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Computers-Hacking Title: MintBox Mini gives Linux users a pocket-sized PC It seems almost ironic that while are phones seem to be getting bigger, PCs are getting smaller. At least those that aren't hulking beasts constructed for raw power, for gaming and whatnot. Though not as ridiculously small as Xiaomi's Mi Box mini "set top box", if you could still call it that, this new MintBox Mini still tries to deliver a PC that is powerful enough for your basic computing needs yet small enough to fit in your pocket. Presuming, of course, you'd actually keep one in your pocket. The MintBox Mini comes from Fit-PC, a company that has been making these mini PC devices for quite some time now. In fact, this is the third incarnation of its MintBox line which started back in 2012. Compared to its older siblings, this "mini" is said to be a one fifth the size. The MintBox 2 measures 19cm x 16cm x 4cm (7.5 in x 6.3 in x 1.6 inc), so we leave it to your vivid imagination to see how much smaller this box really is. Despite that size, however, the MintBox Mini is no underdog. Unlike most mini/pico PCs around, in fact unlike the previous MintBox 2, this one runs on a 1 GHz quad-core 64-bit AMD A4 6400T processor and is helped in the graphics arena by a Radeon R3. RAM is quite generous at 4 GB though some might think that... Poster Comment: Shazam! What a cool little machine! And to think I started out on a Tandy 1000TX: 16-bit, 8 MHz 80286 processor, 640 K Ram, 3.5" floppy (32 Mb hard drive/card extra option), CGA monitor and TandyDOS 2.7.... Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest While not pocket-sized, I really like my quad-core Mac Mini with 16GB. Very capable. Runs all the Linux and Windows virtual machines I want at once. Yes, this is a sweet little box. This box has a 1GHz CPU which came out last April. There is a newer one just out that runs at 1.2GHz. Couple this with a pocket projector (surprisingly cheap now) and you have a pretty portable and powerful solution.
#2. To: Willie Green (#0) (Edited) I seem to recall that you run a particular Linux distro. This review is mostly for Mint 17 with Cinnamon: ArTechnica: Rare breed: Linux Mint 17.2 offers desktop familiarity and responds to user wants And no systemd. At least, not for another year or two. I'm downing it now and will roll up a VMware image to check out. I already have used the standard 14.04 Ubuntu but this looks nicer.
#3. To: TooConservative (#2) I already have used the standard 14.04 Ubuntu but this looks nicer.
Yes, I'm currently running the previous version, Linux Mint 17.1 "Rebecca," on my Celeron powered Zotac ZBOX with 4 GB of RAM. And I've been very happy with it's ease of use. I'm not sure what the difference is between 17.1 and 17.2 since they are both based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, but it looks like 17.2 is only available in the MATE and Cinnamon desktops while I prefer the more simple features of Xfce which is only available in 17.1. (Mint 17.1 also comes in a KDE desktop variety.) But no matter which desktop you choose, I'm sure you'll enjoy Linux Mint. I've been using Mint on various older junk computers for at least 6~7 years now (which is why I prefer the light desktop) and have seldom experienced any problems.
#4. To: Willie Green (#3) Yes, I'm currently running the previous version, Linux Mint 17.1 "Rebecca," C'mon, man, you're living in the past! I find this Mint is pretty smooth, not sure if I like the way they've arranged the system menu and other minor features. But then, I am accustomed to OSX and it is hard for anyone to match Apple's mastery of the user interface; they've been at it since the mid-Eighties. I thought the 1.5GB Mint download that I grabbed had all the goodies anyone would want (LibreOffice, Firefox, etc.). The package manager and other regular Linux features seem pretty well done.
#5. To: TooConservative (#4) C'mon, man, you're living in the past!
LOL!
#6. To: TooConservative (#4) I find this Mint is pretty smooth, Is the Mint like a Raspberry Pi?
#7. To: Pericles (#6) Is the Mint like a Raspberry Pi? Mint is a free UNIX-like operating system, like Windows or OSX. It is composed of open-source and free software, not proprietary stuff. Willie likes it because it is free and not resource-intensive. You can use an older computer and put Linux on it and it works fine. A lot of websites are built on Linux. LF and LP both use Linux as their operating system. Netcraft: LF entry, Ubuntu Linux with Apache webserver, Perl scripting, CGI data interface, mySQL database, etc. (all free technologies) For a long time, you couldn't play DVDs on Linux or play modern video games but that has changed in recent years with game outfits like Steam putting their full lineup on Linux machines.
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