Feature

Desktop Hardware

Browse in :

All > Topics > Desktop Hardware

Options :: View Archives

Note: when you create a new publication type, the articles module will automatically use the templates user-display-[publicationtype].xd and user-summary-[publicationtype].xd. If those templates do not exist when you try to preview or display a new article, you'll get this warning :-) Please place your own templates in themes/yourtheme/modules/articles The templates will get the extension .xt there.

Splashtop moves into netbooks

Lee Schlesinger

November 12, 2008 4:00:00 PM

The Splashtop instant-on Linux environment is included in the new Lenovo IdeaPad S10e netbook, marking the product's first appearance in that form factor. That news should come as no surprise, since netbooks' ultra-portability is a natural match for Splashtop's instant-on.

NPX-9000 UMPC is inexpensive but underpowered

Lee Schlesinger

October 07, 2008 4:00:00 PM

The wave of cheap netbooks, mini laptops, or ultra-mobile PCs has crested with the cheapest yet, the NPX-9000 from Carapelli. Though it was announced in July with great fanfare at a price of £65 (or $110), it has yet to appear on the vendor's Web site. But we got our hands on one of the first units to escape from the factory and put it through its paces. We found that you get what you pay for -- if that.

Linux-powered LinPC desktop is a bargain

Lee Schlesinger

September 08, 2008 4:00:00 PM

The new generation of inexpensive netbooks may be wonderful, but for my main desktop I want a real machine -- something I can open up, clean, and add to. So I was extremely tickled recently to trade for a new LinPC, an economical personal computer that features PCLinuxOS MiniMe 2008 preinstalled and ready to go.

Power monitoring and logging with Apcupsd and Cacti

Lee Schlesinger

September 04, 2008 7:00:00 PM

For some time I have been using the American Power Conversion (APC) uninterruptible power supply (UPS) daemon Apcupsd to interface my desktop computer with my APC Back-UPS ES 550. Available for Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, and Solaris 10, Apcupsd reliably warns me when the power goes out and gives me time to get my box properly shut down before data is lost, or does so automatically if I am not there to supervise.

Linutop 2.2: A desktop where smaller is better

Lee Schlesinger

August 19, 2008 9:00:00 AM

A shift from multi-core power-gobbling monsters toward whisper-quiet systems with single-digit power consumption is rippling through the desktop market. This trend plays right into the hands of a Paris-based company called Linutop, which offers a miniature Linux-based desktop system. The latest version of the machine appeals to customers who are in the market for a machine with green credentials and low maintenance costs. After testing one myself, I found the tiny desktop has a lot going for it.

FSF works with Los Alamos Computers to provide free computers

roblimo

July 29, 2008 7:00:00 PM

Finding hardware that works with GNU/Linux is hard enough. But if you also want a completely free system -- one that requires no proprietary drivers or firmware to run -- then the task is almost impossible. While resources like OpenPrinting and the SANE database for scanners offer guides to simple functionality, advice on free systems is almost non-existent. To fill this gap, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has been developing its own hardware list, and, as the next logical step, has been working with Los Alamos Computers (LAC) to develop a line of free (as in speech) computers pre-installed with GNU/Linux.

Customer demand adds Linux to industrial computer line

Lee Schlesinger

July 27, 2008 2:00:00 PM

Glacier Computer is offering two Linux distributions as options on its Everest PCs. The company announced this month it is offering customers a choice of IGEL Linux or Fedora Linux distributions.

UMPCs and Linux: made for each other, and coming soon

Lee Schlesinger

July 10, 2008 7:00:00 PM

Who knew that the biggest desktop Linux show of 2008 would turn out to be the June Computex show in Taipei, Taiwan, where the next generation of Linux desktop hardware was put on display? In fact, Linux was at the heart of no fewer than four different ultra mobile PCs (UMPC).

New Linux-powered PowerStation dispels rumors Power Architecture's death

Lee Schlesinger

July 09, 2008 4:00:00 PM

Terra Soft, the developer of Yellow Dog Linux on the PowerStation platform, is pushing the limits of design and performance with the planned mid-July release of a quad core PowerPC deskside tower that returns the Power Architecture to both the workstation and server markets at a competitive price.

Linux laptop retailers fearlessly face name-brand competition

Lee Schlesinger

June 25, 2008 9:00:00 PM

Linux Certified sells Linux laptops and offers IT training to individuals and organizations. Its product line ranges from small, affordable units to performance laptops that cost well over $2,000. The company's customer list boasts the likes of Boeing, NASA, the US Army and MIT. But if recent trends are any indication, Linux Certified and similar companies that specialize in selling computers that run Linux are about to see some of the world's largest computer companies warm up to the open source operating system. Major manufacturers have begun to take notice of Linux's potential on the laptop.

Simplifying infrared device configuration

Lee Schlesinger

June 18, 2008 7:00:00 PM

Building a MythTV digital video recorder (DVR) is a series of small battles -- configuring digital sound, aligning your video sources and channel guide data, getting XvMC running, and so on. Any tool that simplifies one of those battles is welcome, and GNOME LIRC Properties promises to be just such a tool. It is a shortcut to configuring infrared receivers and remote controls, and although it is not perfect, it is a good step in the right direction.

Controlling desktop applications with six degrees of freedom

Lee Schlesinger

May 28, 2008 9:00:00 AM

Six degrees of freedom (6DOF) devices allow for movement in three axes, tilt in two axes, and rotation in the third. Some of these devices look like small joysticks -- for example, the SpaceNavigator. These devices are typically used for computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and other 3-D applications. With a new programming library, you can now also use them with Linux applications.

FOSS helps Free Geek Vancouver become an ethical recycler

Lee Schlesinger

May 23, 2008 7:00:00 PM

Free Geek Vancouver (FGV) is now certified as the first ethical recycler in western Canada by the Basel Action Network (BAN), and an important part of the certification is the organization's refurbishing of used computers with free and open source software (FOSS).

What can you do with a second Ethernet port?

Lee Schlesinger

May 06, 2008 4:00:00 PM

Purchase a new PC or motherboard soon, and the chances are good that it will come with two built-in network interfaces -- either two Ethernet jacks or one Ethernet and one Wi-Fi. Tossing in a second adapter is an inexpensive way for the manufacturer to add another bullet point to the product description -- but what exactly are you supposed to do with it? If you are running Linux, you have several alternatives.

Computer makers push device builders for Linux-compatible hardware

Lee Schlesinger

May 02, 2008 7:00:00 PM

For years, device and peripheral builders could get away with ignoring the Linux desktop market. It was too small to matter, they would say. Things have changed. At the Linux Foundation meeting in Austin, Texas, last month, major PC vendors ASUS, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo said they would be telling their chipset, component, and peripheral OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) that they were going to demand Linux-compatible hardware from them.

Rt2x00 project for wireless nearing success

Lee Schlesinger

April 24, 2008 7:00:00 PM

If you use wireless networking in GNU/Linux with native drivers, then chances are that you benefit from work done by the Rt2x00 project. You may use the MadWifi Atheros drivers with OpenHal, or drivers for the Realtek RTL8180 chipset, but most likely you use one of the drivers developed by the Rt2x00 for Ralink chipsets. In the nearly four years since the project began, its work has moved from having a reputation for bugginess to the point where some of its drivers are now part of the latest Linux kernels. Recently, Linux.com talked to three of the lead developers on the project about where Rt2x00 has been and where it is going.

How much can you improve network throughput with a high-end NIC?

Lee Schlesinger

April 10, 2008 4:00:00 PM

What sort of impact can you expect from switching a machine from the Gigabit Ethernet NIC that come on its motherboard to a higher-end Intel desktop NIC? I benchmarked two common gigabit NICs found on motherboards against two Intel PCIe desktop gigabit NICs, targeting the specific purpose of accessing an NFS share over the network. The short version: throughput for sequential read/write operations didn't improve much, but latency was much better, allowing anything that needs a network round trip, like create, delete, and seek, to work much faster.

Smart cards provide hurdles, opportunities for Free Software

Lee Schlesinger

April 07, 2008 9:00:00 PM

Smart cards and digital signatures are presented as among the most important components of e-government in Europe, but they are still far from being an effective, Linux-friendly solution to reduce administrative and business costs. But the same tools may become a way to make the general public use or support Free Software.

ZaReason's MegaLap is a desktop replacement with an Ubuntu twist

Lee Schlesinger

April 07, 2008 4:00:00 PM

MegaLap, a notebook computer from ZaReason, a company that builds and sells computer systems that run Ubuntu, is bound to give its owner bragging rights at any LAN party, especially with how loud the system can get. It has the hallmarks of on-the-go computing, while performing comparably to a desktop gaming system.

A hands-on look at the Splashtop instant-on Linux environment

Lee Schlesinger

March 06, 2008 7:00:00 PM

San Jose-based startup DeviceVM made waves last year when it unveiled Splashtop, a nearly instant-on Linux environment stored in the flash memory usually reserved for motherboard BIOS. The company previewed an upcoming revision to Splashtop at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in January, then gave us the chance to take a hands-on look at this intriguing system software.

Sort by Date Title Hits