$249 CherryPal cloud PC taken for a listless spin

Well what do you know, a real live CherryPal has finally made it into the wilds. TGDaily has the honors of having a first look at the $249 cloud computer. While impressed by the small size and fanless design, the build quality was "flimsy" making the device feel very much like pre-production product. The Xubuntu-based PC with Xfce desktop instantly recognized and connected to the reviewers WiFi network for quick login to the CherryPal cloud. Great, but things fell apart when loading Firefox onto the 400MHz Freescale processor -- the sluggish response experienced is a critical fail for a PC whose applications are stored in the cloud. Something that might be sorted out in future builds of Firefox... or not.

[Samboini @ Dec 12th 2008 6:02AM]

As much as I ♥ Firefox, it is a bit of a resource beast.

[Level 5 @ Dec 12th 2008 7:46AM]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks this. Stand-alone FF isn't horrible (although it seems to yum yum on memory more than say IE8), but when you load it up with add-ons, you really start to see that mem usage grow. Of course, FF is the only browser for me simply because of said plugins and the functionality that I love. You gotta pay to play.

[OneLove @ Dec 12th 2008 10:41AM]

how did you get the ♥ in there?

[H0rK_ @ Dec 12th 2008 6:05AM]

anyone who expected more out of a 400MHz Freescale processor had very high expectations...

when they release cloud pc's that are able to do the job they are designed for, the world will be a better place.

[Steve @ Dec 12th 2008 6:09AM]

make a atom based pc at that price and they have a winner

[JerkfacedFed @ Dec 12th 2008 1:57PM]

ya seriously, what idiot would pay $250 for a piece of crap 400mhz freescale cpu. I just built a server with:

Dual core Intel Atom 330 1.6ghz
2GB Kingston DDR2 667
1TB WD Green Caviar
Intel Gigabit NIC

Running Vista Ultimate as a router, bit torrent server, file sharing / media server, backup server.

$280 on newegg

Remove the extra NIC and lower storage requirements and thats under $200.

CherryPC = useless

[LarryG @ Dec 12th 2008 6:12AM]

Was GOOGLE thinking ahead with CHROME ( the un-resource beast)?

[Xolotl @ Dec 12th 2008 5:28PM]

Yes Google was Thinking ahead

Have you noticed the google Chrome "Task Manager" that shows all your running web applications. Memory usage CPU cycles and Network usage. and with in that the "stats for nerds" link shows your running FF and Gchrome stats. A kick in the pants for FF really.

[James @ Dec 12th 2008 6:23AM]

Great, a PC with a red ball sack on top. Ironic because that's exactly what I think of it.

[Samboini @ Dec 12th 2008 8:10AM]

Your balls are red? Although Kings of Leon will argue otherwise, if your sex is on fire, you ought to go to a doctor.

[Jack @ Dec 12th 2008 8:38AM]

@Samboini

Actually he said there was a red ball sack on top, not his balls were red.

[EMoShunz @ Dec 12th 2008 8:00AM]

seems like one would be better off using a portable media device with wifi and a browser, and use google docs etc.

[nick @ Dec 12th 2008 8:09AM]

Umm... fifty dollars more gets you an eeebox with xp.

[Tarnation @ Dec 12th 2008 8:25AM]

For 100 dollars more you could buy an actual computer with a real processor. When it comes to underpowered and cheap companies like eMachines have been doing a better job than things like this. I see deals all the time for just a little bit more money 50-100 at the most you can get a real computer that doesn't crap itself when you open the web browser.

This is little more than a glorified Thin Client anyway. Next. Oh and Atom PCs belong only in Netbooks if you are going to make a desktop I don't think the cost would be any higher to use an AMD Sempron or Intel Celeron/Dual Core.

http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=ET1161-0
That link pretty much proves my point. For $100 more the specs go up drastically.

[Coolty @ Dec 12th 2008 8:30AM]

50 more dollars also gets you a variety of netbooks to be had on ebay.

[crsh @ Dec 12th 2008 9:41AM]

@ Tarnation

I think you ought to use an Atom-based machine for common tasks, yes even a single-core CPU; it's more than enough for checking emails, surfing the web, etc. It obviously falls very short in gaming and professional apps, but that's exactly what it's not meant to do - ie. it's for mom & dad who play Solitaire and check out their grand-children's pictures online.

It's not *just* for netbooks, a small form factor Atom desktop hooked to a big screen is more than enough for a lot of people.

[DestroyerMTL @ Dec 12th 2008 9:11AM]

I still think it looks like some kind of porno set top box. No one would believe otherwise when they found it on top of your TV and you called it your "Cherry Pal Cloud PC"

[hortie4 @ Dec 12th 2008 9:36AM]

That logo looks like testicles.

[RWB @ Dec 12th 2008 10:33AM]

Anyone who's tried to load FF 3 on their 500mhz G4 could have warned them about the performance. I use WebKit on my "beater" TiBook 550 w/ 1gb and it's usable. All video is incredibly choppy though.

Oh and no Flash player for Linux Power. I never realized what a PITA going w/o Flash is...

[Jash Sayani @ Dec 12th 2008 1:55PM]

The cloud is great to store files... But the OS on the cloud in not a good idea... You could just use a 4GB flash memory and install XP or something... Would be much faster !!

[Ben F. @ Dec 16th 2008 9:01PM]

I think JerkfacedFed and a few others missed the point of CherryPal.

?How much actual power (wattage) does your "dual Atom/1TB for $280" use? I bet the fan in the PSU alone uses as much power as the CherryPal (2-10W depending on your usage)? How much metal go's to build the casing? How much carbon did it cost to build your unit? Will you leave it ON all the time? What did it cost to ship? Where will it end up when it's obsolete?

Units like the CherryPal are the beginning of a revolution. A new wave of "well written" applications will come along pretty quickly that are optimised for cloud scenarios and units with less horsepower. Just look at an early MAC computer and compare the users work throughput vs. MAC power consumption, processor speed and memory size. Are you actually more productive with your modern PC?

This whole scene is going to mirror the US car industry but at warp speed...

[Justin Gehring @ Dec 17th 2008 1:30AM]

I just received mine in the mail today after waiting FOREVER... my favorite part so far is the gaping security flaw it ships with... Inside the box there is a note that reads "your initial userid and password are limeos/limeos (userid: limeos, password: limeos). Please don't change password and userid until further notice". The first then I then went and did was check to see if SSH is enabled, and it is...

So basically here's the flaw it ships with out of box:
1) The password should always be limeos/limeos (if they follow the instructions)
2) anyone should always be able to get into it full root access via SSH

I've reported the flaw to them, who knows what they will do with it... But if you have a cherrypal already, I strongly recommend pulling it from the internet (or at least putting it behind a firewall).