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Gecko Surfboard – The World’s Most Energy-Efficient Desktop Computer

This is a interesting desktop computer - Gecko Surfboard. It claims to be the world's most energy-efficient desktop computer. The Gecko Surfboard does not look like a computer, it looks like a keyboard!

Everything - the CPU, hard disk, RAM, graphics card ... - is hidden underneath the keyboard. And the size of the so called desktop computer is no larger than a standard keyboard.

Gecko Surfboard is created by a Thailand based company - NorhTec. According to NorhTec, Gecko Surfboard only uses 5 watts to operate which is about 72% of energy saving if compared to a normal desktop computer which uses 175 watts to operate.

The device runs on a 1GHz x86 SoC (System on Chip) and operate fanlessly. The processor Vortex86MX which is used by its previous Gecko products was re-branded as XCore86 and was characterized as a "light-duty" processor that provides enough power to run Windows XP, Windows CE, or one of several different Linux distributions.

The device includes a RJ45 connector for 10/100 Ethernet, a headphone jack, a microphone input, two USB 2.0 ports, and a serial port. Gecko Surfboard also has two SD/SDHC slots, permitting the computer's primary storage to be solid-state.

Features and specifications listed by NorhTec:

• Processor - Xcore86 (Vortex86MX) SoC clocked at 1.0GHz
• Memory - 512MB of DDR2 RAM
• Storage - SD/SDHC card or IDE-interfaced 2.5-inch hard disk drive
• Display - VGA and composite video output (resolution not specified)
• Networking: LAN - 10/100 Ethernet, WLAN - 802.11b/g (optional), WAN - 3G module (optional)
• Other I/O: 1 x VGA, 1 x composite, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x serial, Audio - mic in and headphones out
• Power requirements - 12VDC via AC adapter (requires only 5 Watts)
• Dimensions - n/s, but no larger than standard keyboard
• Weight - n/s
• Operating system -- Linux or Windows XP

This device is definitely design for playing games and play high definition video but it is good enough to do word processing and surf the Internet.

Gecko Surfboard is pretty cheap in price. The device will cost approximately $99 with Linux and $150 with Windows XP. The availability date for this  device is unknown but will be introduced at next month's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and go on sale subsequently.

Take a look at the demo of Gecko Surfboard

[LinuxForDevices]

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