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Future Desktops Arrive Today

A look at 7 of the slickest, sleekest, most stylish desktops of the future that are currently available.

By Network World Staff and Joanne Cummings, Network World

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Goodbye to the Tower

The enterprise desktop hasn't changed much over the past 15 years or so. But technological advances like the LCD monitor and the so-called "small form factor" motherboard are allowing PC vendors to create new configurations, like the all-in-one computer or the "cube" or "lunch box" style PC. Like most innovations these days, the new PCs are starting out in the consumer market, but will be coming to an enterprise desktop near you in the not-too-distant future.

VAIO LT Series PC/TV - Premium Model

This all-in-one PC has no tower at all. Everything is enclosed within the 22-inch widescreen display. The VAIO features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB of L2 cache, a 1T-byte hard drive, 4GB of RAM, wireless keyboard and mouse, 802.11 a/b/g/n, and Blu-ray Disc media support. Price: $3299.

More info here.

Dell XPS One

Dell's all-in-one has the same chipset as the others -- Intel Core 2 Duo. 2 Gbytes of SDRAM, hard drives from 250 to 500 Gbytes, 20-inch widescreen display, integrated Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 a/b/g/n, wireless keyboard and mouse, six USB ports. Starts at $1249.

More info here

Apple iMac

Apple's all-in-one PC starts at $1199 for the 20-inch-screen model, but it also comes in 24-inch configurations: with a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 processor (from $1499); a 2.93GHz CPU (from $1799); and a 3.0GHz version (from $2199). In addition, 4GB of memory and an 8X double-layer SuperDrive are standard, but extras like hard disk capacity and graphics power scale upward with price.

More info here

Mac Mini

It's a lunch box...no, it's a powerful Mac Mini. Inside its 2-inch-tall, 6.5-inch-square anodized aluminum enclosure, Mac mini houses an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an 80GB or 120GB hard drive, a slot-loading Combo drive or SuperDrive, as well as built-in wireless. BYODKM: Bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse. Starts at $599.

More info here

Shuttle X2700

Let's get small. This 9.8-by-7.3-by2.8-inch box contains the guts of a full-sized PC -- Intel Atom 330 chip, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drive, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11. Costs around $1300.

More info here

Zonbu

Open source and 'green' are the guiding principles behind Zonbu. Take the Gia 1.5GHz chip, Gentoo Linux operating system and Open Office applications, squeeze in a 60Gig hard drive and you've got a PC that weighs five pounds and starts at $280.

More info here

Fit PC2

How small is it? About the size of a paperback book. Designed to fit just about anywhere, the Fit-PC2 (Linux model) sports a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530, 1GB of DDR2-533, 160GB hard drive, preloaded with Ubuntu Linux 8.04, for $359. You can go even more bare bones with models that come sans operating system and only a bay for a 2.5-inch SATA hard drive (buy it separately); those start at $225.

More info.

What's Next?

What do you think about the desktops you've seen here? Are there any we missed that you think are contenders for the desktop of the future?

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