WIth a combination of remote storage, open source applications and a small form factor design, the Zonbu boots to Linux off it's internal 4GB CF (Compact Flash) local storage and promises a plug-and-play device interfacing with printers, digital cameras and USB storage gizmos, all powered by a VIA C7 processor under the hood. 

While only an initial cost of $99, there is an on-going subscription fee of between $13 and $20 a month depending on how much remote storage you're going to need.  In lieu of an actual hard drive, the 25GB, 50GB or 100GB remote storage option is a must to provide any kind of lasting appeal.

Built from the ground up to be ideal for devotees of internet surfing, the Zonbu holds one last ace up its sleeve.  In a world becoming increasingly more aware of environmental concerns, the Zonbu proves environmentally friendly too. According to the manufacturer, the Zonbu uses one-third the power of your average light bulb, earning it a 'gold' EPEAT rating from the Green Electronics Council.

There's nothing that gives that warm fuzzy feeling like a small, cheap and carbon neutral PC. The Zonbu is now available for purchase.

One of the most interesting things I have discovered concerns RAM quantity. In all of the documentation I have read, and written, Windows Vista officially supports 4GB RAM. So for this system, i thought I'd do some RAM testing with 4GB. To my horror, when I first installed the RAM, it only showed up as 3GB. Testing applications like CPU-Z however show 4GB. I have since discovered, although I do need to clarify this, that Windows Vista only supports a total of 4GB. This includes video card RAM. So it does support 4GB, but not in the way you might first think. Microsoft may have used creative marketing and some smoke and mirrors to market Vista to extreme enthusiasts. Now I have to do some testing to see if Windows really does have access to it and what difference it makes in performance to have 4GB over 2GB in Vista.

UltraMobileLife.com has come up with an entertaining way to inform people about the features of the VIA NanoBook. Or that's what it started out like. #1 dealt with the USB ports: "The sergeant suddenly lunged, caught me by the scruff and slammed me down into the freezing mud. "Silence!" he hissed, the word escaping his mouth in a long puff of chilled white vapor. His eyes were transfixed on a gleaming object in the tree line. My eyes followed his. "You see that, grunt?" the sergeant growled, "those two slots between the earphone muzzle and the air intake?" "Those two USB ports may look small to the untrained eye, but those of us who've survived the chaos of the Legacy Wars know exactly how efficient those little bastards can be." Keep reading. It's odd, but very funny.

But by post #3 today Checkpoint Charlie is dealing with some sort of mass-produced infantry robot. I was a little lost until I read on to the point where we get to see inside the robot:
"But still enjoying the read!But, most chillingly, the IR-1 does not fear death ... Hundreds of these robots were assembling in our sector, undoubtedly for a big offensive. We did not know where they were coming from, or how they communicated with their human handlers. Our latest intelligence suggested that the extra armor-plating on the robot’s rear bullet-storage concealed a small chamber that contained the key to the IR-1’s communications secret. Unconfirmed reports from the Magdeleine sector rumored that a reconnaissance platoon had witnessed an enemy technician opening such a chamber. The chamber’s lid purportedly folded out into a flat surface, acting as the base for the full keyboard of an incredibly small and thin clamshell-shaped ultra-mobile device." As I said, it's odd but entertaining!