2005-05-25

Mini Solid State Computer

I almost posted this in my bike section, because this is a project for my motorcycle. I am working on a very tiny 100% solid state computer. It will be at least 1GHz, have no moving parts, and run Windows XP. I will keep it in the tail of my bike. It will be used for voice interface, music, engine monitoring, GPS and security.

I will use a 1GB CompactFlash for the hard drive. I will likely have to replace this every year to keep the system reliable. Here is a great article on how this will be accomplished:

http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/425/how-to_boot_windows

Now the entire computer has to fit in the tail of my bike. I am looking at two different motherboards right now. The first is a dual processor Mini-ITX, only 17mm x 17mm.

http://www.viaembedded.com/product/epia_dp_spec.jsp?motherboardId=321

The second is a single processor board in Nano-ITX form factor, only 12mm x 12mm.

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/via-epia-n/via-epia-n.html

There is a chance I will decide on a different Mini-ITX board depending on cost.

Most devices attached will be USB allowing them to be tucked into any little nook or cranny I can find- there isn't much space in the tail of a sportbike. The only external drive will be a USB card reader for MP3 storage.