If you want a small, lightweight PC with built-in networking, a TV video output, and a DVD-ROM drive, you’ve got to look no further than the Book PC.
They’re handy for Point Of Sale machines and small businesses with very little desk space, like vets and doctors. They’re also good for kids who just want a dandy PC and not a gaming machine.
Smaller than a monitor
There are many computer manufacturers that claim to have the slimmest PC, but pc book has the honor of being the first to make it happen. It’s a box-section case with spot-welded edges and holds everything you need for a full-fledged Windows XP machine, including networking and an internal modem. It may not have all the bells and whistles of today’s high-end desktops, but it’s a worthy addition to any home or office. The only problem is that you won’t be able to get your hands on it for long if you’re not lucky. Luckily, there are several ways to build your own version of the Book PC (or at least a clone), from scratch or using a kit. The biggest challenge is to find the right components and assemble them correctly.
Faster than a floppy drive
Compared to the slow, unreliable, and hard-to-reproduce disk drives that were first developed by IBM engineers in the 1960s for mainframe computer equipment, modern PCs are much faster. Floppy disks have been superseded by other data storage technologies with much greater storage capacity and speed, including USB flash drives, memory cards, optical discs, and local and remote storage available through cloud computing services.
While floppy disks have a relatively low maximum transfer rate, which is nominally 1,000 kilobits per second, this rate can be significantly reduced by format and seek times that are common on 3+1/2-inch floppy drives, especially when using higher-density media. Backward-compatible, high-capacity floppy drives are able to read and write disks that have been formatted at lower densities, but they require much tighter matching of drive head geometry between disks. This is not practical for most personal computers. Similarly, serial mouse connections on PCs are sampled at 33Hz (33 samples per second), a slow and unreliable frequency that is not fast enough for most users’ needs.
Easy to build
The case is a box-section design that’s very sturdy and well-constructed. It comes with three standard screws that you use to remove the case; once removed, it’s easy to slide out and inspect all of the guts, although you will have to unscrew the floppy drive cable and CD-ROM drive to get at them.
The PC is very small, so it doesn’t take up much desk space. It’s also very light. This makes it a good choice for people who want a simple, straightforward Windows machine for their home or office. However, if you’re a gamer or you need a lot of memory or a high-speed graphics card then it probably won’t be the best choice for you. It’s small size and adequate hardware mean it’s an excellent choice for people who have a small amount of money to spend on a PC. It won’t be as fast as a full desktop computer, but it will do what you need it to and save you a few pounds on the cost of a regular Windows-based PC.
Easy to move
Compared with some of the more complex mini-PCs on the market, the Book PC is a breeze to move around. The box-section case is a solid spot-welded arrangement made of 1mm steel and is held on by three standard screws at the back; taking it off is no more difficult than popping a hard drive into a regular desktop case. It also has a few of the sturdy clip-together side feet mentioned earlier; they make putting the thing down on the desk easier than you might think.
The best part of all is the fact that this little machine has all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a modern Wintel computer, including networking and an internal modem. It even has a TV video output.
