Product Reviews

Wal-Mart (which now owns ASDA in the UK) has recently been making headlines in the US with its $199 (£140) PC. The price is reason enough for the media to get excited, but the real talking point is that Wal-Mart has shunned Microsoft Windows for the new pretender among operating systems - the Linux-based LindowsOS. Now Evesham Technology is attempting to do the same over here, but with a higher-specified system for £213.

The Evesham E-scape Li is of minimalist design, featuring a micro-tower case measuring just 170 x 280 x 320mm (W x D x H). The front features a 52x LG CD-ROM, a power button and a Perspex dome that slides up to reveal two front-mounted USB connectors. Things are equally clean at the rear, where a modem sits alongside the typical connectivity set of PS/2, VGA, serial and parallel ports, audio line in/out, mic, S-Video and even an S/PDIF output.

The delightful case hinges open upon removal of a side panel and a solitary screw - not that you'll spend much time opening the E-scape, as the upgrade potential is limited to say the least. You can swap out the hard disk easily (another single screw fixing), replace the modem with something else in the single PCI slot, but that's about it.

Thankfully, 256MB of RAM is perfectly adequate to run either LindowsOS or Windows XP if you'd rather. It's all nicely put together, and the integrated VIA EPIA Mini-ITX motherboard and C3 Ezra processor triumphantly combine low power consumption with advanced thermal dissipation, meaning a solitary, small fan is sufficient for cooling.

Talking of upgrades, though, while a basic PS/2 mouse and keyboard are supplied, there's no monitor and you only get a one-year, return-to-base warranty by default. Other support packages will be available, but the costs had yet to be announced as we went to press.

It's the operating system that really sets the E-scape Li apart from the crowd, though. While the review system was running LindowsOS

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1.1, Evesham assures us it will ship with the newly released LindowsOS 2. As the name suggests, LindowsOS attempts to combine the power of Linux with the usability of Windows. There's no doubt, especially in the latest release, that it has sharpened up the graphical user interface, which is comparable to a standard Windows Desktop in looks and functionality. And peripheral support has improved, with more than 800 printers now supported, for example. However, we still advise that you check driver availability for your peripherals at www.lindows.com before moving away from Windows.

The most significant aspect of LindowsOS is the Click-N-Run technology, used to load software apps from a central warehouse. This is, naturally, optimised for broadband users, and modem users may find it too time consuming. Not that it's compulsory, but the Click-N-Run screen will be the first thing you see when you fire up the E-scape Li, and the people behind LindowsOS are pushing it hard - as they might have to, considering they're asking an annual membership fee of $99 (£63) for the privilege of having software download and seamlessly install at a mouse click. Software available includes the likes of Sun StarOffice, plus more than 1,500 other utility, productivity and leisure apps.

However, just as LindowsOS has yet to prove itself, so does the popularity of downloading your apps, and their automatic updates, on the fly like this. Indeed, we have to ask why the consumer will be willing to accept this kind of licensing structure from LindowsOS when it reacts angrily to similar suggestions by Microsoft.

Both the OS and the E-scape Li itself are geared towards the 'value' consumer, with bridge programs to help fill the divide between Microsoft apps and the brave new world of Linux. Applications to view, copy and print Word, Excel and PowerPoint files are included, and StarOffice via Click-N-Run does a decent enough job of providing a Microsoft Office-like, general-purpose software suite.

With its lack of floppy drive and small footprint, the E-scape Li looks destined to become a value-for-money network box - most likely with Windows XP, with which we benchmarked the E-scape. After all, if LindowsOS doesn't appeal, you can easily install XP, and Evesham will even supply it for an extra £60. You can't complain at £249 inc VAT, though, and in spite of its limited upgrade potential and unproven operating system the Evesham E-scape Li offers all the bare essentials. If this is what you're after, you won't find it much cheaper in the UK.