Another alternative to the U50 besides PC104 may be the Mini-ITX and Nano-ITX form factor boards. There is a Frequently Asked Questions available at http://mini-itx.com/faq.asp Among the many numerous designs that comply with Mini-ITX, there are some very interesting and highly power efficient boards that start with processors @ 533Mhz and go up to around 1Ghz and higher. The boards Im speaking of are made by VIA but there are some other manufacturers who produce competitive designs with comparable features. These things usually have onboard SVGA 1024x768 24-bit color, AC97 or better audio, USB (commonly USB 2.0 now), IDE(usually 2 devices able to connect to the controller), and some sort of serial or parallel port. The REALLY exciting form factor that is not retailling yet (I think it's sometime this year) is the Nano-ITX form factor. These boards are 12 centimeters by 12 centimeters and come with some surprisingly modern multimedia features including USB, IDE, stereo audio, SVGA, and at the same time probably have very good power efficiency. There are so many boards available now that fit into the mini-ITX form factor that you should be able to find something just right for your application. But, if nothing really captures your attention you could look into hacking something together from a laptop in the subnotebook category. I know that alot of people here have used Libretto notebooks before. Also consider this place, www.cappuccinopc.com - they manufacturered a very small computer they called the Espresso PC. It was about the size of a PalmPC and it had a touchpad mouse, VGA out, USB, and a harddrive. I think it sucked power like a horse does water though and it was discontinued after a couple of years. They still make and sell a number of small computers though. Take a peek at the Archos, I don't think it will run Windows though. This doesn't bother most people running Linux on them ;-) =20 http://archosfans.com/ You may find Ralf Ackerman's site helpful as well.=20 http://www.iptel-now.de/HOWTO/WEAR_TOP/wear_top.html And then there's always wearables.blu.org with the page http://wearables.blu.org/hardwear.html I am not sure if it's kept up though.=20 If I had to answer definitively, I would have to say pick a mini-ITX or nano-ITX as they are very affordable but are also very capable in features and processor power. One thing to consider though is whether you desire to make your own power system for this computer or whether you'd prefer to leave it to something already assembled like the U50 or subnotebook will. This is not an impossible undertaking for the beginner, but it does require some research and patience to build one that is right for you. There are some very good resources on batteries in the list archive at wearables.blu.org and on the site itself. Good luck on your project, I hope you can find something that fits your requirements. On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 09:11:21,<
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