(Almost) Unbreakable Computer

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Do you have a friend or loved one who insists they'll never use a computer? Maybe they say they'll mess it up or couldn't figure out how to use it and it would be a waste of money. Maybe they claim they're afraid to get on the internet because of viruses and stories they've heard about people's personal information getting hacked.

How 'bout a computer that can't get the hard drive erased because there is no hard drive. This is what the Wintergreen WebStation III with Linux from Linspire is. It boots from a CD-ROM and settings are saved in flash memory. And guess what, it's about 200 bucks! A computer to get grandma on the 'net that just about nobody can mess up (unless her cat throws up on it).

This rascal's no slouch either. Duron 1.6 GHz CPU, 256 MB of RAM, CD-ROM drive, network card, USB ports (you might be able to use USB flash (keychain) memory with this) and PCI slots. Software includes a web browser, email program, instant messaging that supports AOL's® AIM®, Yahoo®, MSN®, and ICQ®, the ability to network with Windows PCs, play MP3s and other media files and play games.

You might even want one of these for yourself!

If you just have to have a hard drive, a version with a 20GB drive is available for about 40 bucks more, It still boots from the CD-ROM.

Note: you can only connect to certain internet providers; generic connections such as supported by Earthlink should work.

Updated Dec. 2004

Update:

It looks like these are no longer available. But you might be able to find one on Ebay. Or a similar computer was offered by a company called ThinkNic; used ones may also be available.