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Marvell crams $99 computer into a wall plug
Marvell is looking to create a new computing category – plug computers – designed to offer PC-like performance in a tiny space while drawing a fraction of the energy. Dubbed SheevaPlug, this Linux based platform packs a 1.2GHz custom CPU based on the ARM architecture, 512MB of solid-state storage, and 512MB of RAM all inside a tiny “wall-wart” power converter.
It also sports Ethernet and USB 2.0 connectivity so you can connect any type of external storage and turn this into a network attached storage device or media server of sorts – other uses that come to mind include a remote print server or even a low end web server to run tests with. Marvell won’t be selling devices based on SheevaPlug directly but is encouraging manufacturers to build off the platform with a $99 development kit. Cloud Engines’ Pogoplug, for instance, is based on the SheevaPlug platform and basically it connects an external hard drive to the Internet enabling users to share and access files from anywhere.
It also sports Ethernet and USB 2.0 connectivity so you can connect any type of external storage and turn this into a network attached storage device or media server of sorts – other uses that come to mind include a remote print server or even a low end web server to run tests with. Marvell won’t be selling devices based on SheevaPlug directly but is encouraging manufacturers to build off the platform with a $99 development kit. Cloud Engines’ Pogoplug, for instance, is based on the SheevaPlug platform and basically it connects an external hard drive to the Internet enabling users to share and access files from anywhere.
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User Comments (5)
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9Nails on February 26, 2009 7:26 PM |
From my network engineering brain, this looks like a gift for hacking someone's network. It's small, affordable, can hide behind the desk, and has just enough CPU power to crack away at passwords or sniff network traffic then send the juicy bits of data to your collector site. From a personal perspective, I think that this will work good as my home server. I've been running an email server and a web page for a hobby. Currently it sits on a 800 MHz Dell laptop with the display panel removed since it was cracked. Only one problem with the Marvell - where's the display port? |
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therickster90 on February 27, 2009 10:25 AM |
Originally posted by 9Nails: Only one problem with the Marvell - where's the display port? Also. Storage? Did it mention anything was built in, or just use the usb port for an ext-hdd? |
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anguis on February 27, 2009 11:21 AM |
It runs some Linux form of OS, so it has to have some internal storage. |
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sngx1275 on February 27, 2009 1:00 PM |
From the first paragraph: "512MB of solid-state storage, and 512MB of RAM " |
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pmshah on February 27, 2009 7:17 PM |
Why would you need display port? You have all kinds of devices - adsl modems, routers, nas, managed switches etc - running Linux with web interface. |
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