Zonbu… very interesting idea
Posted on July 18, 2007
Filed Under All, Photos, Technology |
This is Zonbu, a $99 Via-based Mini-PC that runs Linux and that offers a $12.95-a-month subscription that gives the user 25 GB of encrypted, backed-up file storage and an ongoing OS and application patch-and-update service. (See John Markoff’s article about same in the NYT and on CNET).
It’s a nifty idea: but I’d really love to use it with Google apps and Picassaweb where I already have a bunch of stuff. You can buy the machine, without the monthly subscription, for $249, but then you’re on your own for OS updates et al. The beauty is that, with Firefox, you’d be pretty much plug-and-play with the Google suite.
Linux is more than ready to go primetime, IMHO - actually it has been for years. Firefox, Evolution, OpenOffice.org et al. are mature, usable applications, and Zonbu appears to have done work to get driver support for iPods, popular digital cameras et al. onto the machine. I have been looking to put a Linux machine back on the gulker.com Net just to see the current state of Linux and Open Source…
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What’s up with the mouse and keyboard ports? Seems there are plenty of USB ports to handle those. Nice touch with the CF slot, just need another for the SD card.
I agree with the comment about linux being ready, except that the user experience still needs to be professionally (commercially?) integrated. Many have tried, but it hasn’t stuck yet. Only the MacOS has succeeded in that (smooth UI on a *nix drivetrain.