HP's four-in-one Linux solution

HP last week offered a new take on the idea of low-cost and shared computing with the launch of its Linux-based 441 solution. HP's 441 is a single PC which supports four people working simultaneously by using four graphics cards running four monitors and four USB ports for keyboard and mouse inputs. Each user is logged into a seperate session on a Linux PC (Mandrake). What makes it different though is that this is not a thin-client solutuon in the traditional sense: It does not use a network connection, and the savings are gained through using only one PC for four separate users, unlike conventional thin client setups in which each user needs a complete PC.

Each CPU is a 1.8Ghz Celeron, with 256 RAM, four graphics cards, six USB ports, a CD-RW, and a stiffy drive.

The central PC runs Mandrake Linux and KDE 3.1 which can be quickly configured to run as a standalone PC or a network client or as a server.
Also included is the mozilla browser in multiple languages, the Evolution mail client, OpenOffice 1.1. as well as a range of GPL educational software, a curriculum management tool and other learning aids.

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