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With the Jack PC, the Computer's In the Wall!

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the that's-pretty-sweet dept.

cylonlover writes "The Jack PC from Chip PC Technologies offers a neat and novel thin-client desktop computing solution where the computer doesn't just plug into the wall, it is the plug in the wall. Running on power provided by the ethernet cable that also connects it to the data center server, the computer-in-a-wall-socket supports wireless connectivity, has dual display capabilities and runs on the RISC processor architecture."

20 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Old news. by bchickens · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've used the JACK PCs before on a citrix environment (A couple years ago). Actually I installed and tested the system. Neat little things but hardley new news.

    --
    ~Bchickens
    1. Re:Old news. by LWATCDR · · Score: 2, Interesting

      These are kind of cute but I have to wonder why? I mean why not a tiny box that could use POE or a wall wart? Maybe even build it into a keyboard?
      They only benefit I see to having to bolt these into the wall is in a school or a public place where theft would be a concern.
      Other than that it seems more pain then gain to me.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    2. Re:Old news. by vlm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They only benefit I see to having to bolt these into the wall is in a school or a public place where theft would be a concern.

      Bolt it into a wall behind the big screen. Instant super digital picture frame or announcement board, just add software.

      The main threat is from the long cable industry, using a traditional cheap PC somewhere else with long cables. The other threat is no upgrade path, if you'll need to do the long cable thing on the next generation anyway, why not do it now.

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    3. Re:Old news. by Defenestrar · · Score: 4, Funny

      Or convention centers, church pulpits, wall mounted information displays, neo-classically designed retro-arcades, computer controlled entertainment centers, etc...

      You're certainly right in calling this in-wall mount a "niche" market though ;)

    4. Re:Old news. by mlts · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That is exactly where these things come in handy -- environments such as schools or places with computer labs that if a lab monitor turns around, equipment would be walking out the door.

      I can see using these Jack PCs (secured in the wall with Bryce Key-Rex security screws or something of that nature) in an environment where you want as little equipment out in the open as possible, where if a crackhead goes werewolf and rips a monitor off a Kensington cable and dashes off with it, that isn't as big a loss as losing a computer. Plus, the crackhead isn't going to be looking at a plug in the wall for something to steal unless he is going to try to rip out the wiring to sell the copper.

      Add Citrix or MS terminal server, and this is a decent solution for a number of applications.

    5. Re:Old news. by LWATCDR · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not if they are Microsoft Office shops. Or are teaching Visual Basic or any number of other Microsoft products.
      As much as I like Linux it isn't the solution everywhere.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  2. Welcome... by Cloud+K · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...to 2006.

    Am I missing a development (the 'news') bit or is this just a slashvertisement?

    1. Re:Welcome... by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't know what's more pathetic- that three of ten commenters immediately remembered some random Slashdot story from 2006, or that I did.

    2. Re:Welcome... by mcgrew · · Score: 4, Funny

      Too bad they're not sold at the Wal mart in the mall. Then you could get a Wal Mart Mall Wall Wart.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
    3. Re:Welcome... by poena.dare · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Those who cannot remember posts of the past are condemned to re-read them. -- G-Dawg "Santa" Yanayana-bing-bang

    4. Re:Welcome... by ari_j · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Here's how you can tell it's not news, even without looking for the same story from 4 years ago: The headline has an exclamation point.

  3. Just slightly old news/dupe by spec8472 · · Score: 2, Informative

    From 2006: http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/01/1255225

  4. BFD. by AnonymousClown · · Score: 2, Insightful
    So they put the computer in the wall and run it off the power of the ethernet - it can't have much of a processor if that's the only power it needs.

    If I want a less cluttered desktop I'll get one of those all-in-one machines from Lenovo, HP, or Apple.

    Maybe someone should come up with an buried computer - dig a hole in the yard, put the computer in their, and run cables into the building and have it run off of its own heat pump!

    Or the cat box computer! Put the computer in the cat box have it run on the heat of the turds and the energy of the cat burying its shit!

    I mean. there are TONS of useless gimmicks to sell a commodity appliance like PCs - just see what the toaster manufactures are doing.

    I'm just getting really cranky with sales and marketing bullshit that tries to sell mediocre products.

    --
    RIP America

    July 4, 1776 - September 11, 2001

  5. GPL viotation, by Zappy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Uses modified Debian, source nowhere to be found.

    Asking by e-mail several questions consistently ignored my request for the sourcecode until all other questions where resolved then I got completely ignored.

    1. Re:GPL viotation, by Maavin · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Then go with the WinCE version, no GPL problems there ;)

      --


      Crivens! I kicked meself in me own heid!
  6. Cost? by Osgeld · · Score: 2, Interesting

    the problem with most thin clients is that they cost more than a cheap PC, we just setup some clients at work, they are 1.6ghz dual core atoms with 2 gig of ram and a 160gig laptop drive at around 150$ each new (not counting software which is mint anyway) vs a $200+ thin client

  7. Re:New Features of Wall Socket Engineering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    When it overheats due to heavy portscanning, it will spontaneously create a firewall. Problem solved.

  8. Re:The RISC processor architecture? by a_nonamiss · · Score: 3, Funny

    No, clearly it is you that doesn't understand that making chips out of RISC makes them faster. That has always made me wonder, why don't they just make all chips out of RISC. I mean, it's clearly better than whatever other stuff they make the other chips out of. 2.4 times better in fact.

    --
    -Arthur
    Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
  9. Mechanical Horrors by Maavin · · Score: 5, Informative

    I deployed about 200 of these things in an industrial environment (control rooms in a steel plant). They are small and perform rather good.
    BUT
    The electrical connection between the the JackPC and its shell is terrible! Some are so weak, that you only have to bump into the table and they lose connection.
    It's so bad we considered soldering a short cat5 pigtail directly to the damn things and fix everything with hot glue...

    --


    Crivens! I kicked meself in me own heid!
  10. I have never bought anything... by sootman · · Score: 3, Informative

    ... from a company with a page like this. If I can't buy easily, directly from your site, I'm not going to buy. FFS, do you want to sell things or not? If so then set up a damn store somewhere--Yahoo, eBay, etsy, I don't care. But don't tell me "Here's a bunch of links to the front page of some resellers, start searching." At the very least, post a "suggested price" so I know if it's even worth the effort to pursue.

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    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.