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

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I guess I would suggest you build it based around the Timex Sinclair
ZX-80...That's worth $300, and it's really powerful too!



"Ralf Quint" <Ralf_Quint@hot_mail.com> wrote in message
jg5sktgdj963nhe66qk951fo32lp3gniv5@4ax.com">news:jg5sktgdj963nhe66qk951fo32lp3gniv5@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 12 Jul 2001 22:09:21 +0200, "T.J.T van Kooten"
> <thomas@-nospam-worldonline.nl> wrote:
>
> >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?
> >
> >CPU? (P.S Intel and AMD are out, far too expensive and powerhungry for
this
> >type of thing, you should be looking at the $20-35 level)
> Well, in quantities, you might get pretty close for low end
> Celerons....
> >As OS? (Linux is a dead giveaway, but there also other OS's out there)
> FreeDOS?? It's getting closer to be usable everyday....
> Linux for a home user, no way, not in this decade AFAIAC... ;-)))
> >Build in programming language? (please choose anything but Basic!)
> What's wrong with BASIC? It's easy to be "build in", as it is an
> interpreter and there are a lot of BASIC variations out there that
> would stand any comparison for ease of use and performance....
> Or you you suggest something more academic like Smalltalk, Lisp or
> Java???
> >Amount of memory? (RAM and ROM)
> Not as much a question of cost (128MB SDRAM is less than $10 these
> days), as of a combination of the above specs...
> >Graphic and Sound?
> VGA style graphics with 4MB RAM and at least 800x600, 16bit colors is
> not a problem these days either..
> And SB compatible sound probably not...
> >Network capabilities? (internet capable)
> an onboard solution with a Realtek chip and TP 10/100 RJ-45
> connector...
> >Plug in capabilities (remember you're making it as cheap as possible so
> >modems, CD-Roms, HD's are all extras)
> >Video (TV? or Monitor?)
> Well, a monitor is probably the most expensive part. As for the
> possible graphics capabilities, a TV (if it's not a fancy digital HDTV
> one) is far below the capablities of the graphics chips...
> >The real costs should below $200 or even below the $150 level. You may
> >presume that a million units would be manufactured so take volume
discounts
> >for components into account
> If you buy a million pieces of ANY component, you get FAR below the
> usual retail prices. a quick look on pricewatch reveals
> CPU: AMD Duron 700Mhz $24 (Celeron 700MHz $42, VIA Cyrix 700 $37)
> Memory: 128MB PC133 $9
> Mobo: Intel 810 $38 (build-in video!, USB, keyboard,...)
> case w/ p/s $25 (ATX desktop)
>
> Ok, that is a pretty mix, bu assuming large quantities as you
> mentioned, this is less than $100 for the major parts. Add a few $10
> for network and sound and smaller stuff, no problem...
>
> >
> >Let's see what sort of systems people come up with.
> >
> Ok, just a rough sketch, but it should give you an idea.
> The problem is to finance this and to get the software for it (BeOS
> might be nice, but....)
> And these days, you will have a hard time selling something that is
> not Playstation or PC compatible...
> And than you are up against M$ with their XBox or whatever it is
> called these days......
>
> just my 2c,
>
> Ralf
>
>