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Comment by zdw | Hacker News Reader

This isn't hard to do.

A barebones, back of the monitor net top runs around $150 or so appears to be exactly what they're using:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856119...

Then throw in a small HDD or SSD, a monitor, RAM, keyboard, mouse, and you're still at or below the $350 mark. These computers will get even better as the low-end battle between Intel and AMD heats up, and ARM alternatives appear.

I set up a bunch of systems like this that PXE boot into Debian off an older server last week. They run great, are nearly silent, and take up less space than the aging G3 iMacs they replaced.

View on HN

I'm just comparing it to my $250 chromebook that I installed Ubuntu on. It's additionally portable and battery powered.

Edit: the specs are actually almost identical to the $329 chromebox http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebox.html#...

4GB RAM, SSD, WiFi, Bluetooth.

There's even the Chromebox, which I think is less than $350.

On the other hand, as I read the specs...

> 100 GB Google Drive Cloud Storage with 16GB Solid State Drive

...I see Google's strategy is to own your data. Do you really trust them now that you know they work with the NSA?

This was what I was thinking, its like "uh, yeah how many would you like to buy?" If you buy more than 100 I'll sell them to you for $300.

Yes. :) The prototype shown in the video is indeed built off a barebones device similar to the one you link to (not the exact same model).

So it is indeed not hard at all - most HN readers will be able to assemble a device similar to our campaign themselves.

But I want to clarify we are not running this to as a money-making campaign! We are doing this for two primary reasons: 1. Ignite pre-installed Ubuntu/Linux among PC makers by showing there is demand for it. 2. Try to put out a device at a lower price point than most Ubuntu vendors today and be price-competitive with the low-end models for Windows makers.

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