You make excellent points. I should stop thinking like an x86 server admin with a wishlist.
> Let's face it, whatever you get, it won't be the last computer you ever > buy. And by the time you really decide you need that new killer feature, > the chances are that you'll have more options. > > For example, this is scheduled for release some time in July, allegedly: > http://www.reghardware.com/**2012/05/22/chip_maker_via_** > outs_49_dollar_raspberry_pi_**alike/<http://www.reghardware.com/2012/05/22/chip_maker_via_outs_49_dollar_raspberry_pi_alike/> > > *TX form factor (i.e. it'll fit in a standard case), VGA out, USB ports. > No SATA or PCI/PCIe, but it's priced comparably to the ever elusive > Raspberry Pi while being better and more convenient in just about every way. > > > I will give CuBox a hard look. I do most of my work via SSH, although I have been known to mess with NX server > > They are always sold out, but all the people I know that got one got > theirs within a month of ordering them. > > DreamPlug is quite nice, but it is also a lot more expensive than the > SheevaPlug (newer Sheevas have a SATA port). But I guess you get extra USB > ports and audio for the difference. > > Note, however, that there is no video out of any sort on the > Sheeva/Guru/Dream Plugs. You would be limited to using a MIMO USB monitor. > I don't know about you, but I find 1024x600 to be absolutely unusable. I > swapped the screen in my AC100 out for one that can manage 1280x720 just to > make it usable. But that's just me. > >> >> I have seen references to the AC100, but no specs. I'll see what is out there. > > Depending on what country you are in, a Toshiba AC100 might be a good > option. The downside is that they were never released in the US so are > non-existant there. Here in UK, OTOH, the are easily available on eBay > because nobody wants them but us heavy Linux users - they came with > Android, and Android without a touchscreen is too painful a concept to give > serious thought to. The only people who love them are those of us that put > nomal Linux on them. > > But if you specifically want a desktop rig with a high res monitor, SATA > disk and the other niceties, the choice becomes more limited: > > - CuBox (by far best value) > - Trimslice (pretty good performance-wise, but the binary GPU drivers are > very unstable) > - D2Plug (same hardware as CuBox but more expensive, and from what I can > tell, not yet available) > - Genesi Efika MX (Freescale iMX51 based) - they do both a desktop and > smartbook variants. Not as good or as cheap as the CuBox, though. > > But if you just want a server, a SheevaPlug is hard to beat on price and > support. They have been around for long enough to have been hacked every > way imaginable, and all the hardware is very well supported. DreamPlug is > essentially the same on the inside, but it's a lot more expensive. I guess > you have to ask yourself whether a few extra USB ports and audio out are > worth the difference if you just want a small server. > > FWIW, all the redsleeve.org stuff (website, wiki, mailing list) is > running on a DreamPlug running RedSleeve (purely because I got my > DreamPlugs second hand on eBay for less than new SheevaPlugs cost). > > Honestly, no. I just figure that pushing the envelope now means it won't be obsolete/unusable as quickly. Admittedly, that may not be the best way to look at it. > > The thing is - do you _really_ need quad core? The vast majority of the > software you're going to use won't benefit from it. I use my Toshiba AC100 > every day, and I hardly ever see more than 1 core's worth of CPU used up in > normal use. The 40% overclock I get out of my Tegra2s is making a bigger > difference in normal use. > > Gordan > > ______________________________**_________________ > users mailing list > users at lists.redsleeve.org > http://lists.redsleeve.org/**mailman/listinfo/users<http://lists.redsleeve.org/mailman/listinfo/users> > -- Thanks, Ian M Perkins -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.redsleeve.org/pipermail/users/attachments/20120522/62b44cef/attachment.html>
