> <rant type="nutty">
> I'm kind of obsessed with the idea of sustainable computing, and hence my
> obsession with small computers, and having Squeak drive my pocket
> computer.
S'not nutty at all. The 'normal' desktop machines suck watts at a
ludicrous rate. I was able to actually 'solve' a major problem for the
US Navy by pointing them to the StrongARM powered NetWinders. Instead of
Wintel machines sucking precious watts of electricity and giving nearly
all of them back out as troublesome heat (you try being in a firecontrol
centre during battlestation lockdown) they take ~15W for the entire
machine. Less if you can live with only the one NIC activated, since the
high speed one takes several of those watts.

Of course, there is a downside, which in the case of NWs was not very
good tech support, a troublesome linux setup based loosely on redhat
with too many problems to be really nice and the irritating fact that NW
went bankrupt. Still, the idea was good, the concept was popular and
might eventually lead to some actual solution.

Many ARM powered devices are available in various forms and it would not
be a major undertaking to get one for your use as a desktop machine. For
example, take look at the NPWR from http://www.teamasa.com - although
for some reason they don't supply it with a graphics card, prefering to
aim it at desktop server applications. I have a fairly long list of URLs
for similar things if anyone is interested.

> It probably has to do with my eventual goal of just moving to a cabin in
> the woods with a pocket computer with something like a ricochet modem and
> the other "neccesities."  Having a small, sustainably usable computer
> would allow me to leave behind a lot of other stuff- books, and the other
> means of obtaining information.
Me too, sort of. I even had the cabin, but I've just had to sell it to
keep my subscription to the food-on-table plan. :-(

tim
-- 
Tim Rowledge, tim at sumeru.stanford.edu, http://sumeru.stanford.edu/tim
"How many Grogs does it take to change a lightbulb?" "One. Something with manipulatory appendages will be along eventually."