Two New Mini-Powerhouses from Shuttle

Time To Overhaul The Classic PC Design

We have yet to experience the long-awaited market revolution. Instead, discount retailers keep churning out the same old specials on their computers week after week. Customers drawn in by the offers receive a classic PC system with all the trimmings for what appears to be a laughably cheap price - in some cases, only $1000 for a computer without a monitor. To judge by the sales flyer, the PC is a steal at that price.

But what's really behind the offer? It's not a bargain, nothing to write home about. It's just the same thing, over and over again, with the numbers being the only part that changes. Of course, some experts have long since realized that conventional, hulking PCs are a dying breed. It's not so much the diminishing relevance of discount retailers as a distribution channel, but rather the prodigious size of standard PCs originally designed in the late `80s. Just consider the enormous volume of a standard PC, not to mention the colossal box you have to struggle to squeeze into the car. The honeymoon feeling over that amazing "bargain" quickly vanishes once the new computer has finally been installed in your study or office.

Barebone systems from Shuttle with integrated power supply, motherboard and heat-pipe system.

Rear view of the two Shuttle systems.