Spice Cube

Spice Cube Computers are getting smaller and smaller each year. It is now taken for granted that a modern PDA is considerably more powerful than a desktop computer ten years ago. However, miniature system units still manage to fascinate any computer fan. In the past five years this fascinating a device is Spice Cube - a minuscule system unit 52 millimeters by 52 by 45, created by Shimafuji in 2006 and available on the Japanese market since 2007. The device is differentiated from most other portable computers by its multiple input/output ports, as well as by the fact that it requires to be connected to an external display. The technical characteristics of the computer are fairly limited- VR5701CPU processor with switchable 266 MHz/333 MHz rate- support for VGA, XGA and SXGA video formats- 64 Mb RAM, upgradeable up to 128 Mb- USB 1.1, later substituted for USB 2.0- AC97 sound card with microphone input and stereo output- RJ45 port network card with speed up to 100 Mbit- Integrated 16 Mb SSD flash disk (allows connecting an external CompactFlash flash drive up to 16 GB)The computer requires no more than 5 Watt power at 5 V. Besides the USB port, the device has an RS232.Spice Cube is based on the Atom Linux OS. The computer is available in two models. The one designed for training purposes is SEMC5701A, which has a 325 dollar price tag. The other one is the Spice Cube itself, intended by its developers for use in the aerospace industry by such organizations as ESA, NASA, and JASA, that supports the SpaceWire interface. SpaceWire is a rapidly developing technology for building distributed on-board systems. The model costs 2700 dollars. Spice Cube thus provides a good example of a modern implementation of the industrial minicomputer of the future.

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Science & Technology