Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs

[markw-FJ05HQ0HCKaWd6l5hS35sQ at public.gmane.org (Mark Woodward)]

On 06/12/2011 10:31 AM, Chris O'Connell wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Chris O'Connell<omegahalo-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>
> Date: Sat, Jun 11, 2011 at 11:49 PM
> Subject: Small Form Factor PCs
> To: blu<discuss-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org>
>
>
> I'm looking for a very small form factor computer to install some home
> automation software on.  The software is not very resource intensive.  Here
> are the key requirements for the system:
> 1.  Must be able to power back up  without human intervention if power to
> the unit is lost.
> 2.  Should be small and less energy intensive than a regular PC.
> 3.  I would like it to be less than $500.
> 4.  Must be capable of running Windows (so either an AMD or INTEL cpu).
>
> Can anyone make any suggestions about what might work well for me?  I was
> looking at the Dell Zino, but am unsure if a better option exists.
I know I replied once already, I want to ask a quick couple questions.

(1) Is this a on-off or do you intend to productize your system?
(2) What version of Windows? You can use Wince.
(3) umm, why Windows?
(4) What do you expect for $500, a full PC or just the components. $500 
is, IMHO a very generous number.
(5) If this is a one-off, I have a VIA-800 miniitx motherboard with 512M 
of ram and an IDE compact flash adapter that makes a neat little  
pseudo-embedded disk-free system that was removed from my robot last 
year. I could probably let it go for $100 bucks with a standard ATX 
power supply.


With regards to #1, if you are going to product-ize this, you may want 
to consider a lower cost platform such as ARM.
With regards to #3 and maybe #1, unless there is a REALLY specific need, 
Windows is a very poor platform for this type of application.

Also, take a look at www.mini-itx.com