Moderro Xpack/Internet “Cloud” Computer Reviewed

If you haven’t yet read my article “Don’t Worry, Be Scrappy” outlining some of the cheaper/greener/smarter computing solutions, you may want to hit that first. For some of us, the cheaper part of that equation may be inevitable, but, even if you’re in the enviable position of feeling more flush than frugal, you still might want to pay attention. Fat-free products, scaled back to deliver precisely what needs to be done and nothing more, seem to be driving the edu-tech market right now. The Xpack could be a case-in-point.

The folks at Moderro Technologies were nice enough to rush me their Xpack Internet computer as a tie-in to the “go green, save green” theme of both my recent reviews and the digital world-at-large. Fresh from the oven, the Xpack is definitely hot, if not yet fully baked.

Measuring about 5 1/4 inches square by 1 3/4 inches deep, the two-pound Xpack CPU is a shiny black box that can perhaps best be described as the guts of a netbook ready to assume desktop status. Although it has no onboard storage, disk drives, or moving parts of any kind, you can mount the power-efficient 13-watt Xpack box to the back of any existing flat-panel monitor or tuck it behind a conventional one. Like a netbook, it’ll handle any purely browser-based stuff you can toss at it. Xpack kits include a USB keyboard and mouse, plus VESA mounting hardware and all the necessary cables, so each kit can provide a complete makeover for an outdated desktop package. Got big needs but a small budget? Then think about it: Are any of your library workstations totally Webcentric? If you’re running dedicated Web-based catalog stations or research centers, some Xpack kits might be the perfect fit. Because all the software upgrades and user settings are handled and stored “in the cloud,” Xpacks promise maintenance-free operation, extending initial hardware savings into the long-term.

Exactly what powers Xpack boxes? Specs are hard to come by and company reps are reticent, but rumors are that the processor runs around 1.5 gHz and the operating system, completely managed on their end, is a customized flavor of Linux. Who cares? It does the Web and it works. I hooked up my Xpack kit to an old monitor, jacked it in to the network, switched on the power, and it immediately came up with its slick, default Web browser interface, flanked with a bunch of live widgets and links. It worked right out of the box; no settings, no hassles.

Can you customize it? To the extreme... allegedly. While management functions weren’t ready for live testing, screen shots of the administrative control panel suggest complete tailoring is possible. Xpacks can provide access to the entire Web or an administrator should be able to limit access to select resources, making Xpack deployments a worthy option for Web-based library catalogs and other kiosk applications.