Linux box can be embedded inside a PC
Published: 25 Apr 2003 12:27 BST
Taiwanese hardware maker Via Technologies and US-based PC maker Mini-Box have unveiled a tiny desktop computer featuring an embedded Linux operating system.
The Mini-Box M-100, a general-purpose computer built around Via's EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard, is 20 cm by 4.4 cm by 22cm in size and weights 1 kg. Besides desktop use, it can also be used "embedded"--housed within a larger machine to perform a specific computing task.
Slightly larger and heavier than a CD-ROM drive found on a standard desktop, it may not be the smallest desktop computer on the market, but is likely the smallest based on a standard mainboard design; other tiny PCs use specially-designed, one-off mainboards.
"You can stack almost 10 Mini-Box M-100s in the space of a single PC tower, each with more integrated features and connectivity than most PCs provide as standard," said Richard Brown, Via Technologies' associate vice-president of marketing.
The tiny $500 (£315) PC sports a Via Eden or C-series processor and 256MB of RAM. The standard M-100 ships with 64MB of CompactFlash memory holding the MediaBox embedded Linux operating system.
Users have the option of boosting storage capacity by expanding the CompactFlash memory to 128MB, or by adding a 40GB IBM notebook-sized hard drive, thus allowing it to run Windows XP and Windows CE.
It features a 14-key customisable keypad on its faceplate and a general purpose I/O port, but lacks an optical drive. The M-100 also features a built-in LCD display which eliminates the need for a monitor in some applications.
The product was unveiled at the ongoing Embedded Systems Conference in the US.
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