Lots of questions!

[LavaChild]

Hi!

Firstly; I only found out about these devices yesterday and think they look great. I've very little experience with Linux/Unix and even less experience with servers (Or similar) however I simply want one of these devices. However this leaves me in a position of having lots of questions, which may be trivial to those in the know, that I'd hope to find answers too. I hope that you can ignore my ignorance and give any help possible! Below are a selection of some of the questions I'd like to ask; Last night I had many floating around in my head and I cannot remember them all... Hopefully I'll be able to add to this list as I remember... Without further ado:

1) It appears many different "models" of the 'plugs are available, including (But not limited to) CloudPlug, PogoPlug, TonidoPlug and QuadPlug. In what way to these differ from the models available in stores such as Globalscale, Ionics and New IT? Is there hardware and/or software differences? And if so, by consensus, which is the "best" model? If the differences are software: Is it possible to add the software to another 'plug? Essentially, I guess I'm asking which "model" of the plug is "best"? (Other models available/in development here: http://www.plugcomputer.org/index.php/us/resources/third-parties).

2) I am in the UK; Which store is recommended? New IT appears to have the obvious advantage that they are actually in the UK however their prices a significantly greater than other websites...

3) Speaking of New IT: They offer four different flavours (See here:  http://www.newit.co.uk/store/). Which one of these is the one to go for? I am happy to do another of the "mods" myself, however with little previous experience I am not against paying the extra (Small difference) to have it ready "Out of the box"... So that I can image the device in a "working" configuration is nothing else. It seems obvious to me that the model designed to run SD cards seems best however is there any disadvantage? Which is the one to go for?

4) "Dev kits" - It seems that these have some additional sockets available (I believe  a USB mini-socket)... Do the more commercial products not have access to these?

5) Are these any other recommendations to accompany a 'plug? Globalscale do an OSGi + JVM Add-on - Is this recommended? Anything else that I should purchase along with a 'plug (For the decision on which 'plug I'd buy see Q1  ).

6) It appears all existing 'plugs are very similar to one another - Is it likely that a new/improved plug will be around the corner shortly. That is, would I be wasting my money purchasing one now, or should I just go ahead?

7) Are any commercial applications recommended?

8 ) Leading from this: The TonidoPlug software looks very nice... On their website they mention and sell: "SSL for Tonido". Is this necessary? And if not, is accessing the 'plug (Any 'plug!) remotely not safe? Should this concern me? Is it possible to use SSL, for security, without purchasing a license from Tonido?

9) How can these plugs be accessed outside of the network that they are on? Would it be possible, for example, to purchase a domain (Which I can point to the device) so allow more convenient access to the device?

Thank you for all of your time. I'm very much looking forward to hearing from you. The 'plugs excite me a great deal and I'd love to use them for applications including (a) access data remotely, (b) access websites using SSH when unavailable/restricted elsewhere (Such as Uni), (c) experiment with Linux/Unix and (d) use VNC or similar. The idea of actually trying to develop one of these would be fantastic but I think that is a little way down the line yet.

Thanks once again.

Dan.

[DamonHD]

Just answering your (9), my plug is set up as my main Internet-facing server with multiple Web sites, Java-based and static (eg www.earth.org.uk), just like any other general-purpose server can be.

Rgds

Damon

[rexxmagnus]

NewIT have very speedy delivery. Ordered mine on friday morning and it came on saturday morning.
I didn't go in for ordering from outside the UK, since after you add the postage on, it comes out more expensive than NewIT's models. Some of the 'smaller' models also appear to require an external module to be stuck on - kind of defeating the object.

The ones from NewIT don't have a direct clip on UK plug, but they do provide a US>UK adapter and also the figure 8 cable to UK plug, which isn't a problem unless you are dead set on getting one that plugs snugly against the wall.

[LavaChild]

Thanks for all of the replies. I've sent (far too much of) the day researching these beauties some more and trying to decide which path I should go down. I've put my thought process below, for anybody to point out any oversights (As can be seen by the time I've spent considering this, I'm really open in trying to find the best for me).

First, I considered UK distributors (Price includes shipping):

New IT SheevaPlug (Dev)
£89
(£95, £105 & £149 available)
Dimensions (L*W*D): 4.33" * 2.74" * 1.91"

And then US distributors (Prices include shipping):

Ionics (Dev)
$129.00
(£78.15)
Dimensions (L*W*D): 3.03" * 1.97" * 0.28"

TonidoPlug (No Dev)
$141.50
(£85.72)
Dimensions (L*W*D): 4" * 2.5" * 2"

GlobalScale (Dev)
$149.66
(£90.66)
Dimensions (L*W*D): 4.33" * 2.74" * 1.91"

QuadPlug (No Dev)
$170.00
(£102.99)
Dimensions (L*W*D): UNKNOWN

CloudPlug (No Dev + SATA)
$218.00
(£132.07)
Dimensions (L*W*D): UNKNOWN

From this list, it appears that only Ionics and TonidoPlug are viable (Others are too expensive compared to the UK distributor).

Additionally, I know that whichever route I go down, I'd like to install Tonido Embedded. Considering the cost of this:

Tonido Embedded License
$29.99
(£18.17)

Considering the costs with this included (TonidoPlug comes with this and therefore the price does not change):

New IT SheevaPlug (Dev)   + Tonido Embedded License
£107.17
(£113.17, £123.17 and £167.17 available)

Ionics (Dev) + Tonido Embedded License
£96.32

TonidoPlug (No Dev)
£85.72

Adding on 15% VAT (On the actual item price, not delivery) (New IT are a UK distributor and therefore VAT is already included):

New IT SheevaPlug (Dev)   + Tonido Embedded License
£107.17
(£113.17, £123.17 and £167.17 available)

Ionics (Dev) + Tonido Embedded License
£105.31

TonidoPlug (No Dev)
£94.98

Considering shipping time:

New IT SheevaPlug (Dev)
1 day

Ionics (Dev)
28 days

TonidoPlug (No Dev)
3 - 4 days

Leading to overall pro's and con's of each:

New IT SheevaPlug (Dev)
Pro's
   + Shipping time
   + No customs/import tax
   + Convenient returns (30 days)
   + Development model
Con's
   - Most expensive

Ionics (Dev)
Pro's
   + Small
   + Development model
Con's
   - Customs/import tax
   - Permanent plug
   - Shipping time
   - Protruding male JTAG
   - Inconvient returns

TonidoPlug (No Dev)
Pro's
   + Shipping time (Considering US distributor)
   + Tonido Embedded pre-installed
   + 5-year SSL license (Though this confuses me; Doesn't seem to use trusted identification. See here: http://www.tonido.com/support/InstallTonidoLicense)
Con's
   - Customs/import tax
   - No development model
   - Inconvient returns

With these considerations the Ionics can be discounted from any decision.

I'm now left having to decide between going with New IT or Tonido. Tonido seems cheaper and includes Tonido Embedded pre-installed however New IT model has the additional development IO's. I am not sure how much weight is held by the fact the TonidoPlug comes with a SSL license. Difficult decision!

And yes I think I did consider this in a little too much detail! 

Cheers!

[birdman]

Non-UK ones (i.e. not NewIT)will result in you getting a VAT bill at some point.  So factor that in too.

[superpat]

hi

Also remember that whoever delivers the NON-UK supplied plug, (normally FEDEX), also makes a bl**dy great charge for the privilege of collecting the VAT from you, another £15 or there abouts with Fedex's new charges!

One of the alternate plug supplies has only HALF the quantity of memory fitted, I cannot remember which one!

Go with NewIT  its a lot cheaper, overall and it's a "real" dev kit plug.

I understand from the Ionics thread, their device apparently has not been approved for EC or UK use

(I have no relationship with NewIT and have not received any inducement for this recommendation)

P