Re: If you could design a $300 homecomputer today, what would you choose?

["Stephan Schaem" <tthai@mindspring.com>]

"sands-of-iowa" <sands@cableone.com> wrote in message tm5clhcm16noe0@corp.supernews.com">news:tm5clhcm16noe0@corp.supernews.com...
> Why no parallel ports at $300 your market is the poor and they are
> going to buy the $5 printer from the Goodwill not the $150 USB
> printer from Best Buy.

5$ for the printer and 30$ for the cardrige? :)
You can get decent usb inkjet printers for <80$.
If someone cant spent 40$ on a printer, and can only afford 5$, then they really
need to get creative to refill those cardriges.

>
> Graham wrote in message <6172ee17.0107230800.806c967@posting.google.com>...
> >> For the sake of argument let's suppose you could design a next generation
> >> $300 homecomputer. The goal is to make a userfriendly machine for general
> >> use and for hobbyists. How would such a system look?
> >
> >I may be late to the thread, but anyway...
> >
> >I don't think that people will be willing to pay $300 for an appliance
> >(as such a computer would be). You have to look at what the current
> >market wants. There are a million and one Internet boxes (the Bush
> >Internet TV is one at �79, or about $100) that do Internet, email,
> >etc. Not much use for writing a letter or playing games though.
> >
> >Assuming that you have been given a Government contract to make sub
> >$300 boxes for poor people to enable the Internet revolution and
> >increase education,etc (a realistic modern aim?) then what would you
> >want?
> >
> >Integration is the name of the game. So is simplicity. It won't have a
> >DVD drive, but it will have a CD drive. It won't have a 40GB HD, but
> >it might have end of line never-sold 5~10GB HDs. It will have built-in
> >modem and ethernet. It will have built-in graphics and audio. It must
> >display to a TV, but a monitor is an option. Expansion ports kept to a
> >minimum (4 USB, no serial, parallel, etc). Internal expansion not
> >necessary. CPU power needs to be adequate, not good.
> >
> >If you are building 1m boxes, you would sign a contract with
> >Asus/ABit/etc to get low end motherboards with the features that you
> >want only, in the form factor that you want. Use a cheap processor (in
> >quantity, the Via C3 would be good - I bet you could get 600MHz C3
> >processors in quantity for ~$25 each). Integrated motherboard would be
> >$40 with a $15 chipset (SiS630) and minimal components. Hard drive
> >would be ~$50. CD ~$20. No floppy.
> >
> >Motherboard (+modem, network, audio, graphics): $40
> >Processor: $25
> >Hard Drive: $50
> >CD: $20
> >Case (custom): $20
> >Keyboard: $5
> >Mouse: $5
> >
> >As for the operating system - a free one would make sense, however a
> >simple for dummies interface should be employed. The Linux kernel
> >could be used, with a graphical interface that lets the user run
> >applications and set up the device, but isn't a scary UI. Big icons on
> >the screen, one for each application. Basically the Palm launcher I
> >reckon. Modified applications could be used that didn't prompt the
> >user about where to save the document, but just saved it safely, and
> >when you wanted to open a document, it would just show the user the
> >list of documents that they had previously created. Disable downloads
> >from the Internet except from the device makers, where new apps can be
> >downloaded only (use a special tool, perhaps).
> >
> >On the other hand, just use a Pace Digital TV set-top box, with
> >built-in PowerVR technology (a la Dreamcast). As non-digital TV will
> >be eradicated in about 6 years anyway, why not lever a device that
> >everyone will need in their house at one point or another?
> >
> >Graham
>
>