VIA announces tough little PC

The new VIA ARMOS-800 is designed to go where PCs don't normally last. This tough little beast, looking like an animal ready to defend in spikey black, can operate at extreme temperatures, supporting a range of -40° up to 80°C. It's passively cooled and has a peak operating power drain of a mere 3.14W TDP. Being based on the ARM based VIA VAB-800 Pico-ITX board, the complete package is only 150mm x 46mm x 108mm.

"The VIA ARMOS-800 industrial system is an ultra-compact solution designed to take full advantage of the super power-efficient, ARM based VIA VAB-800 Pico-ITX board, making it easy to create a broad spectrum of easy to assemble, fanless system designs for a wide variety of embedded applications."

DIY hobbyist sticks with VIA 3 times in a row

William Wong from 'electronic design' has been building his own multimedia routers for many years. Using MythTV and a variety of VIA solutions, he has been forever improving on his previous designs. First with the VIA VM7700, then the VIA ARTiGO A1100 he is now giving away the secrets to his latest design using the sleek VIA ARTiGO A1200.

"Configuring the A1200 is a relatively easy task since it essentially comes assembled but does not include the memory had disk (Fig. 3). A nice feature of the A1200 is that it has a Compact Flash slot with a retainer. This allows a Compact Flash card to be used as the main disk."

Boot Camp VIA Style

Forget the early morning starts and gruelling workouts, VIA's boot camp involves the APC board, Android and creative ideas.

In January 2013, registered participants in the VIA boot camp will turn up at VIA's headquarters in Taipei Taiwan for two days of one on one mentoring with experts from VIA on their APC board. Participants will be able to develop and prototype their designs and applications for the APC, even having access to a 3D printer while they're there. A couple of months later, in April 2013, the final results will be showcased at an event, also in Taipei.

The program kicks off at the VIA global headquarters in Xindian, New Taipei City over the weekend of January 19th and 20th, 2013. It will allow participants to form teams to take on the challenge of designing and building connected hardware devices using the APC platform. Industry experts will be on hand to assist and mentor teams as they work through their prototype builds. Participants will also have the opportunity to experiment with 3D printers for conceptualizing and prototyping. 

Event Schedule: The APC Boot Camp will kick off the weekend of January 19th and 20th, 2013, followed by regular progress meet-ups and a final showcase event April 14th, 2013.

To register your spot, visit VIA's APC website.

VIA APC finding more traction across the world

The VIA APC is slowly but surely becoming available in more places around the world. With a new distribution deal with Comtronics, Canadians can now get their hands on the board more easily, for a price of $64.99

For information about APC availability through Canada Computers, please visit: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_706&item_id=053384 

For retailer information within Canada, please contact Comtronics at: http://www.comtronic.ca/cci/home.php?do=ShowProducts&cmd=detail&cid=MB&pid=016589

 For more information about APC please visit: apc.io

VIA Pico-ITX, a boutique item with a niche of its own

Considering the price of the VIA EPIA P-910 Pico-ITX mainboard against the $49 you can spend on a VIA APC or a mid-range cost of a Mini-ITX board, where does the Pico-ITX fit in? TechRepublic thinks there is a niche there that it fulfils:

"If you are truly limited in space for a traditional computer and are looking for a system that can mount behind a desktop monitor or are building Windows-powered kiosks, and in-car PCs, the EPIA-P910 might be worth taking a look at, despite the high price. Because VIA doesn’t have the market penetration that Intel or AMD has with their x86/x64 products, the company tries these interesting form factors as a way to carve out a market for itself with boutique items."

Turn your LCD TV into a smart device with a VIA APC

Tech BU have published a handy guide to turning your LCD TV into a smart device on which you can play Angry Birds, catch up on your YouTube videos and surf the web. If you don't have a PC in your lounge room hooked up to your LCD TV then this is a great, cost effective way to get computer functionality on your main screen real estate in the house.

VIA APC Cycles Into Europe

The 'Bicycle for your mind', the ultra-cheap and compact VIA APC, now has a European distribution partner, making it an easy online order for DIY computer enthusiasts across the continent and the UK.

"We are pleased to announce that APC is now available for order across Europe through RS Components for £39.99. RS Components is the worldwide leading distributor of electronics and maintenance products, and is an ideal partner to provide quick and reliable service to customers looking to purchase an APC." - Source.

The little APC board is virtually a plug and play with Android package, allowing people to experiment and develop applications quickly and affordably, without the tie-down of a traditional desktop OS.