Tangent's Rugged Mini Fanless PC resembles a giant heatsink

While Itronix's latest GoBook should handle your workload whilst on the go, Tangent is hoping that you'll look its direction for a rugged PC in your home or underground bunker. Quite frankly, the company claims that its Rugged Mini Fanless machine is "designed to take a beating," which apparently includes the ability to withstand "shock, dust, vibration, humidity, extreme cold and heat, and even electromagnetic interference." Externally, this thing is certainly on the opposite end of sexy, but it's the inside that counts; packed within is your choice of an Intel Celeron M, Core Solo, or Core Duo processor, up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, Intel's GMA950 integrated graphics set, up to 120GB of hard drive space, optional external DVD writer, 802.11a/b/g, FireWire, a pair of PS/2 ports, six USB 2.0 connectors, VGA / DVI outputs, audio in / out, and Ethernet. Furthermore, you'll purportedly find "no moving parts" (aside from that HDD spindle, eh?) as its cooled by a passive convection-based system, and you can snag one right now with Windows XP Pro for $1,195.

[Via Gearlog]

[Meltz; @ Jun 7th 2007 12:09AM]

...yes it does

[Kavi Siegel @ Jun 7th 2007 12:11AM]

You could bolt an LCD onto that, attach one of those touch screen things, and make a pretty awesome tablet PC.

[Dolby @ Jun 7th 2007 12:13AM]

Its for a car-puter, hidden away under a car seat or something where no one sees it.

[waiownsyou @ Jun 7th 2007 12:18AM]

Why do these things always have horrible integrated graphics solutions?!

[wellingj @ Jun 7th 2007 12:38AM]

better efficiency that way.

Also you can get better car solutions here: http://www.logicsupply.com/

[Wilco @ Jun 7th 2007 12:42AM]

@waiownsyou

Because the priority here is for compactness and as little heat generation as possible. A performance graphics chipset would increase the amount of heat generated and wouldn't be as compact, all to gain something that isn't going to be used very often in a car PC.

[SwissFreek @ Jun 7th 2007 1:17AM]

Couldn't they cut down on the size a little bit by leaving off some of the legacy ports? I know that as a Mac user, I live in a legacy-free world not necessarily enjoyed by my fellow PC-users, and I can accept the refusal of PC makers to give up those PS/2 ports, but c'mon people, two COM ports? COM ports?! I humbly contend that a person willing to shell out the dough for one of these bad boys knows exactly what they want it for, and exactly how to use it. That sort of person isn't sitting around still using a serial mouse and null-modem. Maybe if you have an older automotive diagnostic system, but even those are available for pretty cheap in USB flavors nowadays...

[Ceralor @ Jun 7th 2007 1:58AM]

Plenty of user-created stuff runs over COM. It's much easier to create TTL-RS232 communicative devices for controlling anything than to create a USB connection for the same.

[SwissFreek @ Jun 7th 2007 2:02AM]

You got me, there is that. I still think two ports is a little excessive, but if you're gonna have the one, might as well have the other I guess.

[boomhauer @ Jun 7th 2007 1:31AM]

If used as a car pc, com ports could be quite useful if connected to various (homebrew?) sensors/controls/whathaveye. not as easy for the hacker to make a usb-compat thingamabob

[Colin @ Jun 7th 2007 2:46AM]

I am highly disappointed that no fanboys have popped up yet to complain that this has a similar shape as a Mac mini, and thus is a blatant example of Apple's sheer design brilliance.

@Dolby
I've had all sorts electronic crap stolen from my cars over the years (including a ghetto $25 amp I had installed under the driver's seat.) If thieves are looking for a quick score, under the seat is one of the first places they check, since that's where plenty of people hide aftermarket amps.

This is the first mini PC I've seen that looks like it could actually survive being shoved into the engine compartment of a car, and I like that-- bolt it to the firewall, run some cords inside, surround the ports with a rubber shield, and no thief is liable to realize it isn't just another part of the ECM.

[dolby @ Jun 7th 2007 3:51AM]

@Colin
Was just stating this would fit in that area thus not needing to *look good* but needing to still be rugged and small. I Wasn't talking about how easy it may be to steal (could care less), some one looking to drop that much money on one (+ all the other toys) probably doesn't have to worry about that because they live in nice areas and have the required security.

[Colin @ Jun 7th 2007 4:01AM]

@dolby
I understand what you were saying. I wasn't implying that there was anything wrong with installing it under the seat. In fact, I could probably get rid of the heated seats option if I buy a car and just install this thing instead.

What I was focussing on is that this thing actually *could* be installed in the engine compartment and blend in with the rest of the electronics present in new cars. It looks to be rugged enough to withstand the environment, and I can safely say that of everything stolen from my cars over the years, under-the-hood electronics aren't included. (And this is coming from a guy who had his ashtray stolen!)

I don't agree about the nice areas/rich people thing though; if this sort of equipment existed when I was in my early '20s, I would've saved up and bought one; I wouldn't have the money to replace it if it were stolen though.

[bobbbio @ Jun 7th 2007 7:29AM]

don't they have USB to COM ports for all the uber-geeks out there?

[Aerv @ Jun 7th 2007 9:12AM]

Yes, there are USB-to-Serial adapters available on the market, howeve rthey ustilize their own driver software which renders them incompatible with certain pieces of hardware. I worked with an A/V + Security install copany a while back and bought an older laptop with a com port simply because I didn't have to worry about what adapter will work with what security panel/lighting control module/etc. In a custom car PC configuration it would seem to be easier to just have com ports built in to integrate with custom sensors/ECU connections. Also remember that this is a fanless design and works with convection, you need some space for airflow, too small a form factor and there would be minimal airflow maximizing the potential for thermal failure. Thats how I see it anyways....

[andy @ Jun 7th 2007 1:12PM]

COM ports are the communications standard for serial data in ALDL ports.

with WIN ALDL, you can view real time sampling of all engine operating conditions, and if your ECM is programable, change fueling and timing curves on the fly.

I have to take my laptop in and out of my jeep to look at the engine parameters after any changes (chevy v8 efi).