Looking through the Puppylinux pages today, I wondered if it could be used to setup a low-cost thin client, that booted from a USB flashdrive or something. Considering these points:Low speed CPU such as P4/Dualcore is fine (cheaper)No HDD needed (saves $100)No SATA / IDE ports on motherboard needed (cheaper)So does this allow for a cheap thin client build? Are there any motherboards that cost like $100 for a basic linux experience? Do you get low-cost motherboards or mini-computers that could work well as thin clients with a tiny OS like puppylinux?
Cheap thin client setup with Puppy linux?
usb drive;live usb
Some time ago I bought HP Compaq t5000 Thin Client (t5710 model (it was really cheap (about $100) on some auction portal)) and it is great for my needs. I'm using it as:VPN serverssh server for accessing my home networkwake on lan for other devicesfrom time to time as webserverbattery charger for my mobile.. ;)CPU:pbm@lantea:~$ cat /proc/cpuinfo processor   : 0vendor_id   : GenuineTMx86cpu family  : 5model       : 4model name  : Transmeta(tm) Crusoe(tm) Processor TM5700stepping    : 3cpu MHz     : 798.106cache size  : 256 KBfdiv_bug    : nohlt_bug     : nof00f_bug    : nocoma_bug    : nofpu     : yesfpu_exception   : yescpuid level : 1wp      : yesflags       : fpu vme de pse tsc msr cx8 sep cmov mmx longrun lrti constant_tsc upbogomips    : 1596.21clflush size    : 32cache_alignment : 32address sizes   : 32 bits physical, 32 bits virtualpower management:Memory: pbm@lantea:~$ free -m             total         used         free       shared      buffersMem:           485           23          462            0            3-/+ buffers:                 19          466Swap:            0            0            0Disk - there is Disk-on-module connected through 44 pin (laptop) ATA connector. It can be replaced by 2.5 HDD or 3.5 HDD using adapter.pbm@lantea:~$ df -h /Filesystem                Size      Used Available Use% Mounted on/dev/root               473.2M    162.3M    286.5M  36% /You can also use 4 USB ports to connect HDD or some USB storage. It can also boot OS from USB (internal disk and PXE is also supported).Currently I have on it Slitaz distribution (ISO with X server and some WM - 30 MB!, minimal ISO - 8 MB), and there is a lot of free space on internal disk. List of installed packages you can find here.Originally it was shipped with Windows XP Embedded (there is image to download in HP KB) with RDP and Citrix clients.