I'm getting thin

$75 later, a Maxspeed Maxterm 1 GHz thin client -- made by Neoware -- is headed my way. Will a stick of RAM and either a USB flash drive or Compact Flash chip holding Puppy Linux (or Damn Small Linux) enable it to boot?

Judging from the internal pix of the box from Unix Surplus, from where Im buying it, the CF-to-IDE adapter is mounted so the CF module plugs in the back and is powered by a floppy plug from the power supply. It also looks as if there is a spare hard-drive power cable, plus room to mount a 3.5-inch hard drive, should I decide to go that route.

If the Maxspeed takes PC-100 RAM (and I think it will), boots from CF or USB flash, actually runs Puppy and connects via Ethernet without incident, I will be amazed, astounded and generally all geeked up. Imagine, a $75 1 GHZ computer that's roughly the size of a college dictionary ...

I have PDFs of the user manuals from Neoware for various Maxspeed Maxterm thin clients. I'm not quite sure which is the one I'm getting, but they clearly point out the CF slot in the back, but now what serves as the flash memory in the thin client when delivered from the factory. Is it CF inside the box or ??

I'll just have to boot the thing and see what happens.

If you do want to buy one of these new, I recommend Devon IT, which has them for as little as $140 -- and they'll take your CF chip and actually have the PCI slot facing the right way (at a 90-degree angle) so you can install a PCI wireless card without a 90-degree adapter (which I have no idea where to obtain). For a picture of the innards, go here.

Random thought: One thing I need -- it's always one thing, isn't it? -- is a USB CD-RW or DVD-RW drive -- that would give me yet another way to boot and work on these things.

Photo: Inside Devon IT's NTA 6010A. Note the 90-degree angle on the PCI port, the use of laptop-style SODIMM memory and the placement of the CF adapter and chip at the top -- it looks like you could mount a hard drive right in there. Also, check out the heatsink on the CPU. This box could be yours for $140 retail.