Details on YellowSheepRiver's $150 Municator

We first heard about the Municator / YSR-639 from our Chinese bureau a couple weeks ago; now it looks like we've got somemore  solid info on the $146 Linux PC by Chinese firm YellowSheepRiver. It's not exactly a device we imagine is going to run amok in the state-driven market before the impending worldwide release of the OLPC (or to a lesser extent, the Edu-wise), but the BYOKVM angle will definitely put the hurt on Intel's Community PC. The specs ain't too shabby either: the Municator features a 400 or 800mhz 64-bit Godson-2 CPU, 40GB drive, 256MB of RAM, four USB 2.0 ports, IrDA, S-video, VGA, Ethernet, PS/2, and runs a Linux variant called Thinix OS. YellowSheepRiver also supposedly has a lithium-ion battery, WiFi, and modem options lined up; we'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.

[Via LinuxDevices, thanks Kim L]

[sigit sudarmono @ Feb 10th 2009 6:26PM]

this good program at study for indonesian

[joe @ Apr 22nd 2006 5:07PM]

i think this will be cool in a car
and cant think of a differnt place we can use this
but for $150
i will buy this if i cant put a differnt OS on it

[Alan DeRego @ Apr 22nd 2006 5:20PM]

Doesn't most car MP3 units use linix because it is faster to load?
I would want one for videos though...but 40 gigs?
Wireless is always welcome to transfer files...

[kibets @ Apr 22nd 2006 5:26PM]

God bless Municator for filling this often overlooked niche. I am not a fan of the "open source" movement but I can appreciate how cheap computing will fill a void for price concious consumers.

I do like the stainless steel trim on the keyboard but the graphics look kind of like grade school.

[Mike @ Apr 22nd 2006 5:35PM]

Most definately would fill my need for a carPC.

[Landincoldfire @ Apr 22nd 2006 5:37PM]

I like this; I can picture it in many test applications. But installing it in a car would be at the top of my list. If they add a way to use an external antenna for the WiFi, connecting to public open networks while on the road would be easier.

[Morgan @ Apr 22nd 2006 6:03PM]

As in most cases, the difference between this and the OLPC is that THIS EXISTS.

Tell me more about this "impending worldwide release of the OLPC."

My favorite laptop.org news since the loss of crank power: "There was much discussion and progress towards how to provide Internet access to rural areas using a mix of satellite, WiMax and WiFi."

So what happened to the mesh?

[Francis @ Apr 22nd 2006 10:57PM]

Hmm, for only $150, I could think of a ton of uses for it.

[Alan DeRego @ Apr 23rd 2006 12:28AM]

So it looks like the hard drive is going to be external. On the video you can see the "D" power connector and the IDE connector on the outside.

[Greg @ Apr 23rd 2006 5:37AM]

Do these people realise that the word "Muni" is greek for... well... ummmm... "woman's private parts"???

[Oddmanout @ Apr 23rd 2006 7:50AM]

"Do these people realise that the word "Muni" is greek for... well... ummmm... "woman's private parts"???"

Probably not, but then again

Sex sells...

And don't forget, the word "Virgin" has some sexual overtones in english, and if I recall correctly there is a moderately successfull British company by that name despite that fact. And they do speak english in , uh...England as far as I know. I don't know how much Greek is spoken or how many Greeks there are in China...

[Kim Laughton @ Apr 23rd 2006 12:17PM]

Oddmanout, I'm hoping the 'moderately successful' was sarcasm!

[Oddmanout @ Apr 24th 2006 9:46AM]

"I'm hoping the 'moderately successful' was sarcasm!"

Oh most definitely :). I'd be happy with a 10% cut of the venture capital wasted on Virgin's FAILED endeavors...let alone a piece of their actual current worth.

You know, looking at this "Municator" (inuendos aside) thing again, I find myself asking why it's basic functionality is not integrated in the majority of larger high end TVs ? Think about it...I've definitely seen gaps bigger than $150 between two nearly identical TV models except for some feature that hardly anyone would use (albeit that feature is usually a niche 'make or break the sale' kind of thing). And though at 400 - 800mhz DIVx rips of an quality you might want to watch on a large TV probably would not work too well, mild websurfing in the living room, light internet video streaming, and certainly digital picture viewing hold fairly universal apeal (particulalry if you spend $10 more and integrate a discrete little multi-card reader somewhere).

Even if it costs $300 per unit to integrate this (functionality at least) into larger flat TVs, what's an extra $300 on top of a $3000 - $7000 purchase ?

Then again, I guess if you can afford TV's like that you can likely afford a genuine media center PC...

[stingraze @ Apr 25th 2006 6:47PM]

Hm... 400-800Mhz. And what's Chinese CPU???? 64bit's cool but else than that..