Heh, maybe Microsoft timed it right to bring “so.cl” to peoples attention? 
Although my guess is, people will migrate to Google+ since it’s already an established social-networking site and ties in with EVERYTHING Google either creates or owns.
Here’s an interesting article on the rise and rise of tiny Linux powered PC’s:
http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/75259.html
I particularly like the last paragraph:-
Ubuntu (various flavors) available for download and install for this mini PC
MK802 Ubuntu ImagesHere at Miniand we have been hard at work getting Linux images working on the MK802, and we have just successfully built Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu images.
https://www.miniand.com/forums/forums/2/topics/1
It is also available for US$78 (free shipping to UK)
http://dx.com/p/android-4-0-mini-pc-google-tv-player-w-wifi-allwinner-a10-cortex-a8-tf-hdmi-white-4gb-137012?Utm_rid=93072394&Utm_source=affiliate
Ooo …I like the fact they’ve done a Lubuntu 12.04 image … only problem at present is the speed these things seem to being released, I’m just too scared to buy … you just KNOW something better will be released five seconds after you order, and at half the price … OK, maybe not quite half the price
I’m kind of regretting ordering a Raspberry Pi … even though that’s throw away money … there now seem to be better options that aren’t that much more expensive.
I’ve been offered another pre-order for a second Pi … but I’m holding off till I can make my mind up which to go with.
That’s a lot of spec for £50 … and aint doing the FXI Cotton Candy any favours.
I know I wanted a lot of ARM devices to be released, to drive down prices … but I’m (kind of) beginning to wish they’d stop so I can make a decision :o
So far I like the look of this (and the Mele) for the Allwinner spec, that unbrickable CuBox do-dad from Israel for ease of mind, and the Pi for pure price.
I'm *kind of* regretting ordering a Raspberry Pi .. even though that's throw away money .. there now seem to be better options that aren't *that* much more expensive.OK, here is another one for you http://gooseberry.atspace.co.uk/?page_id=161 [b]Gooseberry[/b] is available in the uk for £40.00
At this point I had an idea, what if I could purchase just the board itself and use it just like the Pi. I contacted the board’s manufactures and am happy to announce, that I will be making Allwinner A10 boards available here in the UK tiding people over until the Pi is out or simply to serve as a more powerful alternative to the Raspberry pi. These boards are roughly 3x the power of the Pi and I will be selling them with a charger for £40. They are actually a much better deal than the raspberry pi, as they offer inbuilt wifi, more ram and feature a newer Arm Soc which is compatible with Ubuntu.
Damn it … the shop is “Closed for maintenance” 
… and if I’m reading this correctly, he only had 10 boards … I want one.
I’m wondering what that big white stripe is on the pic of the board (and the smaller one on the edge) … looks like some kind of ZIF socket, would be nice if it allowed attachment of an SSD.
http://gooseberry.atspace.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSCF2650.jpg
I’m gonna end up spending loads on these … just because they’re so damn cheap … and when I settle on one, I’ve gotta get 2 of em.
You’ll be able to use an SSD in an enclosure through USB power hub > USB 2.0 → Mini USB 2.0 cable. I’m actually rather interested in the Gooseberry. I’m thinking, it’d be a good way to give my brother a PC, and he’d be less likely to break it, and if he does, just toss it in the bin and buy a new one.
Yeh, but if that’s a PATA ZIF socket, the SSD will be MUCH quicker than USB … it would just be nice if it was.
Looks more like a gate chip to me… I also read the spec list, didn’t say anything about PATA.
Eh ??? … there’s definitely 2 zero insertion force sockets on the board … what they’re for though is anyones guess, as there’s little info on the website.
It sounds like the board was originally intended for some kind of tablet … so it/they may be for the touch screen/digitizer (the FAQ also mentions a connector for an electric motor)… I was just hoping one was for a 1.8" ZIF SSD/HDD, or CF or sommat nice like that
There seems to be no shortage of these new ARM devices.
Mini PC Android/Linux(Linaro) A10 Chip 1GB DDR3 RAM (Oval Elephant) price $72.49
The Oval Elephant is a fast mini pc similar to the MK802. It comes with Android but can support special versions of Linux as well.http://www.ovalelephant.com/p-2062-mini-pc-android-linux-linaro-a10-chip-1gb-ddr3-ram
Ah, and nearly forgot the Mini X TV Box runs Android, Linux for under $100
The Mini X is a small Android device that plugs into a TV to let you run Android apps on the big screen. But since it’s powered by the same Allwinner A10 processor found in the Mele A1000 and MK802, the Mini X can also run a range of Linux-based operating systems including Ubuntu, Fedora, and Puppy.http://liliputing.com/2012/07/mini-x-tv-box-runs-android-linux-for-under-100.html
Yup, coming thick and fast now … here’s another mini but powerful development SBC
Hardkernel - ODROID-X
http://www.hardkernel.com/renewal_2011/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G133999328931
$129 = £83.50 … so expensive, but with a branded and very powerful chip
- Samsung Exynos4412 Cortex-A9 Quad Core 1.4Ghz with 1MB L2 cache
- 3D Accelerator - Mali-400 Quad Core
- Memory - 1024MB(1GB) LP-DDR2 800Mega data rate
- 6 x High speed USB2.0 Host port
- 10/100Mbps Ethernet with RJ-45 LAN Jack
- IO Port(s) - 50pin IO expansion port for LCD/I2C/UART/SPI/ADC/GPIO interfaces
- Audio codec with headphone jack and microphone jack
- Android 4.0.4 ICS
- Community-driven projects & supports
FAQ page has this to say about running Ubuntu:-
Will It run Ubuntu or other Linux distros? Ubuntu 12.04 is installable. But, we need more optimization / configuration for hardware acceleration.
http://com.odroid.com/sigong/_Files/2012/201207/201206301841017729
And in other news … My Raspberry Pi arrived yesterday, and after a very brief play (had to nick an HDMI lead off the kids whilst at school) I must say I’m quite impressed … at first glance, if the RasPi runs like this with such a lowly spec, the Allwinner and Samsung Exynos4412 based boards/devices must easily be capable of replacing low to middle end x86 systems … bare in mind I’ve not really put it through any kind of testing, so this is purely an impression at this point.
If anyone wants to know anything, or wants me to test anything on the Pi … let me know
Okey Dokey … I’ll give it a shot as soon as possible and let you know … this was always intended to be part of its job, so just a case of work rather than play 
It will be interesting to see if XBMC is better than the Debian image at media playback, as according to this:
http://elinux.org/RPi_Distributions
XBMC is one of the few pre-packaged images for the RasPi that uses armhf for floating point calculations in hardware rather than software … though in reality I have no idea if media playback uses a lot of floating point maths or not ???
Is that really me? ???
Ooops … I must have hit “Modify” rather than “Quote” :-[ … obviously sommat I can do, I’ll have to be more careful with that
Sorry about that.
Shall I report it to the moderator? :o Oh wait…
I’ve issues myself a warning, and have added myself to the “Track” list, so I can check for further transgressions … good nuff ?
good nuff ? ;)Yeah, that should do it. ;D Looking forward to all the upcoming Raspberry Pi reports.
OK. There is yet another one:
Hackberry A10 Dev Board
Based on the popular 1.2Ghz ARM Allwinner A10, the Hackberry A10 developer board is a powerful, hackable Android / Linux PC. The Hackberry A10 has both WiFi and Ethernet, 3D acceleration and hardware video decoding capable of decoding full HD video via a Mali400 GPU.512MB RAM pre-release $60.00 1GB RAM due late August $65.00 https://www.miniand.com/products/Hackberry%20A10%20Developer%20Board#specifications http://liliputing.com/2012/08/hackberry-a10-developer-board-60-pc-board-with-allwinner-a10-cpu.html [Edit] Boot from SD card and internal storage via u-boot
Nice spec, semi-reasonable price (though someone points out the Mele A1000 has SATA), and WiFi is a nice addition too.
I’m beginning to think though that they’re all letting themselves down with no (apparent or documented) GPIO … that’s what make the Pi stand out … without GPIO, they’re just half a “device” … nice for seeing what ARM is capable of, and maybe a few niche uses, but you can’t really get inventive.
I’m kinda missing where the “Developer” in “Developer board” is coming from … unless they mean software, in which case isn’t EVERY board a developer board ?
OK, this has 4 pin serial which is nice… but GPIO would be nicer … both (and SATA) would be GREAT.
(someone’s gonna do it eventually )
Nice spot though … you’re good at this aren’t you