Review: ZaReason Makes Desktop Linux A Breeze
Before you finish your holiday shopping, consider the following option: If you’re in the market for a low-end PC, put aside about $300 for the ZaReason Breeze, a small desktop computer that runs Ubuntu Linux. Based on our testing, we see some clear market segments where the Breeze is an ideal option for today’s consumers and small businesses.
Of course, it’s important to properly position ZaReason’s Breeze. If you’re seeking a high-end desktop or powerful gaming system, look elsewhere. But if you need basic desktop productivity applications, Web 2.0 applications (Facebook, YouTube, etc.), email and instant messaging, the Breeze is a solid option for you.
The Breeze looks and feels like an appliance. And in some ways, it can be an ideal alternative to Apple’s entry-level Mac Mini.
Consider my situation: I’ve got a bunch of aging PCs running Windows XP and I’m tired of patching them. On the one hand, I could install Ubuntu on those aging systems to give them new life. But on the other hand, think of all the consumers out there who don’t want the hassle of doing an operating system install.
Surely, millions of consumers have aging Windows hardware that they’re ready to abandon. They’ve got keyboards, mice and LCD screens — and for about $300 they can swap out their aging desktop and get the Breeze.
Getting Starting
Setting up the Breeze truly is a breeze. Simple, easy-to-follow instructions had me up-and-running with the PC in less than five minutes.
Launching OpenOffice, Firefox and other bundled applications was a snap. While the software registration and configuration process in the Windows and Office worlds can take hours, the folks at Canonical have designed Ubuntu (and its bundled applications) to launch without any registration hassles. Even my two oldest sons — ages 10 and 8 — moved from our aging Sony Vaio Windows system to the Breeze without any major hassles.
But I need to remind readers: There’s a reason the Breeze has a starting price of $299. Designed around an Intel Atom processor, the Breeze at times feels under-powered, especially if you’re running multiple multimedia applications at once.
During those rare times of a system slowdown, the Breeze left me longing for my far-more-powerful Dell Inspiron and its dual-core processor running Ubuntu.
Still, here’s a simple rule: If you stick with basic productivity applications and Web browsing, the Breeze is a great option and easy on your wallet.
More Than An Appliance
The other big story here is the company that stands behind the Breeze. I have to admit, I have a few biases: I love Apple hardware, but when it comes to low-cost PCs I typically purchase Dell products.
ZaReason, however, deserves your attention. The company’s personalized, responsive service is a welcome alternative to some of the big-name PC companies that typically raise more questions than they answer.
Even before we launched WorksWithU and became a “media” brand in the Ubuntu market, the folks at ZaReason always answered our questions — online and at industry conferences. So, we like dealing with them and we’re inclined to recommend their hardware.
But there’s another twist here: ZaReason actually invites customers to open their hardware. The Breeze and other ZaReason systems include an “open hardware warranty.”
According to the warranty:
“We allow and even encourage you to lift the lid and see what makes your system hum inside. It’s your system after all and we want knowledgeable users, not dependent users.”
How refreshing. The company’s industry standard warranty covers one year and you can purchase a 2- or 3-year upgrade to continue that warranty.
The Bottom Line: If you need a basic, low-end PC without the hassles and security concerns tied to Windows, ZaReason’s Breeze is a breathe of fresh air.
Standard Product Specs:
- Intel integrated video with accelerated 3D, supports up to 1920×1200
- Mini tower desktop case
- Intel Atom processor
- Uses only 30 watts
- Drive Bays: 1x 5.25″, 1x 3.5″
- Front Ports: 2x USB 2.0 Ports; 1x Speaker; 1x Mic
- Rear Ports: 4x USB 2.0 Ports; 1x VGA Port; 1x RJ45 LAN Port; Audio I/O Jacks
- 4-in-1 card reader: SD/MMC/MS/XD
- CF card slot internal
- Mini PCIe card slot
- Power Supply: 65W External
- Color: Black
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 240 x 65 x 300 mm
Disclosures: ZaReason sent WorksWithU a Breeze to test for several weeks in September and October. We promptly returned the system to ZaReason following our testing. We do not accept payments, gifts or fees to perform reviews.
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Are ZaReason’s available in Finland?
Are ZaReasons available in India? India is a perfect market for low end systems and Indians are making the move to Linux really fast. Governments in certain states here have already moved to complete Linux based systems. Also, since price is a real concern here and most people can’t afford a full blown system, ZaReasons make a perfect fit for this market.
Indians are also the perfect end-users. They will open up their systems and see what makes them “hum” inside. We have the world’s largest population of engineers in India so that definitely makes us a curious bunch of users and technocrats. The adage that was stated above about opening up the systems will surely be realized here.
Antero, Shane: I will reach out to the ZaReason team to get you some answers. I believe ZaReason recently started operations in Europe but I don’t have specific info at my fingertips regarding ZaReason’s global strategy. We’ll get you the answers, though. Stay tuned.
“Surely, millions of consumers have aging Windows hardware that they’re ready to abandon. They’ve got keyboards, mice and LCD screens — and for about $300 they can swap out their aging desktop and get the Breeze.”
Ubuntu – Linux for Human Beings who hate recycling and love toxic landfill.
OK, I’ll paraphrase the article: “Millions of people have old hardware which runs Windows XP OK, and could easily run Debian, Slackware, Vector, Zenwalk or several other free software systems, or even keep running XP (honestly, it’s true!). However, I’m a quasi-religious maniac with an urge to persuade them all to use Ubuntu and Ubuntu won’t run well on older computers* so they’ll have to throw away their perfectly good functional hardware and consume consume consume.”
* https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/SystemRequirements
“Ubuntu should run reasonably well on a computer with the following minimum hardware specification. However, features such as visual effects may not run smoothly.
* 700 MHz x86 processor
* 384 MB of system memory (RAM)
* 8 GB of disk space
* Graphics card capable of 1024×768 resolution “
It looks like this is based on the MSI Wind Desktop, which I own. I use it as a server, but it’s a great low cost computer for a basic desktop Linux system. Unless you really need the support contract, and the hard drive, RAM, CD drive and OS preinstalled, $300 is a bit steep.The MSI Wind Desktop costs aroudn $140, not including RAM, optical drive and a hard drive. Add those, and the price is around $200. You can also run the OS off a compactflash card, for nearly silent performance, and low energy use, which I do. I wouldn’t recommend doing this for a desktop system though – CF is slow, and the file system and OS need to be carefully tweaked to prevent excessive writes. All in all, the MSI Wind is a great platform for this sort of thing, and it looks like ZaReason is selling a nice product based on it.
Yes, Some Guy, we bought one where I work and it uses the MSI Wind barebones (even comes with the driver disk). OK, looking at Newegg and taking the cheapest of each part to match the $299 configuration, my shopping cart came to $230 with shipping. In the small town where I live, every computer repair shop has a minimum charge of $75. For only $69, ZaReason is taking these three parts, putting them in case, imaging the hard drive, and testing it, before packaging it in boxes custom printed with their logo and slogan. For a person who doesn’t build their own computers (like you and I do), I think this is a pretty good deal.
I sent ZaReason a few questions via email, and I received an intelligent reply from them the next day. I would like to buy from them but they don’t sell in Australia.
I purchased their “home” system about a year ago.
I couldn’t be a more satisfied customer. It arrived before they said it would, it worked great right out of the box, it’s quiet, efficient, attractive, small.
Contacting them by email is easy– they usually respond in a matter of hours. They answer technical questions, “what ifs”, and general suggestions about upgrading or new machines or what have you.
I bought a laptop from ZaReason in August and I couldn’t be happier with it. I opened the box and was up and running literally in 10 minutes. Because I run wpa2 at home getting the wireless working took a bit longer, but with the release of 8.10 even that has become simple.
I’d recommend them without reservation.
A tip: For those of you attend open source conferences, ZaReason often offers some great on-site deals to attendees. I nearly made some ZaReason purchases during OSCON and LinuxWorld (now OpenSource World) in 2008.
@Takla
take a deep breath and relax. I agree with you entirely that a person should make the most out of the hardware they have I’m running ubuntu on an old PC quite comfortably (a 6-7 year old PC with minimal upgrades incidentally). Still, there’s a time and place to buy a new PC, and maybe that’s what someone is opting to do. You certainly shouldn’t be condemning towards them. Instead encourage people to donate their old PCs to charitable causes or find a community PC recycling center. All screaming at people about their recycling habits does is alienate them and make you look like a nut, or perhaps “a quasi-religious maniac”.
WogFootman: Thanks for providing valuable perspective. As the author of the blog entry, I’d like Takla to know that I saved several old Windows laptops and desktops from certain death by moving them to Ubuntu. And I’ve also blogged about installfests, where volunteers bring old PCs back to life, install Ubuntu, and route the systems to non-profit organizations. But for those who are looking for new starter systems, the Breeze is a nice choice.
Great stuff:) will definitely visit soon!!