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. "

Enlightenment is lightweight nowadays?

[jfim]

The gOS distribution [...] is based on the just-released Ubuntu 7.10 ("Gutsy Gibbon") distro, but with the lightweight Enlightenment window manager instead of heavy Gnome/KDE desktops.

Enlightenment is lightweight nowadays? Is it because Enlightenment improved or because Gnome/KDE got bigger? I remember it being quite unstable/slow a decade ago, but how have things changed in E?

The only thing special is

[transporter_ii]

The C7 processor is supposed to use a lot less power than a normal chip. From what they are saying, someone leaving a computer on a lot could expect to save 10.00 a month in electricity. IF that is true, it wouldn about pay for itself in 24 months (again, that assumes what they are saying is true).

I set one of the 299.00 Wal-Mart computers up for a local volunteer fire station that had an application that needed XP, but they could only find Vista computers new. I wiped the drive and installed a legal copy of XP Pro for them. I thought it was pretty darn snappy with a gig of RAM in it. In fact, I plan on getting one of the 199.00 ones with Linux installed on it.

Transporter_ii

Re:That's a smoking deal

[LWATCDR]

Yea but it takes DDR and not DDR2. That actually drives up the cost of memory :(

Re:Cheap power efficient servers?

[Jorophose]

VIA used to sell a 4-socket C3 motherboard. A local store still has a few.

And since each C3 would consume only about 4-7W (depends on model) that's a grand maximum of 28W, probably idling at around 4W. It was intented for servers, but I don't think it sold very well. Still, it was a great idea.

Re:That's a smoking deal

[Anonymous Coward]

>Athlon 3200+

Maybe. Previous ECS boards (really PC Chips) of similar "combo" design overrated their procressors by 1000 - 1500 MHz (okay, not MHz, but "Pro"s, IIRC). You might actually be getting a 1500 MHz board...

micro-atx is (yawn) boring

[TheGratefulNet]

teh new hotness(tm) is mini-itx or even smaller.

I called the local walmart to see if they had that cheapie pc in stock. they didn't. I didn't want to wait and I wanted to see what all this low-power VIA stuff was about.

so I got a true mini-ITX system which is using the same c7 cpu: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2010/1890660635_273662e3c9_o.jpg [flickr.com]

note, it DOES RUN HOT. I am not kidding. I bought it as a fanless system to run myth-tv back-end on. it does - and it captures 2 HD streams ok over 10/100 VIA ethernet. but the heatsink runs VERY hot to the touch. no way could I even use a cover on that system for more than 15 minutes before it overheats.

if you plan to use that c7 cpu in something 'real', you better have good cooling.

Re:Cheap Cluster?

[vrmlguy]

The cheapest way to play with a Beowulf cluster is to set one up a cluster of virtual machines, using Xen or VMware. I'm more familar with the VMware products, so I'll describe them. You don't want VMware Player, since it is optimized to provide good graphics for playing games and the like. Instead you want VMware Server, which only supports standard VGA but is optimized to run lots of VMs in the background. Both of these are free, btw. Once you have your hypervisor set up, install several identical single-core VMs. Try for twice as many VMs as you have real processor cores. You almost certainly want to do this on a 2-way or 4-way processor, to get plenty of multiprocessing. You don't want to set up multi-core VMs, because they tend to perform much worse than virtual single-cores. "Attach" everything to a virtual switch than isn't connected to the outside world. Now you can experiment with all sorts of Beowulf configurations. Only when you get something that you like (say, for ray tracing) should you consider translating it into real hardware.

Re:I don't get it

[mrand]

know I've got a 20-pin PC Power & Cooling PSU just itching to get back in the game, and some old DDR2 RAM as well. They're crying out, I tells ya!

What do you mean old DDR2? How can it be old when DDR2 wasn't introduced but four years ago!? I don't own ANY DDR2 memory (or DDR3), much less any old DDR2.

Now, I do have 128 or 256 MB of EDO DRAM, a 700 MB SCSI hard drive (cost me around $1k in 1992), and a real AT-style keyboard (with big connector) that I wouldn't mind putting back into service... or we could go back further in the closet and gut the AT-compatible by tossing the 10 MHz 286 motherboard, and use its 70 MB hard drive from ~1987. I think I'll pass on trying to make use of the TRS-80/Tandy 16b with its full-height 12 MB hard drive. Some things are just not worth it, even to a nerd.

      Marc

Where's one that takes a 12V supply?

[rhyre417]

The ATX-style powersupply is a pain to add in.

I want an inexpensive board like this that takes a 12V supply, or
a PC hd connector like the FPGA boards out there from http://www.digilentinc.com/ [digilentinc.com]

It would be easier to put these in autos or stack them up for
robotics projects that way.

- Ralph

Re:More important

[canuck57]

Does it run FreeBSD?

Probably not but you could likely port it. Or... Soekris" [soekris.com] has a nice package that runs a variety of FOSS OSes and is very power friendly. A friend uses OpenBSD and has quite good success with it.