In this hardware review article, John Lombardo describes a compact and low-cost router appliance that he built using embedded Linux and a nifty $299 set-top computer made by Allwell in Taiwan. Lombardo writes . . .

“Building an embedded Linux device just got a whole lot easier. A new set-top box computer form-factor from Allwell (in Taiwan) enables embedded Linux developers to create great looking products without the hassle and huge expense of building it themselves.”

“For the better part of a year, I've been looking for a hardware solution for my IPSEC router project. The hardware had to be powerful enough to run Linux + FreeS/WAN without any noticeable performance hit . . . [and] . . . be as inexpensive as a off the shelf PC . . .”

“Then, at the Embedded Internet Conference in September 2000, I ran into Rick Lehrbaum of LinuxDevices.com and asked him if he had any ideas on low cost systems that could meet my list of specs . . .”

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