December 28, 2001
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As a little kid, there were
those toys you just had to have. Maybe you saw it in the toy store
or maybe it was at your friends house, but the second you laid your eyes
on that toy, you knew you had to have it. There was something about
that toy that made you want it, something about it was so saliva inducing,
that you would think about that toy all day long. When you finally
got the toy for your birthday or Christmas, all your friends would drool
over your toy as well.
Fast forward a few years
and now we are in the present. You are a computer enthusiast (euphemism
for "geek") and you love computers. You surf the web and check hardware
news sites on a daily basis keeping an eye out for the latest and greatest
computer hardware. You're looking to recapture the feeling of holding
a prized toy once again. Let me introduce you to a possible candidate,
the Shuttle SV24 mini barebones system.
Why the lengthy and drawn-out
introduction above? The answer is simple: every person I have shown
the Shuttle SV24 to, computer geek and non computer geek alike, has wanted
to posses one. That is a pretty good indicator of what Shuttle has
done right with this computer system.
Let me state right off the
bat, this system is not aimed at the performance market. The SV24
is aimed at people who want a small, attractive, versatile machine that
can be used in many applications where a traditional PC might be of an
ill fit. Possible uses of the SV24 include serving as a portable
LAN gaming box, a home entertainment MP3 or DVD server, workstation in
an nice office, or a home webserver (now we're talking!). I'm sure
that you can think of many instances where the SV24 would be preferable
over a regular PC based on its size and style. Considering that most
people don't need 2.0 GHz computers for most normal tasks, the SV24 starts
to look even more attractive.
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Click image to enlarge
The first thing you'll notice
about the SV24 is that it is small. How small? So small that
it uses a Flex ATX motherboard format. The next thing you'll notice
is that the case is made of aluminum. This makes the case extremely
light. The entire frame is made of aluminum, not just the outer case
and face plate. Just by holding the case, I was surprised at how
easy it is to pick up the computer and move it around. As with all
aluminum cases, I'm always worried about durability since aluminum is a
rather soft metal. However, after working with this case for several
weeks, there as been no problems with dents, scratches, or bending.
Under most conditions, the case is as resistant to flexing as normal steel
cases are.
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