The Fuse design team is doing a great job with the XO-3 design. The images look great, and the price point (sub $100) is awesome. The timeline says the XO-3 will be available in 2012, and I can’t wait to see one in action.
I’m a sucker for new Linux based computers, and cheap Linux based computers are even better. I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of my my Cherrypal Africa (I’ll be posting the unboxing as on the day it arrives, and how to load Linux if it doesn’t come with Linux installed). The day is coming when we’ll see cell phones and computers at grocery store between the Black and Mild cigars and the 5 hour energy drinks.
The OLPC folks don’t have to build this computer. They just have to threaten to build it. Prices will fall, feature sets will rise and programmers will be employed. At the rate that ARM processors are showing up in mobile devices, I wouldn’t be surprised if this device is running on an as-yet-unannounced 2ghz ARM processor and running a snappy version of Android.
Well, it finally happened – Google has started the release of Chrome OS. As Joe Brockmeier posts over at Linux Magazine, they’ve released source code and said that the full release won’t happen until late 2010, and only for selected hardware.
I tend to agree with Joe in that the OS can’t fully rely on Internet login to function. There are too many times when I’m blissfully disconnected. Especially since I’ve got a cell phone that can keep me connected to E-mail and social networking, without distracting me when I’m trying to work.
I’ll probably grab the source next week(end) and see what it takes to build a working system. I’ve got a free partition or two on my current laptop, and I’m eager to see what they’re up to, and try to divine where they’re going.
OpenRD Client
The Christmas music is playing around my house now, and the Thanksgiving turkey hasn’t even been bought. All of this holiday spirit got me to thinking – what would be some of the best geek Christmas gifts this year? I’ll try to post some of the things that friends of mine are talking about (and lusting after) over the next month.
Near the top of my list is an OpenRD ARM based low power computer. The OpenRD comes in two models – the OpenRD Base, and the OpenRD Client.
OpenRD Base $149
- High performance Marvell® Sheeva™ up to 1.2 GHz
- Supports both Big & Little Endian
- Includes MMU to support virtual memory
- 512 MB DDR2-800 SDRAM in 2 banks of x8 devices and 512 MB NAND Flash
- 12 Volts power supply
- SD Card
- 1 USB 2.0 Port with integrated PHY
- 1 GbE Port with GMII and RGMII support
- SATA/eSATA Ports with integrated Marvell 3 Gbps SATA PHYs
- 1 x PCI Express (PCIe) Port
- UART with RS232 (Yay legacy!)
- USB Interface for Debug supports JTAG & Serial Console
- Operating System: Linux 2.6.22.18 & Fedora 8.0
OpenRD Client $249 (Additional features)
- 7 USB 2.0 Port with integrated PHYs
- 2 GbE Ports with GMII and RGMII support
- VGA support up to 1280×1024 at 60 Hz
- UART with RS232/RS485 interface
I’m itching to use the OpenRD Client to
- run my web and DHCP server off of battery power (7 watts at idle)
- be a MythTV client
- Provide In-room touch screen information
There’s also a smaller member of this family – the Sheeva Plug. It’s built into a wall wart sized package, it’s got the processing power of the OpenRD boards, and just a USB plug for output.
Any of these could excite your geek this holiday season.
The Southeast Linux Fest has been announced for June 13, 2009, at Hendrix Student Center, Clemson University. Several notable speakers will be there, including Mark Spencer of Asterisk and Digium.
This promises to be a well attended, and exciting event. The organizers have a wiki, and hold weekly IRC meetings on Tuesday on #southeastlinuxfest (irc.freenode.net).
Since this is at Clemson University, I plan on taking the Amtrak train from Birmingham (BHM) to Clemson (CSN). Coach price is $48 one way. The Amtrak site doesn’t have any upgrade options currently, but I’m sure that there’s an option to pay more and have more luxury.
Event details:
Where: Hendrix Student Center, Clemson University, Google Maps
When: June 13, 2009
Transportation: Amtrak, Greenville SC (GSP)