Re: I-opener

Here's the real information (as far as I have been able to find out...

-- no serial port (you could add one through USB but the costs start adding up)

-- no audio out or even a headphone jack (makes MP3's difficult)

-- you have to open up the case, rewire a 40-pin ide cable and buy and install a laptop size hard drive (which you have to format on another laptop becuase you can not boot from floppy on i-opener) to use win 95/98. Otherwise it uses its own OS on flash memory which only supports email on their expensive ISP.

-- The good news is that it is only $99 not $259 but the bad news is that Circuit City is drained nationn wide and the company charges an obnoxious $40 to ship their $99 unit to you.

-- It seems that you can get away with not paying for the ISP if bough through Circuit City but I expect that to change before they get more stock in. Apparently they are VERY aware of all of this and are asking people who call to order what they plan on doing with it (and you know some people have been brazen enought to tell them)

-- Lastly, I saw a unit and it really does look cool, but by the time I added a USB hub to add a serial port for Slinke and USB ethernet port (so that I can do something with the mp3s, and bought the new harddrive (not too cheap) I lost my interest for now. I'm sure that will change once every gets their going.