Globalscale's DreamPlug looks to have the build-quality of a $5 card-reader from your local dime-store, complete with ill-fitting plastic panels and 1980s utility-chic color-scheme. But who cares? This is a tiny PC that is smaller than the average wall-wart, and sips just 5 watts of power - the same as a USB port supplies.

The DreamPlug packs a 1.2GHz Marvell Sheeva CPU, 512MB RAM (and 2MB storage, upgradeable through a microSD slot). You also get a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports, two USB-ports, an eSATA port, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR and even Wi-Fi (b and g).

Wait, there's more: 48K/44.1 KHz audio (in and out), a 16-bit DAC, a headphone jack and an S/PDIF optical port.

Not bad, right? And here's the price: $150. The DreamPlug comes with Ubuntu or Debian Linux, but you could probably do whatever you like with it. Like build a plug-in RSS-enabled BitTorrent box, or a surveillance system, or a media-server. At this price, you could get one just to tinker with.

One more thing: It's tiny, but it gets even tinier. The part you see with the two power-plug prongs protruding? That's removable, so you can squeeze this inside another box and run a cable to the mains.

The DreamPlug is available now. All your cheap, plasticky nerd-dreams can come true.

DreamPlug product page [Glabalscale via DVICE]

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