Subject: New arm32 platform
To: None <netbsd-advocacy@netbsd.org>
From: Julian Assange <proff@iq.org>
List: port-arm32
Date: 10/22/1999 16:07:38
I posted the verbatim version of this before, however Tim said he had
fallen under the misaprehension it was spam (not suprisingly). So here
are the relevant parts with the more lurid garfinkel wank elided.


[..]
The NetWinder OfficeServer, by the Canadian firm Rebel.com, brings a breath of
fresh air to the stuffy world of network servers and firewalls. Weighing just
two pounds and taking up less space than a three-ring binder, it combines
innovative hardware with great software in a package that won't intimidate the
typical small-office computer manager.


NetWinder is designed to be a one-stop shop for office networking. It comes with
an e-mail server, a file server, and a print server, all managed through an
easy-to-use Web-based interface. This combination makes the OfficeServer ideal
for small offices that have a few computers but haven't yet put together an
office LAN. All you need to buy is a NetWinder OfficeServer for $895, a $25
network interface card for each PC, some cables, and a $100 multiport network
hub. The OfficeServer can easily handle up to 100 workstations.


[...]
ready, too. The computer's box has two Ethernet interfaces on its backside. The
first is for your company's internal network. The second is for a high-speed DSL
or cable modem connection.


When I first took the NetWinder out of its box, I did a double take: I knew it
would be small, but its truly diminutive size still caught me off guard. The box
measures just 9-by-6-by-2-inches, which is still enough room for a hard drive
(4.6GB with the $895 OfficeServer package; 10GB with the $1,995 version), a
speaker, the two Ethernet connectors, the serial port, the printer port, and
standard sockets for a PC-style keyboard, video, and mouse. Most buyers, I
think, won't even connect a keyboard, mouse, or screen. Instead, they will just
drop the OfficeServer onto a network and configure it through a Web browser
connected to a nearby desktop computer.

[...]
One of the things that makes the NetWinder possible is its StrongARM RISC
microprocessor, an extremely fast chip that nevertheless draws very little
power. The StrongARM lets Rebel.com build a tiny package that doesn't need to
dissipate vast quantities of heat, as do most desktop PCs and laptops built
around Intel's Pentium, AMD's K6, or Motorola G3 and G4 microprocessors. The low
heat and power requirements also make this computer ideal for Internet service
providers who want to stick a few hundred of them into a single 19-inch rack and
lease them out to customers.

The second thing that makes the NetWinder work is the Linux operating system.
Linux lets Rebel.com ship a boatload of server software to its customers free.
It is simply impossible to put together a low-cost network server using Windows
because of the astronomical cost of licensing Windows NT Server and the
requisite software that Windows needs to get working.

-- 
Stefan Kahrs in [Kah96] discusses the
   notion of completeness--programs which never go wrong can be
   type-checked--which complements Milner's notion of
   soundness--type-checked programs never go wrong [Mil78].