Do You Speak Zonbu?
By Wayne Maruna
Someone has finally created a computer for the PC-as-Toaster crowd – inexpensive, unobtrusive, self-maintaining. It’s called Zonbu, and it’s as much a marketing concept as it is a computer.
About the size of your Sunday go-to-meeting
Bible, the Zonbu contains no fans and no moving parts, so it is totally silent.
Priced at $299, you can get it for as little as $99 by signing up for a monthly
subscription plan which is really part of the whole Zonbu value proposition.
Here’s the deal. First, you have to have your own local internet service
provider plan – 
broadband
internet is highly recommended for a satisfying experience. You also have to
have your own monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers. At that point, you sign
up for a monthly service plan with Zonbu that costs $15 per month that includes
50GB of on-line storage space. With a two year commitment, you can buy the
Zonbu computer for $99.
Powered by an Intel-compatible VIA Technologies processor and an adequate 512MB of system memory, Zonbu comes with a tweaked version of the Gentoo distribution of the Linux operating system. It also comes with about twenty applications that cover the needs of most PC users. There is no hard drive in the case. Instead, it relies of 4 gigabytes of flash memory (like the memory used in a digital camera) to hold the operating system and key files. Zonbu relies on a web-based connection to store files online. They actually lease disk space from Amazon.com’s servers, and that is where all the data that would normally get stored on a system’s hard drive is retained. The downside of this is that you are relying on someone else to care for your data. The upside is that someone else is tending to regular backups of your data.
Zonbu is targeted at the PC-as-Toaster users who want their PC to be just another appliance. Turn on quickly when you need it, perform the task at hand efficiently, then power down quickly and stand by quietly and reliably for the next use, like a toaster or a can opener. When was the last time you had to back up your toaster or rid your can opener of spyware? With online storage, your backups are taken care of, and with the Linux operating system, your machine is nearly impervious to viruses and most other forms of malware. Your monthly subscription fee also gets you constant and current updates of all installed software automatically. It also protects you from mechanical failure. If the Zonbu fails, you simply mail it in for a free replacement. Since all your data is stored on a web server, there are no issues with having to move files from one Zonbu to the next. With a low wattage CPU, flash memory, and no moving parts, it only consumes roughly ten watts of power per hour, less than one tenth the operating cost of a typical PC.
The Zonbu may be a worthy choice for that relative in your life who just wants to receive email and do some web browsing, but does not want to have to learn a lot about computing. Grandma, meet the mouse. Mouse, meet Grandma.
OK, the learning curve is a little steeper than that, but it certainly is minimized. All Zonbu units are Ethernet-ready and also include wireless capability. Folks might also want to consider a Zonbu for a spare small machine to use in the kitchen, or for a machine for their children since it is far less prone to malware than a Windows machine.
Prefer
a laptop? Zonbu has now introduced a $479 laptop version that may be an even
better deal than its desktop unit. After the subscription plan rebate, the cost
is $279, and that brings you the integral monitor, keyboard, and speakers, plus
an included 60GB hard drive and a DVD-ROM/CDRW drive.
So what are the downsides? Probably the biggest is that the machine is ‘locked down’ such that you cannot add any new applications. This is done to prevent any corruption of the system and to keep all Zonbu boxes the same, since they take care of system updates. And being a Linux based system, you cannot use any Windows software. While the units do provide USB ports for connecting any number of external devices, there may not be Linux drivers (the software that allows interaction with the hardware) available for a specific peripheral device. Lastly, one must remember that while the initial price of the hardware is quite low, one does commit to an ongoing service charge on top of your monthly ISP fee. The fee includes online storage and backups, transparent update of software, and warranty replacement.
I have not personally used a Zonbu, nor does this article necessarily endorse the product. However, I do think this is a unique approach that may have merit for some individuals. You can get further information at http://www.zonbu.com .
News
Flash!
Internet readers get a bonus that Tribune readers did not get.
As I was popping this article into Microsoft Front Page, I received a communication from Larry Kettler, President and CEO of Linspire, Inc., which distributes a pay-for Linux distribution under the Linspire name, and also a free version under the Freespire name. As his memo discussed other low-priced, non-subscription based PCs with Linux at their core, I thought I would add it on to the tail of this article. Note that a competitor product made by Everex is also being sold at Wal-Mart at a similar price-point using gOS as its operating system, with 512MB of RAM, an 80 GB hard drive, and a VIA Technologies processor..
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
