I have long been a fan of Clement “Clem” Lefebvre’s distribution of Linux that goes by the name LinuxMint. LinuxMint is based on the popular Ubuntu distribution of Linux and also has a version that is based on the Debian distribution of Linux. LinuxMint is sleek and sticks to a traditional desktop style interface unlike Ubuntu’s Unity Interface and the new interface that the Gnome Project introduced with version 3. LinuxMint uses a desktop called Cinnamon which is based on Gnome 3. Imagine my total surprise when my friend Linc Fessenden shared on Facebook the new mintBox hardware which has to be the first time I have seen a piece of hardware that was co-branded with a Linux Distro.
There are two versions of the mintBox. A Basic and a Pro model. In the above picture, the Basic model is on the left with the Pro model on the right. The mintBox is a full-fledged PC that is about as small as most home routers.
The Basic mintBox has a AMD G-T40N 64 bit dual core CPU running at 1 GHz and using up a mere 9 W. The Basic box also has a Radeon HD 6290 GPU, 4GB of RAM, 250 GB HDD, 4 USB 2.0 ports on the front, 2 USB 2.0 ports on the back, 2 MORE USB 3.0 Ports on the back, HDMI, Display Port, 1000 BaseT Ethernet port and 802.11 B/G/N. The box is also fanless so it should make no noise at all. The software is of course, LinuxMint 13. The Basic mintBox is available now for $476 dollars and will ship directly from LinuxMint’s partner CompuLab.
The Pro mintBox has a AMD G-T56N 64 bit dual core running at 1.65 GHz and using 18W, Radeon HD 6320 GPU, 8 GB of RAM, 250 GB HD, 4 USB 2.0 ports on the front, 2 USB 2.0 ports on the back, 2 MORE USB 3.0 Ports on the back, HDMI, Display Port, 1000 BaseT Ethernet port and 802.11 B/G/N. The Pro mintBox is also fanless and ships with a ribbed case versus the smooth case that comes on the Basic mintBox. The Pro mintBox is available now for $549 and will ship directly from LinuxMint’s partner CompuLab.
Both of these system utilize CompuLab’s fit-PC3 platform.
I really would love to have either of these tiny fanless systems. Each day I have used Linux mint I am even more encouraged by the progress Clem and his team has made. Plus LinuxMint has sat atop DistroWatch’s rankings for quite a while even sitting above Canonical’s better funded Ubuntu Linux. All I have to say is congrats to Clem and congrats to the LinuxMint project on their continued success.
To order either of these cool little machines, head on over to CompuLab and order today and help support a great Linux distribution.
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