[Leaplist] RFC: LEAP Linux NON-dream boxes

[Chris]

We've all seen the articles on dream boxes. Multi-core CPUs with
liquid nitrogen cooling, hard drives that spin at 50 zillion RPM and
warp space around them, and a couple of terrabytes of RAM.

This is about non-dream boxes. Because, let's face it, it's fun to
dream, but at some point, you have to put your hard-earned cash
down, and build a real box on a real budget to get the job done.

With that in mind, I thought I'd turn to the esteemed LEAPers
for their ideas on a variety of Linux boxes, and see what we
can come up with.

The only design constraint is bang for the buck, where the sweet
spot is in pricing for the machine objectives. The only modifier
to bang for the buck is the goodnuff factor - yes, maybe the
five-terrabyte drive is cheaper per byte, but if the 20 gig drive
will accomplish the task for less money, that trumps bang for
buck.

The only rules are - hey, it's an open-source RFC - there are no
rules. Feel free to add categories, or think, literally, outside
the box to meet the goal, or even change the design goals.

With that in mind, here are a few possible non-dream boxes to
chew on.

--Firewall/router
Design goals: small form factor. Low power. Wireless?
Motherboard:
CPU:
RAM:
Drives:
Case:
PS:
OS/Apps:
Other:

Reasons:

--Home Workstation:
Design goals: Versatile enough to do a variety of jobs - the family sedan.
Motherboard:
CPU:
RAM:
Drives:
Case:
PS:
OS/Apps:
Other:

Reasons:

--Multimedia Center:
Design goals: play/record audio and video. Integrate well with
   other A/V equipment. Useable remote interface.
Motherboard:
CPU:
RAM:
Drives:
Case:
PS:
OS/Apps:
Other:

Reasons:

SOHO Web/Mail server
Design goals: Handle basic Web and mail services for a small
                        business, church or other organization. Should be
                        able to create content from DB, but not necessarily
                        a YouTube-grade server. Able to handle POP or
                        IMAP.
Motherboard:
CPU:
RAM:
Drives:
Case:
PS:
OS/Apps:
Other:

Reasons:

Other possible boxes... whatever you can think of, from
grade-school networked workstation, to killer robot
brain to home control unit.

Cheers,

Chris