[OT] Endless OS

[Richard Gaskin]

Richmond wrote:

 > I wonder if this is a plastic bath-toy or something that might get a
 > semi-respectable market share:
 >
 > https://endlessm.com/
 >
 > The computer is pitched at the 'poor' end of the spectrum, yet it
 > costs $169 when I bought a "proper" second hand DELL for $50.

The cost isn't bad, but if one were to shop around and be willing to 
have a less colorful case you can get this barebones which is on sale in 
a bundle with twice as much RAM as the Endless box for just $118 - toss 
in a 60GB  SSD for $40 for twice as much storage and you're still paying 
less:
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G28N1141>
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220893>

I've been following low-end hardware for a while now, since I've found 
it invaluable to have a cheap dev server in the office and am now 
looking to add one at home.  Many options for well under $200, and if 
you're willing to have leaner specs or refurbished components you can 
get costs down even further.

You can even go ultra-small with the Intel Compute Stick and still have 
a quad-core CPU (Atom Z3735F @ 1.33 GHz) for just $110, and it fits in 
your shirt pocket:
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883800003>


 > It says that it connects to any TV . . . with an HDMI port . . .
 >
 > That's a load of nonsense to start with: how about a coaxial cable?
 >
 > I see that it does have a VGA output, which is good, as old
 > cathode-ray VDUs are going, round these parts at least,
 > for about $5.
 >
 > Frankly anybody who has got $169 + the price of a TV with an HDMI
 > port to spare is NOT poor, and if I lived in the favelas of Rio de
 > Janiero, or the nastier parts of Cairo I would feel that somebody
 > was being a bit like Marie Antoinette and lobbing cake around.

Maybe that's not their target.

TVs sold for nearly a decade have HDMI, and it's a much better choice 
for computing.  Coax is very rarely used for computing; for analog VGA 
is more commonly used, and provided on that box.

If you're going that route you're moving into OLPC territory; a worthy 
pursuit, but a different market.


 > It runs a Linux kernel, but will we be able to spin off LiveCode
 > standalones for it?

Oh yes indeed.

Intel's low-end CPUs are surprisingly capable.  The N2807 will even run 
some light 3D games like Super Tux Cart, though I wouldn't expect high 
FPS on more demanding games.  It'll certainly run LiveCode just fine - 
the specs far exceed those of even the newer Raspberry Pi, so LC will do 
quite well on Celerons and even Atoms like the Z3735F in the Compute Stick.

In fact, the dev server I have in my office runs a standard LAMP setup, 
with OwnCloud syncing all my computers, and several LC standalones 
performing a wide range of site monitoring and data collection tasks, 
and has a GUI - LXDE, courtesy of Lubuntu 14.10.

And it's sporting the humble Atom 230, which premiered in 2007. :)

I enjoy building systems so I've been itching to find excuses to replace 
that one, but the fact is it keeps doing what I need it to do so well 
with its hyperthreaded 1.4 GHz CPU, even with that older instruction 
set, that I just haven't been able to justify retiring it yet.

With shared memory for graphics, the 1 GB RAM it shipped with was 
sometimes close to tight under load, and tempted me more than once to 
ditch the GUI and make it exclusively a server.  But rather than drop 
the GIU or replace the whole box I just bought a 2 GB RAM chip for it 
last year and now load is rarely more than half capacity, never dipping 
into swap.

I wouldn't cut video on it, and I rarely play games anyway, but as a way 
of experimenting with server stuff and stress-testing LiveCode GUIs it's 
been a champ, year after year.

The Celeron N2807 is much newer, and far more capable than that old 
Atom, with a much more recent generation of Intel graphics.  Any system 
with an N2807 will run LiveCode admirably.  Both have a TDP around 4 
watts, so you can use them for always-on servers without feeling guilty:
<http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/622/Intel_Atom_230_vs_Intel_Mobile_Celeron_N2807.html>

If you study Intel's lineup carefully, you'll find that many of the 
distinctions between the Core i series and their lower-end Pentium, 
Celeron, and Atom CPUs are somewhat negligible for many workflows, esp. 
the sorts of things scripters do.  LC is single-threaded so going beyond 
2 cores is overkill for most tasks; hardware AES is nice but you won't 
miss it in most day-to-day work; higher-end onboard graphics really only 
become important for video work or games; etc.

If you enjoy Linux and you're looking for cheap options to develop in 
LiveCode, and you're willing to spend a little time picking components, 
the options are plentiful and affordable.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com