Booting the Zonbu

Having obtained the password and user id for the Zonbu thin client computer, I plugged in the screen keyboard and network connection, then booted it. It took 80 seconds to boot Linux, which is reasonable and then after entering the user id and password another 30 seconds to bring up the desktop. Later I found that the system was loading OpenOffice.Org at startup and turning this option off may speed the system.

The results were an anti-climax, being a slightly customized Kubuntu looking desktop. There is a n image of a hobbit-like turf covered building as the background to the desktop. The applications have been pared down, but Firefox 2 and OpenOffice.org 2.3 are present and work as expected. PDF documents display using Adobe Reader 7.0.

There was no documentation or "read me" file apparent on the desktop. But opening Firefox took me to the Zonbu support page. There are some parameter settings which some sort of wizard tool would be useful in helping the user with. As an example the time zone is set for US West Coast. Another difficulty was that the default font and icon sizes are too small for me to see comfortably, even after using "Desktop Setting" to "Large". This could be a problem if the units are sold to older computer users with poor eyesight.

Documents created with the OpenOffice.Org word processor are saved to a documents folder on the desktop. These documents are then periodically copied to Zonbu Online Storage. I was able to create a document with the network disabled and this document was copied to the online storage when the network was reconnected.

A "Storage Settings" utility shows that 2.58 mb of the 2 gbytes of online storage has been used so far. 2GB is the minimum amount supplied by Zonbu, for a monthly fee more can be purchased. The local cache is shown as using 11.05 mbytes out of 2.49 GB. Presumably the other 2.51 GB of the 4 GB flash card is taken up with the operating system and applications.

Here is a sample of the "upload.log" showing the files copied to the online storage. It should be noted that not only are user created documents copied but also files such as the web browser cookies and even deleted files in the trash:

/Desktop/third copy of bp2_expense.pdf
/Desktop/third copy of Aus_Greens_FTA.mp4
/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons.screen0.rc.6101.tmp
/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons.screen0.rc
del:/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons.screen0.rc.6101.tmp
/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies-1.txt
/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies.txt
del:/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies-1.txt
/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies-1.txt
/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies.txt
del:/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies-1.txt
/.gconfd/saved_state
/.gconfd/saved_state.tmp
/.gconfd/saved_state.orig
del:/.gconfd/saved_state
/.gconfd/saved_state
del:/.gconfd/saved_state.tmp
del:/.gconfd/saved_state.orig

When first booted the system seemed a little slow, but after a few minutes a prompt saying the system software had been updated and I should reboot. The system then got faster, presumably having been busy downloading the update. The software download was no more annoying than updates to Microsoft Windows. As delivered the software was Zonbu 6.971 and the download took this to 7.1008.

This is all being done on a broadband connection, operating at about 1.6 Mbps. It will be interesting to see how well the system performs on my slower 256/64 kbps wireless iBurst link. As the applications are stored in local flash memory, along with documents, the system should work acceptably with a slow broadband connection. In thin client terminology, this is a "thick" thin client, with the processing happening locally in the desktop box.

To test the audio I played a video, and in the process discovered several useful videos about the Zonbu. Curiously the person demonstrating how to unbox the Zonbu has an Australian accent:

1. Unboxing the Zonbu
2. Zonbu Linux
3. zonbu $99 linux box tour
4. How to change the Compact Flash card of the Zonbu Mini

Some technical details:

pcor@localhost ~ $ uname -a
Linux localhost 2.6.22.4-zonbu.1 #1 PREEMPT Tue Oct 23 21:32:41 EDT 2007 i686 VIA Esther processor 1200MHz CentaurHauls GNU/Linux
pcor@localhost ~ $ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : CentaurHauls
cpu family : 6
model : 10
model name : VIA Esther processor 1200MHz
stepping : 9
cpu MHz : 1197.048
cache size : 128 KB
fdiv_bug : no
hlt_bug : no
f00f_bug : no
coma_bug : no
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 1
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge cmov pat clflush acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 tm nx pni est tm2 rng rng_en ace ace_en ace2 ace2_en phe phe_en pmm pmm_en
bogomips : 2394.70
clflush size : 64

pcor@localhost ~ $ cat /proc/meminfo
MemTotal: 449408 kB
MemFree: 8812 kB
Buffers: 15368 kB
Cached: 235272 kB
SwapCached: 0 kB
Active: 194092 kB
Inactive: 161536 kB
SwapTotal: 393208 kB
SwapFree: 393152 kB
Dirty: 68 kB
Writeback: 0 kB
AnonPages: 105016 kB
Mapped: 82580 kB
Slab: 14064 kB
SReclaimable: 5452 kB
SUnreclaim: 8612 kB
PageTables: 2732 kB
NFS_Unstable: 0 kB
Bounce: 0 kB
CommitLimit: 617912 kB
Committed_AS: 420988 kB
VmallocTotal: 581332 kB
VmallocUsed: 8128 kB
VmallocChunk: 573136 kB
pcor@localhost ~ $ xdpyinfo
name of display: :0.0
version number: 11.0
vendor string: The X.Org Foundation
vendor release number: 70101000
X.Org version: 7.1.1
maximum request size: 16777212 bytes
motion buffer size: 256
bitmap unit, bit order, padding: 32, LSBFirst, 32
image byte order: LSBFirst
number of supported pixmap formats: 7
supported pixmap formats:
depth 1, bits_per_pixel 1, scanline_pad 32
depth 4, bits_per_pixel 8, scanline_pad 32
depth 8, bits_per_pixel 8, scanline_pad 32
depth 15, bits_per_pixel 16, scanline_pad 32
depth 16, bits_per_pixel 16, scanline_pad 32
depth 24, bits_per_pixel 32, scanline_pad 32
depth 32, bits_per_pixel 32, scanline_pad 32
keycode range: minimum 8, maximum 255
focus: window 0x2000021, revert to Parent
number of extensions: 29
BIG-REQUESTS
Composite
DAMAGE
DPMS
Extended-Visual-Information
GLX
MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
MIT-SHM
MIT-SUNDRY-NONSTANDARD
RANDR
RENDER
SECURITY
SGI-GLX
SHAPE
SYNC
TOG-CUP
X-Resource
XC-APPGROUP
XC-MISC
XFIXES
XFree86-Bigfont
XFree86-DGA
XFree86-DRI
XFree86-Misc
XFree86-VidModeExtension
XInputExtension
XKEYBOARD
XTEST
XVideo
default screen number: 0
number of screens: 1

screen #0:
print screen: no
dimensions: 1280x1024 pixels (342x271 millimeters)
resolution: 95x96 dots per inch
depths (7): 16, 1, 4, 8, 15, 24, 32
root window id: 0x48
depth of root window: 16 planes
number of colormaps: minimum 1, maximum 1
default colormap: 0x20
default number of colormap cells: 64
preallocated pixels: black 0, white 65535
options: backing-store NO, save-unders NO
largest cursor: 1280x1024
current input event mask: 0x7a802c
ButtonPressMask ButtonReleaseMask LeaveWindowMask
ExposureMask StructureNotifyMask SubstructureNotifyMask
SubstructureRedirectMask FocusChangeMask PropertyChangeMask
number of visuals: 12
default visual id: 0x22
visual:
visual id: 0x22
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x23
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x24
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x25
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x26
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x27
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x28
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x29
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2a
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2b
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2c
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2d
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
pcor@localhost ~ $ xdpyinfo|more
name of display: :0.0
version number: 11.0
vendor string: The X.Org Foundation
vendor release number: 70101000
X.Org version: 7.1.1
maximum request size: 16777212 bytes
motion buffer size: 256
bitmap unit, bit order, padding: 32, LSBFirst, 32
image byte order: LSBFirst
number of supported pixmap formats: 7
supported pixmap formats:
depth 1, bits_per_pixel 1, scanline_pad 32
depth 4, bits_per_pixel 8, scanline_pad 32
depth 8, bits_per_pixel 8, scanline_pad 32
depth 15, bits_per_pixel 16, scanline_pad 32
depth 16, bits_per_pixel 16, scanline_pad 32
depth 24, bits_per_pixel 32, scanline_pad 32
depth 32, bits_per_pixel 32, scanline_pad 32
keycode range: minimum 8, maximum 255
focus: window 0x2000021, revert to Parent
number of extensions: 29
BIG-REQUESTS
Composite
DAMAGE
DPMS
Extended-Visual-Information
GLX
MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
MIT-SHM
MIT-SUNDRY-NONSTANDARD
RANDR
RENDER
SECURITY
SGI-GLX
SHAPE
SYNC
TOG-CUP
X-Resource
XC-APPGROUP
XC-MISC
XFIXES
XFree86-Bigfont
XFree86-DGA
XFree86-DRI
XFree86-Misc
XFree86-VidModeExtension
XInputExtension
XKEYBOARD
XTEST
XVideo
default screen number: 0
number of screens: 1

screen #0:
print screen: no
dimensions: 1280x1024 pixels (342x271 millimeters)
resolution: 95x96 dots per inch
depths (7): 16, 1, 4, 8, 15, 24, 32
root window id: 0x48
depth of root window: 16 planes
number of colormaps: minimum 1, maximum 1
default colormap: 0x20
default number of colormap cells: 64
preallocated pixels: black 0, white 65535
options: backing-store NO, save-unders NO
largest cursor: 1280x1024
current input event mask: 0x7a802c
ButtonPressMask ButtonReleaseMask LeaveWindowMask
ExposureMask StructureNotifyMask SubstructureNotifyMask
SubstructureRedirectMask FocusChangeMask PropertyChangeMask
number of visuals: 12
default visual id: 0x22
visual:
visual id: 0x22
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x23
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x24
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x25
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x26
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x27
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x28
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x29
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2a
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2b
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2c
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2d
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
pcor@localhost ~ $ glxinfo
name of display: :0.0
display: :0 screen: 0
direct rendering: Yes
server glx vendor string: SGI
server glx version string: 1.2
server glx extensions:
GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating,
GLX_EXT_import_context, GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap, GLX_OML_swap_method,
GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_hyperpipe,
GLX_SGIX_swap_barrier, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig
client glx vendor string: SGI
client glx version string: 1.4
client glx extensions:
GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context,
GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_MESA_allocate_memory,
GLX_MESA_copy_sub_buffer, GLX_MESA_swap_control,
GLX_MESA_swap_frame_usage, GLX_OML_swap_method, GLX_OML_sync_control,
GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGI_swap_control, GLX_SGI_video_sync,
GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, GLX_SGIX_pbuffer,
GLX_SGIX_visual_select_group, GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap
GLX version: 1.2
GLX extensions:
GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context,
GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_MESA_swap_control,
GLX_MESA_swap_frame_usage, GLX_OML_swap_method, GLX_SGI_video_sync,
GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig
OpenGL vendor string: VIA Technology
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa DRI UniChrome 20060710 x86/MMX/SSE2
OpenGL version string: 1.2 Mesa 6.5.1
OpenGL extensions:
GL_ARB_imaging, GL_ARB_multisample, GL_ARB_multitexture,
GL_ARB_point_parameters, GL_ARB_texture_env_add,
GL_ARB_texture_env_combine, GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat,
GL_ARB_transpose_matrix, GL_ARB_window_pos, GL_EXT_abgr, GL_EXT_bgra,
GL_EXT_blend_color, GL_EXT_blend_minmax, GL_EXT_blend_subtract,
GL_EXT_clip_volume_hint, GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array, GL_EXT_convolution,
GL_EXT_copy_texture, GL_EXT_draw_range_elements, GL_EXT_fog_coord,
GL_EXT_histogram, GL_EXT_packed_pixels, GL_EXT_point_parameters,
GL_EXT_polygon_offset, GL_EXT_rescale_normal, GL_EXT_secondary_color,
GL_EXT_separate_specular_color, GL_EXT_stencil_wrap, GL_EXT_subtexture,
GL_EXT_texture, GL_EXT_texture3D, GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp,
GL_EXT_texture_env_add, GL_EXT_texture_env_combine,
GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias, GL_EXT_texture_object, GL_EXT_vertex_array,
GL_APPLE_packed_pixels, GL_IBM_rasterpos_clip,
GL_IBM_texture_mirrored_repeat, GL_MESA_window_pos, GL_NV_blend_square,
GL_NV_light_max_exponent, GL_NV_texgen_reflection, GL_OES_read_format,
GL_SGI_color_matrix, GL_SGI_color_table, GL_SGIS_texture_edge_clamp,
GL_SGIS_texture_lod

visual x bf lv rg d st colorbuffer ax dp st accumbuffer ms cav
id dep cl sp sz l ci b ro r g b a bf th cl r g b a ns b eat
----------------------------------------------------------------------
0x22 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 24 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x23 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 24 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x24 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x25 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x26 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x27 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x28 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 24 8 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow
0x29 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 24 8 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow
0x2a 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 16 0 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow
0x2b 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 16 0 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow
0x2c 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 0 0 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow
0x2d 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 0 0 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow