Fix IT Newsletter Alert March 2009 Issue 0017 News New pages added since last newsletter... Internet in your RV? Mini Computers Articles Hello The fun part of my job is that I get to see and do so many fun things. I subscribe to a number of publications and blogs. I was reading one blog where the blogger put forth the idea that maybe the Desktop and Laptop as we know them today maybe dead. Huh?? Yup the guy is advocating we all go to the Booksize and Netbook mini computers! Go Green! Throw away those high powered high energy consuming monsters on or under your desk! Get a netbook instead of a Laptop! Well I though this over then went out did some research on the Mini Computers. What I found was not as it appears. The Mini Computer has been around since the Main Frame was in it's infancy. Some may remember the Sinclair? This was a very small computer that you bought in kit form and built it yourself. If I remember correctly it had 64K of memory. It didn't have a floppy or even a hard drive. But it was very small (not portable) about three inches high and about twelve inches square. Even had a monitor - a black and white TV! Anyway after doing some research in to the Mini Computer market I find that all of them are 'roll your own' systems with the exception of the Netbook. The Booksize computers are not fully functional, they are what is known in the industry as 'Bare Bones'. They have a case, motherboard, power supply. On the motherboard the embedded peripherals are - video, USB, network, keyboard, and mouse. The highest processor speed I could find is a Intel Axiom 1.8 GHz Dual processor. This is not to be confused with the Core 2 Duo processor. Nope this processor will not do Hyperthreading or Dual channel for the memory. It is faster than a P4 processor unless you have the P4 with Hyperthreading. Once you install the memory and the hard drive or SSD you then have to buy and install the Operating System. This may not be such a great deal after all! So why would you buy one of these Booksize computers? Well they are cheap, small, and consume less energy than your normal desktop computer. They do not have the computing power, video resolution, memory, or storage capacity of a regular computer. But if the size of the computer outweighs the functionality and speed then this may work out for you, or your child, or as a small file server in your home or office. The same goes for the Netbook. This is a mini laptop. The screen size and resolution is a little better than that you would get with a Booksize computer. The advantage of the Netbook over a Laptop is just that size. The computing power is almost the same as the Booksize computer also. If you need something small to carry with you and you don't require a lot of computing power or graphics resolution this maybe what you are looking for. ASUS has one that has a SSD (Solid State Drive) that will extend the battery charge for a longer period and reduces the overall weight of the computer. This would be a good computer for a High School or Collage Student. The draw back is the memory (1 Gig max) and the SSD - 40 Gig max at this time. Other news: Google is experimenting with a new idea - Google Desktop where your computer is only a terminal and all you data and applications are on Google (or other) servers. All you need is a modem (or network connection) a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. Your computer would be a very small foot print device not unlike the article above. This is not a new idea the Main Frame community has been using the thermal for years. The difference comes from the location. Your terminal can be anywhere, at home, at your office, in a internet cafe. Why lug a laptop around when all you would need is a small netbook that has the mouse, keyword, network (wireless?) connection, and a monitor. It would be very small and light compared to today's laptop. Now the question is do you want to put all your data on a remote independently controlled server that who knows where it is, who is working on it, or who can access it? Now the bad news- You are already doing part of this if you use GMail, Yahoo! mail or any other web based email client. I am wondering if this is just a passing fad or an idea that is about to come to true. Time will tell, are you ready to give up control of your data? I'm not! Q and A This site contains a lot of information. As with any publication not all information is available due to space, time, or subject constraints. If you have a question that you did not find the answer on this web site  you a can ask your question here and we will endeavor to get you the most up to date answer possible! Comments? Ideas? Feedback? I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this newsletter and tell me what you think! Yes, you may forward this email to anyone you want! If you don't have a subscription, and would like one, just go to our Fix It! newsletter signup (and get free sample pages at the same time) Here are some web sites that may be of interest to you: Need help with basic system functions: Computer help - Learn how to use your computer All the best, Monte Russell Webmaster www.diy-computer-repair.com Return to top