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Over at our sister site LinuxDevices, were always looking at small, embedded-Linux systems. While reviewing Freespire recently on a Mini koobox, an Apple Mini-sized system, I began to wonder, Just how small do full-featured, Linux-powered PCs come?
When I say full-featured, dont mean Internet tablets, like the Nokia N800, or PDAs (personal digital assistants), such as Palms Foleo mobile companion. No, what I wanted to see were real desktops or laptops that I could fit into a coat pocket. Heres what I found.
The Mini koobox comes in at 6.5 by 6.5 by 2 inches and weighs 3.0 pounds. Mine sits right next to my older-model 1.42GHz PowerPC Mac mini, and while the color schemes are different, they could otherwise be identical twins.
The koobox has an Intel Celeron-M 370 1.5GHz processor and 512MB of DDR2 RAM. To store data, it has a 5,400-rpm 40GB hard drive and a slip-in slot for the combo CD/RW and DVD drive.
The box also includes on-board 10/100M-bps Ethernet, a pair of USB 2.0 ports and a single IEEE 1394 (Firewire) port. For audio it includes standard RCA speaker-out and microphone-in ports.