We finally finished our review of Shuttle's KPC K-4500, the Foresight Linux-based small form factor desktop that Shuttle announced a few weeks back. This review covers the lowest end complete system. Shuttle also offers a bare-bones K45 model (with no operating system) as well as a few others with higher-end hardware and Vista Basic.
Shuttle's KPC K-4500 comes cheap at $229 for a complete system.
(Credit: CNET)As for this model, tread lightly if that $229 price tag makes you think it'll be good for the kids or the non-tech inclined. Not that the Foresight Linux operating system is hard to use, it just might require your help to maintain (try asking a 5-year-old to install a DVD codec, for example). But if you're looking for a cheap, complete Linux system, or you simply want a small PC to knock around on, the K-4500 offers some remarkable bang for your buck.
For the full scoop, check out the full review of Shuttle's K-4500 Linux PC.
Small PC maker Shuttle drew an outsize share of attention at the Consumer Electronics Shows earlier this year when it announced a $199 Linux-based desktop PC.
Shuttle said Monday that it still plans to offer the KPC for $199, in addition to a $299 upgraded version. A $99 bare-bones version will also be available. The company is taking preorders on its Web site, and says the KPC should begin shipping in mid-April.
The KPC from Shuttle is available in mid-April starting at $199.
(Credit: Shuttle)The $199 KPC will get you an Intel Celeron 430 processor, 512MB of memory, and an 80GB hard drive. That version will be available at retail--the only outlet announced so far is NewEgg.com--but note that doesn't include a monitor or keyboard, or an optical drive or PCI Express slot.
And for $299, ordering directly from Shuttle, will buy an Intel dual core processor, 1GB of memory, 160GB hard drive (the upgrade to 160GB is free if you pre-order), and a 2GB flash drive installer for Linux.
Inexpensive Linux-based PC offerings are on the rise of late, but it still remains a smaller niche of computing. Though Wal-Mart Stores began offering the Linux-based gPC from Everex for $198 last fall, and reported that it quickly ran out of its stock, last week the retail giant announced it would be pulling the gPC from its store shelves because it "wasn't what (its) customers were looking for."
Note: The guys at CNET Reviews have informed me they have the KPC in hand and are poring over it. Look for their full review next week.
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Shuttle)
LAS VEGAS--Asus' Eee PC and Everex's CloudBook aren't the only ones pushing down the price of affordable, open-source PCs.
Shuttle introduced its $199 KPC Linux PC here on Tuesday. The company didn't have it on display on the actual floor of the convention halls here at the Consumer Electronics Show (too late did I find out you had to zip over to a private suite at the Bellagio for a look-see), but booth representatives were happy to talk details. "It's meant for simple tasks," said sales rep James Wonpu.
It'll have an Intel Celeron processor, a 945GC chipset, 512MB of memory and either a 60GB or 80GB hard drive. What it won't have: an optical drive or a PCI Express slot. Despite that, it's a pretty good-looking box, and comes in red, blue, white, and black, each with a different icon stamped on the front.
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Shuttle)
Shuttle also says there will be a $99 bare-bones version of the KPC. That version will have the option of upgrading to a Core 2 Duo processor and 1GB of memory. Both will be available for purchase near the end of the first quarter.
View complete CES 2008 coverage from CNET.
NASA is allowing the public to view a real-time video and audio feed of the upcoming launch of the Endeavour mission.
According to the agency's latest update, the crew is on board, the hatch is closed, and the agency is more or less waiting to begin the countdown to launch.
You can find the feed by going here and following the link for NASA TV. The shuttle is scheduled to launch at 6:36 p.m. Eastern time.
In a move to replace manual inspection, NASA has built wireless scanners to automatically detect cracks or imperfections in the thousands of heat tiles that protect the space shuttle.
Wireless scanner helps NASA detect flaws in shuttle heat tiles.
(Credit: NASA Ames Research Center)The space agency said on Tuesday that it will use the wireless scanners for its first mission Wednesday, when Endeavour launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
Thermal heat shields are critical to space flight. The space shuttle Columbia, for example, exploded during re-entry into the atmosphere in February 2003, when a hole in its outer surface caused the craft to break apart under extreme temperatures.
In the past, NASA said its employees would visually analyze tiles and estimate damage from dings or cracks to "worst-case value" by using small handheld scales. But now, inspectors will use six scanners, which weigh about 2.9 pounds each and are about the size of a small teapot, to analyze the tiles for potential problems. The scanners are set to computerize data on tiles within 3 seconds, and then engineers can examine the length, depth and width of tile flaws through 3D pictures.
"The new method is much faster and more accurate because the depth and volume measurements of the flaws and their locations are wirelessly transmitted into a computer database," Joe Lavelle, a senior engineer and project manager at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., said in a statement.
NASA, which has been testing a larger desktop version of the scanner to study protective materials for its next-generation space shuttle, Orion, is building a second desktop scanner for use at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. NASA said the technology should be finished in about two months.
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