* MacMini-like PC with Intel and Linspire Linux inside
For those who demand the latest Linux machines, but despise a cluttered desktop, a new Taiwanese PC firm has a good thing in a small package.
The AOpen MiniPC is a similar concept to the MacMini – a shrunken (6.5-inches deep and wide, and 2-inches tall) PC packed with a fast processor and lots of the latest I/O ports and networking technology. But instead of TigerOS and PowerPC chips, under the MiniPC’s hood is an Intel processor and Linspire’s Linux desktop operating system.
The device does appear knockoff-ishly similar to the MacMini, minus the signature once-bitten apple on the case’s top. A single discrete CD slot and a blue LCD-lit power button are the only features on the front. In the back are USB, Firewire, Gigabit Ethernet, digital video input and S-video and sound in/out jacks, along with built-in Wi-Fi.
The little box includes either a 1.4-GHz Intel Celeron or a 1.73-GHz Pentium M740 processor, and 512M bytes of memory. The Celeron-based box comes with a 40G-byte hard drive and a DVD player/CDRW drive. The Pentium version doubles the hard drive space, and includes the ability to burn DVDs. The devices run the Debian-based Linspire Five-0 Linux desktop, which used the KDE desktop package, and includes standard Linux computing fare such as OpenOffice and Mozilla.
The Linux-based AOpen MiniPCs are a bit cheaper than the Mac Mini offering: the Celeron version will starts at $400 while the Mac Mini starts at $500 and costs as much as $700 for higher-end versions.
