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| Company type | Private Startup |
|---|---|
| Industry | PC |
| Genre | Computer |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder | Grégoire Gentil andAlain Rossmann |
| Fate | Discontinued |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California ,USA |
| Products | Zonbu Box and Subscription |
| Website | Zonbu.com |
Zonbu was a technology company that marketed a computing platform which combined a web-centric service, asmall form factorPC, and anopen source based software architecture. Zonbu was founded byAlain Rossmann (previously founder and CEO ofOpenwave) and Gregoire Gentil (previously co-founder ofTwingo Systems).
The first-generation Zonbox hardware was the eBox-4854[1] sold by DMP Electronics of Taiwan.Called the Zonbu Mini, it was anettop computer measuring6+3⁄4 in × 4+3⁄4 in × 2+1⁄4 in (171 mm × 121 mm × 57 mm). It isflash based,fanless, and thus effectively silent. The official specifications for the device in 2007 were:[2]1.2 GHzViaEdenCPU (C7 Esther core),512 MB RAM,Ethernet over twisted pair 10/100 Mbit/s,PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, VGA display port and 6USB 2.0 ports,4 GBCompactFlash local storage, and Graphics up to 2048 x 1536 with 16 million colors – hardware graphics and MPEG2 acceleration.
Disassembly by Zonbu owners has shown that the Zonbu includes options for internal expansion:[3]Mini PCI slot (for an optionalwireless card),IDE connector, with room in the case for a 2.5"hard drive, andserial andparallel ports.
The Zonbu subscription plans[4] include online storage (usingAmazon S3), automatic upgrades, online support and remote file access. The subscription service is promoted as reducing the hassle of typical computer maintenance tasks, such as hardware repair, software installation, updates and upgrades, and malicious software removal.
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The Zonbu OS is a customized version ofLinux based on theGentoo distribution using theXfce desktop environment.[5] It is geared towards non-technical users, and theuser interface focuses more on simplicity than advanced features.
The filesystem architecture combines atransparent overlay filesystem (pioneered by LinuxLive Distributions) with anon-line backup service.[6] User data is locally cached on Compact Flash Card, then transparently encrypted with128-bit encryption and transferred to remote storage servers atAmazon S3.
Zonbu comes pre-loaded with a number of software applications.[7] These include theFirefoxweb browser,OpenOffice productivity suite andSkype IP phone service, and 30 casual games.
With the default OS, the user is not allowed to install any third-party software. The default set of applications is supposed to fit the needs of non-technical users or of a second home PC. However, Zonbu provides instructions to unlock the operating system and install additional software.[8] The procedure is technical and intended for a minority of users (Standard for many linux users, unlocking GRUB, root, and install with emerge/portage).
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✝ ExcludingAndroid devices. | ||||||||||||||
