Qi Hardware Launches Open-Source Computer
- 06.05.2010
It's difficult to envision a computer that's completely open-source—and I mean completely, right down to the software on its drives, the drivers for its components, and the circuit boards for its construction. However, Linux News has gotten its hands on one such device, Qi Hardware's "Ben NanoNote," and it's one of the few massive hardware projects in existence that runs on completely copyleft hardware.
What does that mean? The hardware on the system is bound by the same common principles as the software running on it—anyone is free to modify the Ben NanoNote's design or make copies thereof, so long as they release their version of the product under the same Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license as the original.
Qi Hardware already has a wiki in place where aspiring developers and tinkerers can brainstorm up new project ideas and uses for the $99 laptop. However, the Ben NanoNote isn't designed for mass-market appeal. Part of that can be seen in the product's specifications, which are hardly top-of-the-line components for a laptop—or even a netbook—nowadays.
The Ben NanoNote runs on a 366-MHz MIPS processor with a mere 32 megabytes of RAM and two gigabytes of internal flash storage. There's no internal networking functionality on this 3.9-by-2.95-by-0.7-inch product, whose 16.7-million-color, 3-inch screen sports a resolution of 640 by 480 pixels. The Ben NanoNote does contain a full QWERTY keyboard, however, and it runs the 2.6.32 version of the OpenWRT Linux kernel. And, yes, it'll even allow you to play Doom or Quake.
Read more...http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2364710,00.asp
Ya, I know... I was thinking... Cool!:) I'm setting my sights on one of those!!! Till I read this part "There's no internal networking functionality on this 3.9-by-2.95-by-0.7-inch product"!:O I can barely read a 15in Screen with my Spy Glasses on! So, there's now way I could read anything on that tiny little Screen. I'm not worried that it will be under powered. There are plenty of Linux Distros which can run on old and slow hardware. My web site is running on an old 400mhz Box with Caos Linux and it makes a good Backup Desktop PC too. Too bad:( Cause the concept is about the Coolest I've seen and has So Much Potential!!!:) I sure hope their next Project comes in at least a 17in Screen Size!;)
Don
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