Aleutia E2
From AleutiaWiki
Contents |
Get Started
- Where to get one, FAQ, Aleutia - The Creation
- Tutorials, Getting Started
- Operating Systems, Applications, Included Software, Forthcoming Software
- Mesh Network - An outline of how mesh networks function and how ours is intended to.
- Customer Stories, Projects - Simple Ideas for usage of the E1/2
- Hardware Ideas
- Win an iPod Shuffle
The E3, An Embedded Platform
With a smaller footprint than a CD, no moving parts, and power consumption of just 9 Watts, the Aleutia E3 is ideal as an embedded PC, thin client, or as a stand alone PC for web browsing and word processing. A 1.0GHz CPU and 256MB RAM provide acceptable performance at an exceptional price and form factor.
Just 4.5 Inches Square. Just $180.00
- Fanless, Silent PC: the E3 is passively cooled with the grooved chassis serving as a heat sink for a completely silent PC (0 dB).
- VESA-Mountable: a hole at each corner and included screws allow you to attach to any VESA mounting fixture, saving desk space and making more secure.
- Network Boot: PXE Boot and Wake on Lan supported for remote deployments.
- Leave on for Months: built for reliability, the E3 can be left on for months unattended. (We know because we've had compiling Ubuntu from source at 100% CPU utilization).
- Unbreakable: No Moving Parts and solid internal connections means it can handle drops from 1.5 meters - do try this at home.
- CF and MicroSD Slot: Slot in a new OS without opening the box.
- Internal IDE Controller: mount storage inside for greater security - notebook hard drives for greater speed or internal CF cards and SSDs to reduce costs and avoid moving parts.
- Optional Internal Mini PCI Card Slot (with 2 RS232 Serial Ports): Add WLAN, GPS, Bluetooth, and more using the optional internal card slot or have us install our tested and hand picked cards.
- Linux or Windows: Tested and Available with Ubuntu, Debian, and Puppy Linux. Compatible with WinXP and Windows Embedded Standard 2009 (formerly XPe).
- Honest Disclaimer: 256MB RAM means BBC iPlayer, YouTube, and most flash-based video is going to be choppy and borderline un-watchable. If you need flash video in a really small case, consider our E3 or our much faster mini-itx PCs.
Options
All E3s have dual IDE controllers. Additionally, we can fit them with a Mini PCI card slot and 2 RS232 Serial Ports. That extra functionality comes at a cost - you cannot add a hard drive or SSD. However, Aleutia can uniquely offer the E3 with both a populated Mini PCI card slot and an internal CF card for greater security.
- Internal Mini PCI Card Slot with 2 RS232 Serial Ports: Add WLAN, GPS, Bluetooth, and more using the optional internal card slot.
- Engenius NMP-8602+ 400mW a/b/g miniPCI Card: Introduced to us by a customer, this card performs very well and does not suffer from the dropped packed problem of the VIA VT6655.
- Internal HDD: the E3's internal IDE controller and our supplied 2cm IDE cable (44pin) allow you to connect 2.5" notebook hard drives or solid state drives, greatly increasing performance and affordably boosting storage as high as 250GB.
Read the tutorial for installing drives on our wiki, or have us install Western Digital Scorpio Blue drives which we've found to be practically silent (a quiet whir when the system is booted up/down) and in tests only increase power consumption 1 watt.
Ordered in for customers, these are available in 80GB, 160GB, and 250GB Capacities. 5400RPM with 8MB Cache. Complete specs here.
- Internal CF Card: not as fast as a hard drive, but great for use in public areas (kiosk, internet cafe) where the CF card might be stolen. We supply 20X Adata and 133X Transcend CF cards though faster (266X, etc.) CF cards work fine.
- (Software) RAID 0 CF Cards: There's no space for a RAID controller card, but with Linux you can software RAID two CF cards and we're able to supply an IDE adapter that takes two CF cards and fits inside (even with a mini PCI card inside). An affordable way to speed up performance.
- Internal SSD: We can supply and install a 32GB Transcend SSD, though performance is roughly equivalent to a CF card with read/write speed of 20 Mbps. The solid state drive market is really focussed on SATA, rather than IDE which is why performance is faster on our E3.
Still Unsure about Speeds?
Read our bonnie++ benchmarks on our wiki.
Operating Systems
Linux is more easily tweaked than Microsoft and so offers better performance. We're better able to trouble shoot it and the Windows Emulator WINE works very well at running Windows executables (.exe). Of course, some customers require Microsoft and we provide drivers for it here.
If you'd like to install a different OS later, or replace Linux with Microsoft this can be easily done with a USB optical drive - available from us for $80. You can install Linux distributions in the same way or using a much cheaper pen drive.
We provide free software support on Debian and Ubuntu for 3 Years.
- Ubuntu Linux 8.04.1: our preferred OS, though a bit "heavy" (read: slow), Ubuntu is backed by the well-funded Canonical company (and so will be around and supported forever).
- Debian Linux 4.0: Ubuntu is based on Debian. Ubuntu is better known, but Debian is faster, looks very similar, and is completely compatible.
- Puppy Linux 4.1.2: Maintained by a rabid community, Puppy Linux has two main advantages. It's a) very small (187MB) but loaded with programs, such as the OpenOffice alternative Abiword and Gnumeric, and Mozilla Seamonkey as a Firefox alternative and b) loads from the CF card or hard drive into RAM, making it very, very fast even on low-spec systems such as the Aleutia E3.
- Windows XP: No longer available as an OEM license but it does run on the system. Can run on HDD or SSD but not CF cards as its extensive log files burn CF cards out.
- Windows Embedded Standard 2009 (formerly XP Embedded or XPe). Available and supported until 2016, this is Microsoft's answer to Linux - highly customizable, can run on CF cards, and costs "only" $90. However, it has to be deployed as an embedded system and cannot be marketed as a standalone system. More information can be found at our blog.
Tech Specs
Dimensions and Weight 115 x 115 x 35 mm, 505g
CPU MSTI PDX-600 1.0GHz
Memory Onboard 256MB DDR2
Storage CF Card, MicroSD Card, EIDE Solid State Drive (32GB), Hard Disk Drive (80GB, 160GB, 250GB), CF Card (4GB, 8GB, 16GB), or Dual CF Card (Software RAID 0, 1)
Networking 10/100Mbps Ethernet port
Graphics VGA XGI Z9s with 32MB DDR2
Audio Driverless Audio In and Out
Video VGA D-Sub (15 pin)
Rear I/O 2 x USB 2.0 Ports, 1 x PS/2 Ports, VGA Port, Mini PowerDIN Port, Ethernet Port, Optional Dual Serial Ports, WLAN.
Power 5V DC, 1.8 Amp. Supplied with UK, EU, or US AC Power Supply.
Power Consumption 9W Peak.
Operating Temperature -20 to 70 degrees C
Operating Humidity 0% - 90% relative humidity, non-condensing
Certifications CE, FCC, RoHS
Linux OS Ubuntu 8.04.1 (Hardy Heron), Debian 4.0, Puppy Linux 4.1.2,
Microsoft OS Microsoft XP, Windows Embedded Standard 2009 (formerly XP Embedded)
FAQ
Can the CPU or RAM be upgraded or replaced? In a word, no. We use a proprietary board to reduce the system's cost and power consumption, but this approach to manufacturing means that the CPU and memory are mounted in a way that makes them non upgradeable. However, our E2 offers similar performance with a 500MHz CPU and is available with 512MB or 1GB RAM.
Can you re-install the OS later or replace Linux with Windows? Easily. Linux can often be installed with with a USB thumb drive, though to install Windows, it's easiest to buy an external DVD-RW drive. (You only need a USB CD Drive, DVD-RW is all that is available these days.)
Can it be connected to a 12V power source? The E3 is 5V DC and will fry if connected to a 12V DC power source. There are DC to DC converters that our customers have spliced with their E3 power supply, but the better solution is to buy our E3, which we released for customers relying on 12V DC power sources.
