Marvell's Plug Computer: A fully functional 5 watt Linux server

Quoting:It's important to note that since this is a Linux-based machine capable of running Debian-based distributions, for example, such as Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.

This does look like a cool device though.

Then there's this

The eventual $49 price tag might honestly offset any product resistance (for the adventurous). But its initial price tag of $79 to $99 should keep most buyers away. Would the average consumer spend $79 for a Linux-based server to augment their home network? I'd say the answer is "no way".

You know what that little thing is really missing, a pass through plug, so that it just leaches those 5 watts (0.04167 amps on standard 120v). Then you could plug your USB printer right into it. Still it's a nifty idea.

"The eventual $49 price tag might honestly offset any product resistance (for the adventurous). But its initial price tag of $79 to $99 should keep most buyers away. Would the average consumer spend $79 for a Linux-based server to augment their home network? I'd say the answer is "no way"."

Apple is selling an overpriced server that does exactly what this cheap device does. If you already have a USB hard drive and a wireless AP, simply use this to turn your hard drive into a network drive. Then plug in a camera etc...

I know a few people that use a sneakernet with a portable drive because they never figured out (or never bothered) how to set up network sharing (and never upgraded their internal HDDs).

While I find this very interesting, I object to the final comments about Debian being non-user-friendly!

Argh!

As someone who has looked into the possibility of using a dozen different embedded and otherwise miniature PCs both as servers and desktops, I find the $99 pricetag to be no big deal. Sure, $49 is better, but $99 is pretty darn good considering there's 512 MB of RAM in there. Very few embedded boards offer that much RAM.

The stopper for me is lack of video capability. I'm somewhat OK without a serial port, but between no serial port AND no VGA, this device has plenty of uses but can't make it that last mile as something I can plug my keyboard, mouse and monitor into and use in that fashion.

But it's a pretty cool device nonetheless, and at $49 I'd be buying them two at a time ...

Yes, the lack of a console is annoying. However, barring initial installs, what can't be done through an SSH session?

I agree it requires an available DHCP server, but I can install and configure udhcpd on my laptop's ethernet port, and connect a cross-over cat-5 cable, in about 5 minutes from a standing start.

The USB port is wonderful, that means that the internal flash memory need be used for nothing more than boot, connected to an external HD. I've got a tower in the corner I use for little more than file serving and running bittorrents on (due to its large disk), but it has no monitor nor keyboard attached, and hasn't since I first set it up.

This would replace that server handedly. Not that I have the need to do that at the moment, but it certainly opens up a whole new realm of possibilities over the space required, power, and noise of a tower machine.