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Zonbu

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Zonbu
Company typePrivate Startup
IndustryPC
GenreComputer
Founded2006
FounderGrégoire Gentil andAlain Rossmann
FateDiscontinued
Headquarters
Palo Alto, California
,
USA
ProductsZonbu Box and Subscription
WebsiteZonbu.com

Zonbuwas a technology company that markets a computing platform which combines a web-centric service, asmall form factorPC,and anopen sourcebased software architecture. Zonbu was founded byAlain Rossmann(previously Founder and CEO ofOpenwave) and Gregoire Gentil (previously co-founder ofTwingo Systems).

Hardware

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Zonbu Mini PC.

The first-generation Zonbox hardware was the eBox-4854[1]sold by DMP Electronics of Taiwan. Called the Zonbu Mini, it was anettopcomputer measuring6+3⁄4in ×4+3⁄4in ×2+1⁄4in (171 mm × 121 mm × 57 mm). It isflashbased,fanless,and thus effectively silent. The official specifications for the device in 2007 were:[2] 1.2 GHzViaEdenCPU(C7 Esthercore), 512 MB RAM, Ethernet over twisted pair10/100 Mbit/s, PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, VGA display port and 6USB2.0 ports, 4 GBCompactFlashlocal storage, and Graphics up to 2048 x 1536 with 16 million colors – hardware graphics and MPEG2 acceleration.

Disassembly by Zonbu owners has shown that the Zonbu includes options for internal expansion:[3] Mini PCIslot (for an optionalwireless card), IDEconnector, with room in the case for a 2.5 "hard drive,and serialandparallelports.

Service

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The Zonbu subscription plans[4]include online storage (usingAmazon S3), automatic upgrades, online support and remote file access. The subscription service is promoted as reducing the hassle of typical computer maintenance tasks, such as hardware repair, software installation, updates and upgrades, and malicious software removal.

Software architecture

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Zonbu disk architecture.

The Zonbu OS is a customized version ofLinuxbased on theGentoo distributionusing theXfcedesktop environment.[5]It is geared towards non-technical users, and theuser interfacefocuses more on simplicity than advanced features.

The filesystem architecture combines atransparent overlay filesystem(pioneered by LinuxLive Distributions) with anon-line backupservice.[6]User data is locally cached on Compact Flash Card, then transparently encrypted with128-bit encryptionand transferred to remote storage servers atAmazon S3.

Applications

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Zonbu comes pre-loaded with a number of software applications.[7]These include theFirefoxweb browser,OpenOfficeproductivity suite andSkypeIP phone service, and 30 casual games.

With the default OS, the user is not allowed to install any third-party software. The default set of applications is supposed to fit the needs of non-technical users or of a second home PC. However, Zonbu provides instructions to unlock the operating system and install additional software.[8]The procedure is technical and intended for a minority of users (Standard for many linux users, unlocking GRUB, root, and install with emerge/portage).

See also

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References

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  1. ^"DMP's ebox-4854".Archived fromthe originalon August 31, 2013.
  2. ^"Zonbu: Good things come in small packages".Official website.Archived fromthe originalon October 2, 2007.RetrievedOctober 16,2011.(Mini no longer on website)
  3. ^"Zonbu Live enthusiast site".[permanent dead link]
  4. ^"Zonbu official website".Archived fromthe originalon September 8, 2008.
  5. ^"Zonbu: Open Source Community Member".Archived fromthe originalon June 27, 2007.RetrievedNovember 16,2023.
  6. ^"Zonbu: Desktop Déjà vu".Archived fromthe originalon June 27, 2007.RetrievedNovember 16,2023.
  7. ^Lam, Brian (May 23, 2007)."22 Things to Know About the $99 Zonbu Linux PC".Archived fromthe originalon May 20, 2011.
  8. ^Zonbu Documentation: developer_editionArchivedFebruary 2, 2013, at theWayback Machine
  9. ^Notebook-style computing appliance runs Linux - News - Linux for DevicesArchivedFebruary 20, 2009, at theWayback Machine
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Media

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