Small Linux boxes?

[Alan Dayley]

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Kevin wrote:
> I am looking for some hardware suggestions for my next project.
> 
> BACKGROUND
> I have a Squid/Dansguardian setup for my kids that has worked flawlessly for
> several years.  It ran on Gentoo and now it runs on Debian.  It includes a
> web-based Apache/PHP front-end that I wrote myself.
> 
> My friends and family (non-geeks) with youngsters are interested in
> duplicating my setup.  I would like to take this evolved collection of hacks
> and package it into a single image that could be dropped onto a similar
> dual-nic box.
> 
> 
> SUGGESTIONS?
> Here's where I need suggestions.  I'm not interested in family tech support
> on a bunch of old clunker PC's (like my setup).  I would rather package the
> software "solution" onto a small headless Linux box they can just plug into
> their cable modems.  I have priced out a mini-ITX box with dual-nics and VIA
> EPIA processor.  I'm approaching the $500+ range.  A bit too pricey for my
> friends/family.  
> 
> Any other suggestions?  Or, maybe mini-ITX is the way to go and you can
> suggest a cost-effective wholesaler or something?

Nice project to do your loved ones!

I recently priced out some "shuttle" computers for a project at work.  I
can't find the model number right now since I am not at work.  It was a
little case with the motherboard for $159 at Fry's.  Throw in a basic
Celeron CPU, 256MB RAM, a PCI NIC for the second port and a $60 hard
drive leaves you set for around $350.  (For a home filtering firewall,
you could decrease the RAM to save a few bucks.)

Probably not the cheapest option but one that popped in my head just now.

Alan
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