GearBits

Honey, I Shrunk the PC

These aren't the smallest PCs out there, for sure, but I'm constantly amused/entertained/amazed at tiny full-functioned PCs. Here are some interesting ones:

• Upont Cappuccino TX3 - This ready-for-purchase PC is pretty darn compact at 6" x 5.75" x 2.25". It's based on older technology, but has more than enough processing and storage power to be the main PC for most families, home/office users, and other non-gamers. Warning: the Upont website serves up ASP in a format that will likely render as plain text in non-IE browsers (like the one I use).

• Mini-ITX - A half-step further away from off-the-shelf commercialization is this line of mini-ITX mainboard projects. The basic idea is an all-in-one mainboard measuring 6.75" x 6.75", including hard-soldered CPU, and the whole thing runs without a fan! See the comparative sizes of this and other mainboards in the graphic to the right. The systemboard is actually from VIA Technologies, but this Mini-ITX website gets both the "Most Creative" and "Most Devoted" awards for its work on promotion and sponsoring innovative implementations. I especially like Humidor64, a PC encased in a cigar box, and The Clock, a full PC encased in a 20's style mantle clock. Too sweet. If you're handy with a Dremel and a soldering iron, and have some creativity, then maybe a Mini-ITX project is for you.

• OQO - Yes, no discussion of tiny PCs is complete without mentioning the OQO. The basic concept is an all-in-one PC running a variant of Windows or *nix with a high-density display for pen input. Basically, you use it like a PDA when away from a desk. Then, upon returning to the desk, you insert it into a docking station to be used as the core of a regular desktop system. At least that's the dream, and long has the dream existed. The OQO concept first came out several years ago, and it's been updated several times since. We thought we'd be seeing the first commercialized OQO-like units this summer, but that seems to be in limbo once again.

So, from most commercialized to least, here are three examples of the great shrinking PC. Long live the desire to make these things smaller...I can't wait till they're utterly invisible in the larger space of a family room or an office.