Thursday, July 19, 2007

Koolu, another small Linux PC

I thought the specs for this one were pretty good:


Koolu Net Appliance $299.00 USD
[...] The Net Appliance is also considered to be ready for "out-of-the-box deployment", and is fully covered by Koolu's one-year warranty. It is small, quiet and reliable with its fanless operation. It includes:

* Processor (AMD Geode(TM) LX 800)
* 512 MB of PC 3200 RAM
* 40 GB Hard Disk
* VGA port with up to 1920 x 1440 display resolution
* 4 USB ports with printer, keyboard, mouse, and storage support
* Full 16-bit audio with stereo; Microphone-in, and Audio-out/Headphone
* Case (H x W x D: 1.4" (35 mm) x 5.5" (140 mm) x 5.1" (130 mm))
* Power Supply
* Typically uses less than 5 watts, but this may vary according to options installed. [...]

Runs on 5 watts, no fan, but still has a real hard drive. Neat! They also have a thin-client model, with less RAM and no hard drive, for use as a terminal:

Koolu Thin Client $199.00 USD
     

3 comments:

Bart Smith said...

Chas; What is a Koolu Thin Client? I am new to blogging & am barely computer literate,don't know how to do many things on it beyond the basics. My Blog is linbarcalifornia.blogspot.com stop by for a visit. thank for any information forth comming.

Bart Smith said...

Ch Chas; I have tried to reach you through Halo Scan from another site where you were referenced. What is a Koolu Thin Client? would appreciate an info you can provide. I am marginal on the computer,only know the basics. visit me at linbarcalifornia.blogspot.com thanks again..

Chas said...

Hi Bart,

Koolu is just the brand name. A Thin Client is just a computer with minimal hardware specifications (usually no hard drive), that is used as a terminal (or "client") to a central computer, a "Server" which serves up the applications for the client/terminal to use, like a full featured PC would do.

People use Thin Clients with a Server to save money. Sometimes a Thin Client can be configured with a small operating system like Puppy Linux, which can run off a memory stick and does not require a hard drive. In such cases it can be used like a regular PC, without a
server, if the software can function within the limitations of the client's hardware.

That's the short answer. Wikipedia has a more precise description:

Wikipedia Thin Client

There are a bunch of Mico-computers coming out now in the $200-$300 dollar range, that have low energy use like Thin Clients, but also have hard drives. I'm going to do a post about another one soon.

I visited your blog, looks nice, I'll come back and have a more thorough look later. Gotta go feed the farm animals now.