Zonbu - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Zonbu is a technology company that sells a computing platform which combines a web-centric service, a small form factor

Small form factor

A small form factor is a computer form factor designed to minimize the volume of a desktop computer. For comparison purposes, the size of an SFF case is usually measured in litres. SFFs are available in a variety of sizes and shapes, including shoeboxes, cubes, and book-sized PCs...

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

, and an open source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

based software architecture. Zonbu was founded by Alain Rossmann (previously Founder and CEO of Openwave

Openwave

Openwave is a software company. Based in Redwood City, California, USA, Openwave is historically significant in its introduction of the Mobile Internet and its expansion into a large successful mobile software supplier in the mobile telecom sector...

) and Gregoire Gentil (previously co-founder of Twingo Systems

Twingo Systems

Twingo Systems is a computer security company based in the United States. Twingo Systems was a leading provider of desktop security solutions for Secure Socket Layer Virtual Private Networks...

Hardware

The first-generation Zonbox hardware was the eBox-4854 sold by DMP Electronics of Taiwan.
Called the Zonbu Mini, it was a nettop

Nettop

Nettop may refer to:*Nettop, a type of computer*NetTop, a NSA project...

computer measuring 6 ¾” × 4 ¾” × 2 ¼”. It is flash

Flash memory

Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...

based, fanless, and thus effectively silent. The official specifications for the device in 2007 were:

1.2 GHz Via
VIA Technologies
VIA Technologies is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory, and is part of the Formosa Plastics Group. It is the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets...

Eden
VIA Eden
VIA Eden is a name of a variant of VIA's C3/C7 processors, designed to be used in embedded devices. They have smaller package sizes, lower power consumption, and somewhat lower computing performance than their C equivalents, due to reduced clock rates...

CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...

(C7 Esther
VIA C7
The VIA C7 is an x86 central processing unit designed by Centaur Technology and sold by VIA Technologies.- Product history :The C7 delivers a number of improvements to the older VIA C3 cores but is nearly identical to the latest VIA C3 Nehemiah core. The C7 was officially launched in May 2005,...

core)
512 MB RAM
Ethernet over twisted pair
Ethernet over twisted pair
Ethernet over twisted pair technologies use twisted-pair cables for the physical layer of an Ethernet computer network. Other Ethernet cable standards employ coaxial cable or optical fiber. Early versions developed in the 1980s included StarLAN followed by 10BASE-T. By the 1990s, fast, inexpensive...

10/100 Mbit/s
PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, VGA display port and 6 USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....

2.0 ports
4 GB CompactFlash
CompactFlash
CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...

local storage
Graphics up to 2048 x 1536 with 16 million colors – hardware graphics and MPEG2 acceleration

Disassembly by Zonbu owners has shown that the Zonbu includes options for internal expansion:

Mini PCI slot (for an optional wireless card)
IDE connector, with room in the case for a 2.5" hard drive
serial
Serial port
In computing, a serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time...

and parallel
Parallel port
A parallel port is a type of interface found on computers for connecting various peripherals. In computing, a parallel port is a parallel communication physical interface. It is also known as a printer port or Centronics port...

ports

Service

The Zonbu subscription plans include online storage (using Amazon S3

Amazon S3

Amazon S3 is an online storage web service offered by Amazon Web Services. Amazon S3 provides storage through web services interfaces...

), automatic upgrades, online support and remote file access. The subscription service is promoted as reducing the hassle of typical computer maintenance tasks, such as hardware repair, software installation, updates and upgrades, and malicious software removal.

Software architecture

The Zonbu OS is a customized version of Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

based on the Gentoo distribution

Gentoo Linux

Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...

using the Xfce

Xfce

Xfce is a free software desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris, and BSD – though recent compatibility issues have arisen with regard to BSD Unix platforms...

desktop environment. It is geared towards non-technical users, and the user interface

User interface

The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...

focuses more on simplicity than advanced features.

The filesystem architecture combines a transparent overlay filesystem

UnionFS

UnionFS is a filesystem service for Linux, FreeBSD and NetBSD which implements a union mount for other file systems. It allows files and directories of separate file systems, known as branches, to be transparently overlaid, forming a single coherent file system...

(pioneered by Linux Live Distributions) with an on-line backup

Remote backup service

A remote, online, or managed backup service is a service that provides users with a system for the backup and storage of computer files. Online backup providers are companies that provide this type of service to end users ....

service. User data is locally cached on Compact Flash Card, then transparently encrypted with 128-bit encryption

Key size

In cryptography, key size or key length is the size measured in bits of the key used in a cryptographic algorithm . An algorithm's key length is distinct from its cryptographic security, which is a logarithmic measure of the fastest known computational attack on the algorithm, also measured in bits...

and transferred to remote storage servers at Amazon S3

Amazon S3

Amazon S3 is an online storage web service offered by Amazon Web Services. Amazon S3 provides storage through web services interfaces...

Applications

Zonbu comes pre-loaded with a number of software applications. These include the Firefox

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...

web browser

Web browser

A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...

, OpenOffice

OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...

productivity suite and Skype

Skype

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...

IP phone service, and 30 casual games.

With the default OS, the user is not allowed to install any third-party software. The default set of applications is supposed to fit the needs of non-technical users or of a second home PC. However, Zonbu provides instructions to unlock the operating system and install additional software. The procedure is technical and intended for a minority of users (Standard for many linux users, unlocking GRUB, root, and install with emerge/portage).

Environmental benefits

Zonbu consumes less than 10 watts on average and 15 watts under full load, compared to 175 watts for a typical desktop PC. It is a carbon neutral

Carbon neutral

Carbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference...

computer thanks to this low power design and regulatory grade carbon offset

Carbon offset

A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere....

purchased by Zonbu from Climate Trust, a carbon offset provider. These offsets take into account the energy used by the manufacturing process and by the device over its expected lifespan, but not the remote storage service.

The Zonbu manufacturing process complies with the standard of the European RoHS Directive

Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive

The Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment 2002/95/EC was adopted in February 2003 by the European Union. The RoHS directive took effect on 1 July 2006, and is required to be enforced and become law in each member state...

.

The company also offers a free take-back program to minimize environmental e-waste.

External links

Media

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