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Zonbu Zonbox
Conclusion
The biggest test for a box like this is, "Would I give it to my non-technically savvy parents to use?" Unfortunately, the answer is no, for two major reasons. The primary one is that Open Office isn't entirely compatible with MS Office documents. Within its own universe, Open Office excels (no pun intended). For those who share a lot of Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, or PowerPoint presentations, however, it is lacking. The second reason is that Firefox, while I swear by it for my use, still isn't as seamless as Internet Explorer in terms of things like plug-ins. A few months ago I tried to switch my parent's computer from IE to Firefox with poor results (three calls in the first day, and they weren't very happy). Finally, many pieces of software my parents use (specialized for their professions) only have Windows versions, no Linux variants. The biggest upside to the Zonbox is that it's basically immune to spyware and viruses, since it runs Linux instead of Windows. And this is a great feature for kids who could use a sandbox to play in until they get used to what life is like on the big bad Internet. Likewise, for anyone who just wants a computer that can browse the Internet, check mail, chat over IM, and not deal with any hassles, this is a great cheap PC. It could also be used as a second PC for the tech-savvy user who wants a cheap Linux box to play with. Online data storage and backup is a plus as well, assuming you have a sufficiently fast connection to the Internet and aren't hobbled by bandwidth caps. But is it worth the $99 box fee and $12.95/mo thereafter? I admire Zonbu for their effort, especially in creating a PC that runs on such little power. The device has some very innovative and admirable qualities. But, in just about every practical situation I can personally relate to (parents, grandparents, friends, etc), it's just not a good fit. Pros Low price Very low power consumption for a PC Useful applications installed out of the box No bloatware Cons Linux and all of the small incompatibilities (Open Office, Samba problems, etc) Ongoing monthly fee Bring your own monitor, keyboard, and mouse
Page 1: Introduction & First Looks
Page 2: Hardware & Software Page 3: Online Storage & Power Consumption Page 4: Pricing & Add-Ons Page 5: Conclusion 
Related Reviews Add Comment
3 User Comments 1 - Posted by
handrail
on August 7, 2007 - 4:27 pm seems like this would be a much better idea if it could use a large format solid state hdd rather than the online storage. maybe when the larger SSDs come along, this will be a more feasible concept?
2 - Posted by
Max Slowik
on August 7, 2007 - 7:08 pm You can get CF cards in what, 16 and 32GB flavors? Holy crap, they're cheap. $125 for 16GB. It seems like just last year that would buy you 512MB. 3 - Posted by
handrail
on August 8, 2007 - 10:37 am yeah, in a year i'm sure they'll be up to the 100+ GB sizes. i can't wait for those. i've been holding out on serial drives in favor of the SSDs.
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