is innumerate.

  2. Re:Smallest? by Atlantis-Rising · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Of course not. And it also doesn't help that the Space Cube, unlike the eeePC, is totally useless by itself.

    It's wonderful to have a tiny computer, but if you need to slap on a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to use it it's really not all that tiny, is it?

    It also doesn't help that the real reason, in general (i.e., other than embedded computing environments) the reason people want small computers is portability, and this thing is hardly portable- sure, it's small and light, but given that it's totally useless on its own, that lack of size and weight is mostly irrelevant.

    Even for use in space, I still think it's a waste of, well, space. Either you're going to connect it to a real computer for display and use (with that big monitor and keyboard) or you're not, and all those jacks are a waste of space.

    --
    "It is possible to commit no errors and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." -Peak Performance