INTEL PUTS OUT a lot of chips that don't get headlines, the EP80579 is one really great example. Lanner makes boxes that use chips that don't get headlines, and go into things that never bear its name even though they are very solid.

There were three designs at IDF that Lanner will happily sell you and demand no credit for. You put your own sticker on them, write software to run on them, and happily rake in the dollars. That is Lanner's lot in life.

It may look like a striped box, but it really is

The first one is the aptly-named EM-F343, a small PC with VESA mounts. It has a Celeron 600, a wide operating temp range, and is meant to strap on the back of a monitor. It is of course fanless, has all the requisite ports for a low-end PC, and gets no notice on the best of days.

More ethernet ports than you need

Slightly more exciting is the FW-7570, something that is immediately obvious from the name. It uses an Intel EP80579 SoC CPU up to 1.2GHz, and basically is a platform for mid-range routers and network security devices. It can support up to 10 GbE ports while being a full x86 PC. There are a lot of interesting options here.

The hot one of the three

The top of the range is the oh-so-exciting NS04-5130, the scantily-clad extrovert of the line-up. As you can see, it is a four bay NAS board with the same EP80579 CPU in it at up to 1.2GHz. The box is pretty small, and has three GbE ports, VGA, and a couple of USB ports. It is a PC in NAS form, but by the time you get it, it won't resemble anything more than an appliance.

Overall, Lanner makes boring stuff. You probably have used one of its designs, but you would never know it. It make the things that companies make... the things you use. Or something like that.

Either way, it has some neat toys.µ