looking for low cost embedded hardware

i'm looking to build a little black box. i need cheap storage of an
odd 40gig or thereabouts, and it looks like 3.5" ide ATA drives hit
that mark at about 30 bucks. i need some CF, so that'll be another 20
bucks. i need a cpu (x86 or whatever), a couple of usb ports, some
memory around 32megs, power supply, connectors for the drives, and
cables to hook everything up, and a chassis. i figure this the whole
kit and kaboodle ought to be under 300 bucks to buy. i'm looking
around and seeing stuff that's close but a bit overkill, having stuff
like a high power video/audio chip and all that isn't what i'm looking
for. so my question is whether anyone has seen anything close to this
around? any pointers to check out? mail me at osedax_latin@yahoo.com
if you've got the keys.

Osedax Latin <osedax_latin@yahoo.com> wrote:
> i'm looking to build a little black box. i need cheap storage of an
> odd 40gig or thereabouts, and it looks like 3.5" ide ATA drives hit
> that mark at about 30 bucks. i need some CF, so that'll be another 20
> bucks. i need a cpu (x86 or whatever), a couple of usb ports, some
> memory around 32megs, power supply, connectors for the drives, and
> cables to hook everything up, and a chassis. i figure this the whole
> kit and kaboodle ought to be under 300 bucks to buy. i'm looking
> around and seeing stuff that's close but a bit overkill, having stuff
> like a high power video/audio chip and all that isn't what i'm looking
> for. so my question is whether anyone has seen anything close to this
> around? any pointers to check out? mail me at osedax_latin@yahoo.com
> if you've got the keys.

I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for, I don't really know what 
your size constraints are, but you sound like as if all you want to do is 
make a computer. I've seen mATX motherboards for considerably less than 
$100AUD. I don't know if you'd find anything new, but I've seen P2 MoBo 
with CPU and memory on ebay for under $100. If the MoBo does not come with 
USB just plug in a card.

Sorry if my info is not too helpful.

-- 


Wing Wong.
Webpage: http://wing.ucc.asn.au

"Osedax Latin" <osedax_latin@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2d683352.0409070320.7733a667@posting.google.com...
> i'm looking to build a little black box. i need cheap storage of an
> odd 40gig or thereabouts, and it looks like 3.5" ide ATA drives hit
> that mark at about 30 bucks. i need some CF, so that'll be another 20
> bucks. i need a cpu (x86 or whatever), a couple of usb ports, some
> memory around 32megs, power supply, connectors for the drives, and
> cables to hook everything up, and a chassis. i figure this the whole
> kit and kaboodle ought to be under 300 bucks to buy.

Sure, here, let me just put on my thinking cap and I should be able to whip
up something that will "fit your bill".  Can you give me until the end of
today?  Would an MTBF of 1,000,000 hours be sufficient for your
requirements?  If we can reach an agreement on the design today, I'll be
able to reconfigure my assembly line of Chinese prison laborers tonight so
that they can start production tomorrow?

i'm looking
> around and seeing stuff that's close but a bit overkill, having stuff
> like a high power video/audio chip and all that isn't what i'm looking
> for. so my question is whether anyone has seen anything close to this
> around? any pointers to check out? mail me at osedax_latin@yahoo.com
> if you've got the keys.

Damn, you shouldn't be expected to pay for stuff you don't need right!  I
mean, why can't you buy the equipment that exactly matches your
specifications for under $300 on the open market today, right now?  Not a
problem my man, we'll have that cheap black box, order quantity of 1 whole
unit, in your mailbox by Thursday morning.  Along with the unit, you'll
receive a five year parts and on-site labor warranty.  If any problems occur
during this period, we'll either fix the unit or replace it with a newer
model!!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Alex Dingleberry,
Chief Design Engineer
FLE, Incorporated
666 Forced Labor Electronics Drive,
Beijing, China PC114563
adingleberry@fleinc.com

osedax_latin@yahoo.com (Osedax Latin) wrote in 
news:2d683352.0409070320.7733a667@posting.google.com:

> i'm looking to build a little black box. i need cheap storage of an
> odd 40gig or thereabouts, and it looks like 3.5" ide ATA drives hit
> that mark at about 30 bucks. i need some CF, so that'll be another 20
> bucks. i need a cpu (x86 or whatever), a couple of usb ports, some
> memory around 32megs, power supply, connectors for the drives, and
> cables to hook everything up, and a chassis. i figure this the whole
> kit and kaboodle ought to be under 300 bucks to buy. i'm looking
> around and seeing stuff that's close but a bit overkill, having stuff
> like a high power video/audio chip and all that isn't what i'm looking
> for. so my question is whether anyone has seen anything close to this
> around? any pointers to check out? mail me at osedax_latin@yahoo.com
> if you've got the keys.

EZ-buddie barebone, see http://www.ecsusa.com/products/ezBuddie.html

osedax_latin@yahoo.com (Osedax Latin) wrote in message news:<2d683352.0409070320.7733a667@posting.google.com>...
> i'm looking to build a little black box. i need cheap storage of an
> odd 40gig or thereabouts, and it looks like 3.5" ide ATA drives hit
> that mark at about 30 bucks. i need some CF, so that'll be another 20

It does not make sense to have both HD and CF on an embedded box.  If
you
really need the storage, go with HD.  If you want low power, go with
CF.
We can provide a 64M CF + adaptor for $20.

> bucks. i need a cpu (x86 or whatever), a couple of usb ports, some
> memory around 32megs, power supply, connectors for the drives, and
> cables to hook everything up, and a chassis. i figure this the whole
> kit and kaboodle ought to be under 300 bucks to buy. i'm looking
> around and seeing stuff that's close but a bit overkill, having stuff
> like a high power video/audio chip and all that isn't what i'm looking
> for. so my question is whether anyone has seen anything close to this
> around? any pointers to check out? mail me at osedax_latin@yahoo.com
> if you've got the keys.

Perhap if you tell us what you are trying to make, then we can give
better suggestions.

> 
> It does not make sense to have both HD and CF on an embedded box.  If
> you
> really need the storage, go with HD.  If you want low power, go with
> CF.
> We can provide a 64M CF + adaptor for $20.
> 

In my case, I need to CF to store my software, and the HD to store my
data. Can you let me know more about your solution?

Thanks.

> Sure, here, let me just put on my thinking cap and I should be able to whip
> up something that will "fit your bill".  Can you give me until the end of
> today?  Would an MTBF of 1,000,000 hours be sufficient for your
> requirements?  If we can reach an agreement on the design today, I'll be
> able to reconfigure my assembly line of Chinese prison laborers tonight so
> that they can start production tomorrow?

I'm sorry if I somehow offended you in my posting. It was not my
intention. If you let me know what annoyed you so much, my email is
osedax_latin@yahoo.com, then I'll be happy to avoid repeating such an
error in future. Thanks.

"Osedax Latin" <osedax_latin@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2d683352.0409072244.70159e93@posting.google.com...
> > Sure, here, let me just put on my thinking cap and I should be able to
whip
> > up something that will "fit your bill".  Can you give me until the end
of
> > today?  Would an MTBF of 1,000,000 hours be sufficient for your
> > requirements?  If we can reach an agreement on the design today, I'll be
> > able to reconfigure my assembly line of Chinese prison laborers tonight
so
> > that they can start production tomorrow?
>
> I'm sorry if I somehow offended you in my posting. It was not my
> intention. If you let me know what annoyed you so much, my email is
> osedax_latin@yahoo.com, then I'll be happy to avoid repeating such an
> error in future. Thanks.

No, I wasn't offended.  Just joking around.  Don't stop posting, good luck
on getting your $300 black box!  I don't really have a factory full of
Chinese prison laborers, but many times I feel that I work in such a
factory!