Koolu Aims to Revive Thin Client Computing with a Low-Power Ubuntu Device
July 26, 2007
A long, long time ago, powerful server computers were called mainframes. Men in white coats operated them in air-conditioned computer centers. Those fortunate individuals who were granted access to the central computer, used a device called terminal to do their job. Users could only access software applications that were running on the mainframe, but never run anything locally. It was a dream for people who were managing the computers, but an extremely restrictive setup for creative people. Koolu Linux computer designed as a Thin Client is like a terminal – it only does what the central computer allows it to do. In many cases, a thin client device is exactly what organizations need.
Key features of the Koolu device:
- Small, quiet and low-power computer without a fan. Energy usage less than 10 watts.
- Two pre-configured units are available: Thin Client without a hard drive and Net Appliance with a 40GB disk.
- AMD Geode LX 800 processor running at 500MHz.
- Up to 80GB, 2.5-inch, 44-pin IDE-connector hard drive.
- RAM memory configurable up to 1 GB.
- VGA graphics adapter with 1920 x 1440 resolution.
- 4 USB 2.0 ports for printer, keyboard, mouse, hard drive, and other USB devices.
- 10/100Mb Ethernet port.
- 16-bit stereo audio output. Internal loudspeaker, microphone and headphone jacks.
- Dimensions of the unit are 13.5 (width) x 13.5 (depth) x 3 (height) cm / 5.3 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches.
Koolu is powered by the Ubuntu Linux operating system software. Koolu's designers have customized the Ubuntu software to efficiently run on the small low-power, handheld-size box, but everything is still open source software. Users may configure and customize the system as they see fit.
In order to build an operational computer from a Koolu unit, additional components are required. When used as a PC, a mouse, keyboard, monitor, and Ethernet cable must be hooked up to the unit. If Koolu is used as a network device, it must be connected to an Ethernet network. Since Koolu is running on Linux, it can be managed remotely from another PC.
Koolu products are available directly from the manufacturer. The company is marketing two pre-configured units. The Koolu Thin Client comes with 256MB of RAM, and without a hard drive. This configuration must load its software from a server, for instance, from a Ubuntu Linux Terminal Server. The Thin Client is priced at USD199. The Koolu Net Appliance (for USD 299) comes with 512MB of RAM, 40GB hard disk, and pre-installed Ubuntu software.
The Thin Client configuration suits well, for example, for schools, organizations that run dedicated applications, or public places where users are allowed to do specific tasks only. The Net Appliance is for people who want a handheld-size Linux computer that they can carry in a pocket or want a low-power network device to be used as a firewall or as a personal web server.
Koolu provides commercial technical support for organizations by email and by telephone. The company intends to vitalize support for individual users at the Koolu community site.
Other small and low-cost Linux computers for thin-client or networking applications are, for example, the Linutop, Square One Personal Internet Server, and the Zonbu.
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