In the last decade quite a number of companies have been talking of introducing cheap computing to the masses. Most of them have announced ambitious plans to achieve this. While some have been able to deliver working models, most of these efforts have largely remained vaporware much like MIT's $100 Linux Laptop.Therefore, I was quite surprised when I came across a Chinese company called Yellow Sheep River. This company wants to make affordable budget computing a reality with its new $150 US Linux Municator, a highly compact PC.
With the aim of say "Say no to Wintel," Yellow Sheep River is planning to use its own Linux distribution and hardware designed and manufactured by Chinese companies. The Municator, which comes with 256 MB of RAM, uses a 64-bit CPU designed by a Chinese company called BLX. The cheap chip is clocked at 400 or 600MHZ. Unlike other efforts the Municator is not designed to be a mobile computer. Rather than using an LCD or CRT monitor the Municator features support for S-video and VGA allowing it to be hooked upto a TV or conventional monitor. As storage, the Municator offers a 40 GB external USB drive. It also ships with four USB 2.0 ports and built-in Ethernet support, which allows it to connect to the net. WiFi is also available as an add-on.
By jayesh masukhani
TECH2
With the aim of say "Say no to Wintel," Yellow Sheep River is planning to use its own Linux distribution and hardware designed and manufactured by Chinese companies. The Municator, which comes with 256 MB of RAM, uses a 64-bit CPU designed by a Chinese company called BLX. The cheap chip is clocked at 400 or 600MHZ. Unlike other efforts the Municator is not designed to be a mobile computer. Rather than using an LCD or CRT monitor the Municator features support for S-video and VGA allowing it to be hooked upto a TV or conventional monitor. As storage, the Municator offers a 40 GB external USB drive. It also ships with four USB 2.0 ports and built-in Ethernet support, which allows it to connect to the net. WiFi is also available as an add-on.
By jayesh masukhani
TECH2