ThinCan

Information appliance
title = ThinCan


manufacturer = [http://www.artecgroup.com Artec Group]
type = thin client
operatingsystem = LinuxBIOS
cpu = AMD Geode
media = 32 to 512 MB Flash
memory = 64 to 256 MB DRAM
connectivity = Ethernet
USB ports

ThinCan is the name for a thin client manufactured by Estonian electronic design start-up Artec Group. After an early prototype based on a custom x86 core, supporting PS/2 keyboard and mouse, the platform was redesigned around an AMD Geode supporting only USB peripherals.

The ThinCan remained relatively unknown outside Estonia for several years, until 2006, when a recent ThinCan iteration was selected as the hardware base for the Linutop, a lightweight Web terminal for emerging countries.

The commercial success of the Linutop [cite web | title= Linux web PC makers tout Linutop-like wares | date = 2006-11-30 | url = http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/11/30/diskless_linux_web_pcs/ ] and its position as a key contender in computing solutions for emerging nations, in competition with the OLPC, puts the whole ThinCan platform into a position that may prove historically significant.

oftware

One original aspect of the ThinCan is that it natively boots using LinuxBIOS. The development of this LinuxBIOS code is a good example of the collaborative spirit that Free Software fosters: it started as Geode GX support developed by AMD for the OLPC, to which Artec Group added Geode LX support. Recently, that code was adopted by AMD and further polished for the OLPC after it upgraded to the Geode LX platform.

Various applications have been preloaded on ThinCan iterations. The original model ran on Windows CE and launched into an RDP client for Windows Terminal Services. Later models offered Etherboot and PXE support for operation with LTSP. Models manufactured for Linutop SARL utilize their own software distribution.

Hardware

Functionally, all ThinCan production models offer similar features:
* Front panel: 1/8" stereo audio, USB ports.
* Back panel: Ethernet port, VGA ouput, PSU connector.

Aesthetically, the original ThinCan was an exercise in futuristic looks, with brushed aluminum end caps and a tubular aluminum shape that featured alternating patterns of decorative serrations along the surface of the tube. The tube came painted in one's choice of several transparent colors (black, dark blue, light blue, purple, red) for an authentic Jetsons feel.

An optional onboard SmartCard reader made the original ThinCan an instant hit on the local market, due to an Estonian legislation dating from 2001 that mandated the issuance of smart national ID cards and their use to access certain public services.

Still, while the futuristic design received some attention in the IT press, the prohibitive cost of machining an extruded aluminum tube with intricate decorative serrations prevented the manufacturer from achieving commercial success with this early model.

In 2003, the company revised the design towards a simpler cost-effective flat boxy shape for their DBE60 model (initially commercialized as the ThinCan SE). Asides from the addition of a parallel printer port, the DBE60 is functionally identical to the original ThinCan and built around the same Geode SC2200.

In 2005, this design was updated for the Geode LX700 -based DBE61 model, with USB 2.0 provided by a CS5536 companion chip. The parallel printer port was then removed, returning the design to an all-USB configuration. Linutop SARL retained this model as a starting point for their Web terminal product.

In 2007, the DBE61 design was upgraded with Gigabit Ethernet support. The manufacturer calls this a DBE62.

Timeline

* 1999 - prototype based on a custom x86 core.
* 2001 - production model with Geode SC2200.
* 2003 - DBE60 model with Geode SC2200.
* 2005 - DBE61 model with Geode LX700 and CS5536.
* 2007 - DBE62 model with Geode LX800 and CS5536, plus Gigabit Ethernet.

References

ee also

* AMD Geode is the chipset used in the ThinCan.
* Coreboot is used to bootstrap recent ThinCan models.
* OLPC is another lightweight computer based on the Geode LX.
* Thin Client is the design principle behind the ThinCan.

External links

* [http://www.artecgroup.com Artec Group] designs and manufactures the [http://www.thincan.com ThinCan] .
* [http://wiki.thincan.org ThinCan WIKI] information about different models.
* [http://shop.artecgroup.com/collections/terminal-clients Artec Group shop] selected ThinCan models can be obtained directly.
* [http://www.blumit.net Blum IT Solutions] sells a ThinCan productized as an LTSP client.
* [http://www.linutop.com Linutop] is a ThinCan-based platform for emerging countries.
* [http://www.smartlink.ee SmartLink] is a ThinCan VAR exporting to South Africa.