Aros shop could be useful

[Amiwell]

hi

What do you think about it

[Amiwell]

I was thinking of a computer Dell SFF Intel Core Duo 2, NVIDIA GT 210 512 MB, 2 GB of RAM, HD 240 GB, LAN 8169 PCI for 100 euros excluding shipping costs

[Amiwell]

with a year warranty

[ntromans]

There's recently been a bit of a discussion over on Amigaworld.net on AROS, with the usual comments of how difficult is is to find working hardware, so a 'working out of the box' system could be just what some people need to get started with the system.

Cheers,
Nigel.

[OlafS3]

There was the AresOne (as far as I remember) with preinstalled Aros but only limited interest. The problem is people want to test it on existing hardware but not buy new dedicated PC for it. Because of that I also doubt that the MorphOS AMD64 port will be very successful if requiring new hardware for it.

[Amiwell]

I understand the situation I will try the same to open the shop and we hope it goes well, if it goes wrong we will not lose a lot of money at least with the first computer bach, I could think of doing even a dual boot with windows, but they are cars dedicated only for navigation and office, at the limit the games of a few years ago could work

[ntromans]

Price point is definitely key, not so expensive that it can't be an extravagance buy. Of course compared to what some spend on PPC compatable systems... Size could be an issue too; if you already have a number of computers in the house do you want another big-box machine? How large is the system you're planning to sell? If it's a compact one that could be a good selling point.

I'm currently typing this on my newly refurbished Samsung netbook (an over-voltaging PSU killed the MB about three years ago, finally got around to rebulding it with a Samsung n130 MB this time for slightly better compatability) and I'd forgotten how this tiny machine runs AROS fantatsically well. Something small and portable like that, if at the right price point, might sell.well, especailly it's extreame portabilliity (not many native boot Amgaoid systems out there that are portable except those running via WinUAE, but I'm guessing these products are for people like me who want to run native).

Of course, if we do finally get AROS running fully on RPi then all th boxes are ticked and the shop could carry those RPi accessories that wuld work with AROS (i.e. those that are 'plug and play' and not requiring PiOS libraries).

Cheers,
Nigel..

[miker1264]

salvo

While you are thinking about computer hardware or complete systems that are very compatible with running AROS here is something to consider.

It would be great to have specifically designed and maintained "flavors" of AROS such as AROS One or ARES One or others that are complete collections of Software, Icons, Themes, Utilities, Applications and Sample Media that are fully compatible with "Reference Systems" such as the mentioned Samsung Netbook or my favorite the HP 8300 SFF and any others.

The drivers and specific software for these flavors of AROS will be designed and tested to work on the reference hardware. That way you only need to maintain the AROS distros and a Compatible Hardware List that they are known to work with.

That way users won't have to guess which hardware or which flavor of AROS to use for a particular platform. Of course having a store or partnering with stores that sell small computers that are easy to sell and ship would also be a great idea especially if they are preconfigured and preinstalled running AROS. 

In these days CF cards as hard drives for AROS and other related OS'es makes things easier. Why not preinstall and preconfigure CF "hard drives" that are compatible with specific hardware? The hard drives can even be IDE drives as an option. If we can get AHCI and SATA modes to work correctly it could be a 120GB or 240GB SATA SSD drives which are very inexpensive these days.

If the AROS distro is nicely organized and appealing to the eye and easy to use and easy to update then it may attract new users that have not used AROS before.

Just a few thoughts.

[Amiwell]

Thank you for your interventions, the reference computers are all of SFF format are Dell OptiPlex 360 and 380, at least the first bach is formed by these, in the previous posts I declained the price of 100 euros now I think 80 euros excluding expenses of Shipping I can sell them without problems, the bundle leads in addition to the computer a discreet graphics card that supports Mesa Gallium and a dedicated network card, for the keyboard, the mouse and audio speakers I leave free choice to buy them outside my shop in the various Specialized shops in order to personalize your own station, finally I could think of buying some Netbooks like Acer Aspire One ZG5 always if I find them at decent prices so as to sell them at an affordable price

[miker1264]

Thank you for your interventions, the reference computers are all of SFF format are Dell OptiPlex 360 and 380, at least the first bach is formed by these, in the previous posts I declained the price of 100 euros now I think 80 euros excluding expenses of Shipping I can sell them without problems, the bundle leads in addition to the computer a discreet graphics card that supports Mesa Gallium and a dedicated network card, for the keyboard, the mouse and audio speakers I leave free choice to buy them outside my shop in the various Specialized shops in order to personalize your own station, finally I could think of buying some Netbooks like Acer Aspire One ZG5 always if I find them at decent prices so as to sell them at an affordable price

Small is good as far as SFF systems and Netbooks. They are easy to get and easy to ship. What type of hard drives? SATA?

What version of AROS will be preinstalled on these systems? Users aren't going to buy something where they have to spend long hours setting up software even if you have to charge more.

I built a mini itx PC to run AROS. It has a small black itx case and a 60GB SATA SSD. It's small and fun to use it for every day use.

The only disadvantage is that there's no optical drive and no SD or CF card readers. AROS doesn't have many drivers for USB devices other than keyboard, mouse and some flash drives.

[Amiwell]

The system I will install will be Aros One I have already discussed with Amigasystem, HDs are normal SATA but maybe I could put 240GB SSDs as an extra option the computer will cost something more than 20 euros, in your system it may fit a USB adapter that I tried it is of the trust

[miker1264]

The system I will install will be Aros One I have already discussed with Amigasystem, HDs are normal SATA but maybe I could put 240GB SSDs as an extra option the computer will cost something more than 20 euros, in your system it may fit a USB adapter that I tried it is of the trust

Sounds great so far. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

In my experience as a computer technician selling a base system for 100 to 150 euros is adequate. Most users don't mind paying that amount. Of course it doesn't include shipping and addons/extras. That will all cost more. But you don't want to undersell it for less than 100 euros. It limits your build options.

I like the concept so far. Good ideas. 

[Amiwell]

The project will start in a few weeks Miker, the extra perhaps will be the addition of the SSD and RAM, then they are computers ready for the 64 bit when a stable version will be released

[ntromans]

If you ever want to create a really tiny system I'd suggest mSATA SSD via a SATA to mSATA or USB adapter; I've put one into my netbook to save space inside it for other hardware (Atheros wifi card and touchscreen controller) and it's working really well.

Cheers,
Nigel.

[Amiwell]

I saw a fully compatible mini itx card, a mini itx system would perhaps be more agreed, but the sales prices rise a little, I can't think of selling as the previous one for 100 euros



Socket 478 (Mobile)Core2Duo CPU 667 mhz
Intel 945GM Express / Intel ICH7-M
Intel GMA 950
1 x processor - Socket 478 (Mobile) Core2Duo
1 x DIMM 240-pin
1 x PCIe x16
1 x PCIe x1
1 x PCI
ATA-100 -connectors: 1 x 40pin IDC - 2 devices
SATA-150 -connectors: 2 x 7pin Serial ATA - 2 devices
Ram   2GB DDR2 (nicht im Lieferumfang enthalten)
Internal Interfaces   1 x floppy
Additional Connectors (Optional)   4 x USB 2.0
Realtek ALC888 7.1-Channel HAD CODEC; Optional 6-watt amplifier
Ports   4x USB 2.0 Ports (2 rear, 2 by header)
                2x PS2 Port
                1x Parallel Header;
                1x VGA Port;
                1x LVDS Connector;
                Audio I/O Jacks