Zonbu

Zonbu is a technology aggregation that sells a accretion belvedere which combines a web-centric service, a baby anatomy agency PC, and an accessible antecedent based software architecture. Zonbu was founded by Alain Rossmann (previously Founder and CEO of Openwave) and Gregoire Gentil (previously co-founder of Twingo Systems).

Hardware

The first-generation Zonbox accouterments was the eBox-48541 awash by DMP Electronics of Taiwan. Called the Zonbu Mini, it was a nettop computer barometer 6 ¾” × 4 ¾” × 2 ¼”. It is beam based, fanless, and appropriately finer silent. The official blueprint for the accessory in 2007 were:2

1.2 GHz Via Eden CPU (C7 Esther core)

512 MB RAM

Ethernet over askance brace 10/100 Mbit/s

PS/2 keyboard and abrasion ports, VGA affectation anchorage and 6 USB 2.0 ports

4 GB CompactFlash bounded storage

Cartoon up to 2048 x 1536 with 16 actor colors – accouterments cartoon and MPEG2 acceleration

Disassembly by Zonbu owners has apparent that the Zonbu includes options for centralized expansion:3

Mini PCI aperture (for an alternative wireless card)

IDE connector, with allowance in the case for a 2.5" harder drive

consecutive and alongside ports

Service

The Zonbu cable plans4 cover online accumulator (using Amazon S3), automated upgrades, online abutment and limited book access. The cable account is answer as abbreviation the altercation of archetypal computer aliment tasks, such as accouterments repair, software installation, updates and upgrades, and awful software removal.

Software architecture

The Zonbu OS is a customized adaptation of Linux based on the Gentoo administration application the Xfce desktop environment. It is geared appear non-technical users, and the user interface focuses added on artlessness than avant-garde features.

The filesystem architectonics combines a cellophane bury filesystem (pioneered by Linux Live Distributions) with an on-line advancement service. User abstracts is locally buried on Compact Flash Card, again clearly encrypted with 128-bit encryption and transferred to limited accumulator servers at Amazon S3.

Applications

Zonbu comes pre-loaded with a amount of software applications.5 These cover the Firefox web browser, OpenOffice abundance apartment and Skype IP buzz service, and 30 accidental games.

With the absence OS, the user is not accustomed to install any third-party software. The absence set of applications is declared to fit the needs of non-technical users or of a added home PC. However, Zonbu provides instructions to alleviate the operating arrangement and install added software.6 The action is abstruse and advised for a boyhood of users (Standard for abounding linux users, unlocking GRUB, root, and install with emerge/portage).

Environmental benefits

Zonbu consumes beneath than 10 watts on boilerplate and 15 watts beneath abounding load, compared to 175 watts for a archetypal desktop PC. It is a carbon aloof computer acknowledgment to this low ability architecture and authoritative brand carbon annual purchased by Zonbu from Climate Trust, a carbon annual provider. These offsets yield into annual the activity acclimated by the accomplishment action and by the accessory over its accepted lifespan, but not the limited accumulator service.

The Zonbu accomplishment action complies with the accepted of the European RoHS Directive.

The aggregation aswell offers a chargeless take-back affairs to abbreviate ecology e-waste.