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Smallest Linux desktop PC, smaller than an apple (fruit)

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Re: Smallest Linux desktop PC, smaller than an apple (fruit)

#21

Post by icefox »

dagobart wrote: post #11
jrockway wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, because how could anyone use a computer without wobbly windows!? (Go back in time 20 years, and multiuser timesharing systems had lower specs than this. And a lot of good CS work was done on these systems; UNIX written, Emacs written, Vi written, gcc written, etc.)

Well, and then there was Firefox. Which simply won't run on old hardware, at least not in a current version. And not at all to mention YouTube or anything a more powerful computer requiring site. (GMail anyone?) As much as I love keeping old computers alive using Linux, the nowadays common way using the web puts the spoke into the wheel.

Using current browsers with fast javascript engines sites like GMail work fine on 300Mhz machines.

Re: Smallest Linux desktop PC, smaller than an apple (fruit)

#22

Post by stcredzero »

icefox wrote: post #20
stcredzero wrote: post #17

You can get this thing for $200. Not quite as small, but it has a 1.6 GHz Atom and it will handle streaming of HD video. http://amzn.com/B002O3W44Q If I were Apple, I'd be releasing an upgraded Apple TV using the tech that went into the iPad. (But trade off a bunch of speed for efficfiency.) Otherwise things like the Acer AspireRevo are going to eat away at sales of the Mac Mini and Apple TV.

Speaking of the Atom I have noticed that just about everyone had put out little mac mini type computers except that they use the Atom. The mac mini on the other hand is pretty much a laptop in a box. It uses a mobile core 2 duo which results in better power usage and way better performance. Why hasn't any manufacture out there created a mac mini clone? I spent last weekend trying to find one to buy, but in the end it…

The thing is, a modern laptop in a box is way more power than lots of typical users need. If you're not a gamer, all you really need is something like an Atom and some hardware assisted video decoding.
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