[olug] Tiny computers

Eric Penne epenne at olug.org
Mon Apr 5 21:43:54 UTC 2010


I have the Revo and use it everyday. The cheaper one was $200. WinXP
and 1GB RAM. Works OK. Quite sluggish at times with Win but worked
well with Linux.

The more expensive one comes with updated processor, 2GB RAM, and Win 7.

It can support 4GB but i have tore into it yet.

It is my only MS machine in the house and not surprisingly it is the
machine I spend the most time maintaining.

Windows required for:
Netflix
ESPN3.com and the Move Media plugin so I can catch Husker sports while in Iowa.

I love the functionality but I despise MS Windows. WTF is up with all
the different versions Home, Home Basic, Media Center, Professional.
Confusing to me.

I don't think the tiny computers originally suggested would have the
oomph to decode any video at a decent framerate. The nVidia chip in
the Revo makes all the difference on this underpowered machine.





On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 4:33 PM, Craig Wolf <CJWolf at mpsomaha.org> wrote:
> What about the Aspire Revo R3610/3612/3622??
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103235&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Desktop+PC-_-Acer+America-_-83103235
>
> Comes with a mount to put it on the back of an LCD TV.
>
> Craig Wolf sends
>
>>>> nate <nate at bluddclot.com> 4/5/2010 >>>
> On Mon, Apr 05, 2010 at 03:03:58PM -0500, T. J. Brumfield wrote:
>> If you don't install the firmware update, you keep Linux on it just fine.
>>
>
> Yeah... if your buying a Playstation to run Linux your doing it wrong,
> unless you have a fetish for non-x86 architectures. There are a lot
> cheap and lot more powerful machines for running Linux.
>
> 256MB of RAM just does not cut it and Sony has Linux locked out of
> GPU accelerated graphics.
>
>> Also, you don't need to install Linux on it to play YouTube on the TV.
>
> Yeah, but it sucks for that. Low quality and difficult to use. If your
> goal is to watch Youtube vids on your TV then PS3 isn't a good solution.
>
>> Out of the box, the PS3 has a web browser and Flash. It also supports
>> Netflix, plays BluRay movies, and has a video rental service. It also
>> streams video files across your wireless network.
>>
>
> I know people that use Netflix on the PS3. It works out very well and is
> good quality. The downside is that you have to use Netflix's web-based
> UI on a Windows PC to setup what movies you want to play on the PS3.
>
> It does make a excellent Blueray player, though. And very good at video
> games, of course.
>
>> You could build a small home theater PC, but if you install Linux you
>> won't be able to watch BluRay movies or Netflix streaming.
>>
>> I'm a fan of Linux. I hope to see BluRay and Netflix support on Linux
>> soon. But if you want a box to play media on your TV, a PS3 may be the
>> best current solution.
>>
>> -- T. J.
>>
>
> It all depends on what you want. Playstation is good for Blueray and
> Games, average for Netflix (since you need a seperate PC, from what I
> remember, to set up the movie feeds).
>
> However Linux PC is going to be superior in terms of web-based
> entertainment (not Netflix since it's Windows-only on the PC, so far).
> Youtube, Hulu, Amazon, etc etc.  Also Linux has a much wider range of
> media support. The PS3 is going to be very limited in the codecs and
> media it supports... Linux can play just about anything.
>
> With Nvidia proprietary codecs it's a very good performer for HD video,
> also.
>
> But a Sheeva Plug and that sort of thing is not appropriate. You have to
> go with a x86-based system to get good graphical performance.
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