Espresso & Cappuccino

PIII 1Ghz, 256 Ram, 2,5" HDD, CD/DVD/CD-RW, USB Host, Modem, 10/100 Base-T Ethernet, IrDA, VGA Out, AV Out ... all in a 157mm (L) x 146mm (W) x 45mm (H) box.
www.saintsong.com.tw

It's been there for a while, how could i miss this baby?

Here's some reviews:

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/2q00/espresso/espresso-1.html
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/01q2/cappuccino/cappuccino-1.html

-mark

I've been searching for places to buy the thing in the EU. All I've found are US stores though. (cappuccinopc.com, ibuypower.com)
Anybody got a link to a european distrubutor?

I've had a Cappuccino machine for close to a year now. I have the Pentium III 800Mhz version. I must say it's a great computer. I normally build all my PC's but I wanted something very small to attach to my home theatre system and allow me to surf the net and do email on my TV (I have an HDTV that displays 1024x768). The only thing I don't like about it is that it is almost just as loud as a full size PC. It made to much noise being a component to my home theatre so I relocated it in my garage and ran all the cables through the wall (TV was right on the other side). I recently began using it to control my CNC Mill and Lathe i'm shopping for a different solution to the home theatre.

If you're into gaming, don't get it. The video is slow and sound is not very potent. If you just want to use it as a server or everyday home office tasks, it's the bomb!

I've been thinking about using it in my car as a navigation system primarily and (occasionally) as car office second. GPS receiver on the RS232, Video Signal goes to the LCDs that are already in the car.
Then again, I might be tempted to fool around with it as the cpu of a wearable.

Found this when looking for Mysql soucre.

It looks pretty nice and it's for your computer.

<a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/computing-gaming/37a7.shtml">QPlatinum</a>

I like the Front panel and escpecially Buttons but not the screen (very bad integration)

Nah, but I did see one is a shop in St. Gallen, Switzerland so you can get them over here

I'd ask you for the contact info of that shop but unfortunately Switzerland is not member of the EU, so that wouldn't help me much either.

Bringing up an old thread: Has anyone had more experience with these over the past few years?

http://www.cappuccinopc.com/default.asp

I had assumed you guys were talking about people putting coffee makers in their PCs.

this any help?

Mmm Cappuccino

Peter

You could have had a cup made by this whilst you were at boxer towers!

this any help?

Thanks, but I lost interest after I couldn't source one in the EU back then. Right now I'm playing with new toys from Lippert and for all my espresso & cappuccino needs I got a Saeco a couple of month ago.

I don't know how people can drink coffee, it smells lovely but tastes disgusting. Maybe I'll grow into it like I did with tea.

I'm with you on that! Smells nice but can't stand the taste, although to be fair I've probably only ever had about 2 mouth fulls in my life, so that's not really a fair judgement!

Hmm, I didn't realize there were many people who thought that way. My dad and I both agree that it smells very nice, but tastes awful. The only exception, I think, is Starbucks. I don't like hanging around in those for very long. I think there's just too much of a concentration of coffe smell.

Yup, I agree too. It smells really nice, especially in the morning. But don't ask me to drink it! Bah!
I don't know why that is. I've never grown accustomed to the taste, and I've tried, believe me. Apart from that, it's also the only beverage that's free at work, but even that can't persuade me.

Another vote for good smell, bad taste. On top of that, coffee really upsets my stomach; it exacerbates my acid hypergeneration (think acid reflux except I've not got acid coming back up for no reason -- just really bad heartburn) quite a bit.

I love my coffee in the morning, but I draw the line on those specialty coffees in which they put a couple of shots of espresso then fill it up with of all things coffee. Ugh..

When I was on site in New Jersey a couple of years ago I worked in an office that had pots of coffee constantly on the go, they'd sit there all day on hot plates stewing away. That stuff must have tasted horrible at the end of the day.

This won't help the taste issue but some coffee beans have a very low acidity. Sumatra Mundeling for example.

To this thread in general... In fairness it is much easier to find bad coffee than good coffee. Saying that you don't like coffee after taking a swig from you Grandfather's mug when you were three really isn't a unbiased experiment.

I prefer espresso much more than coffee. My favorite drink: an espresso machiatto - and not that suped up carmalized over-sugared version that Starbucks makes. My second favorite drink: a cafe americano.

- trs

Eh. I'd prefer tea anyway on the rare occasions when I want a hot drink. Thanks for the tip, though.

Honestly, I don't think it's the acid content of the coffee that upsets my stomach. I could drink citrus juices all day long with no problem. I think it's the oils that confuse my stomach. Probably trying to break them down when it won't be able to until it hits bile.

> tastes awful

It appears to be difficult to make a good cup of joe. Perhaps the problem is that all the packaging says 2 Tbsp / 6 oz. cup. Making coffee that strong is just wrong.

-brendan

It appears to be difficult to make a good cup of joe. Perhaps the problem is that all the packaging says 2 Tbsp / 6 oz. cup. Making coffee that strong is just wrong.

Anything less than the ratio you describe is called tea.
A good rule to live by...You should never NEVER be able to see through your coffee.

Anything less than the ratio you describe is called tea.

Yeah, I've had drinks that were called tea in the US. *shudder*

Peter

Until college, my idea of "coffee" was the instant decaf coffee my mom made for breakfast. In college, I discovered real, genuine coffee, lattes, mochas, and all those wonderful beverages. I proceeded to consume mass quantities until, one day, I noticed my hands visibly shaking. The caffeine was really too much.

So, of course, I overreacted and went cold turkey on coffee, switching over to tea, where I developed a love of Chinese and Japanese styles (oolong, jasmine, and various green teas) over the usual European blends. A few years ago, when I got into serious running, I was admonished to halt all caffeine intake, because it interferes with your body's ability to stay hydrated. Rats.

These days, I'm pretty much caffeine free, although I'll have tea once in a while. I find that coffee will hit me much harder than a caffeine-equivalent amount of tea. Something about the coffee, maybe the oils, seems to amplify the caffeine effect.

I proceeded to consume mass quantities until, one day, I noticed my hands visibly shaking. The caffeine was really too much.

Looking like a chihuahua and needing really strong toothpaste are two of the downfalls of heavy coffee consumption. They are downfalls I am willing to live with though.

Yeah, I've had drinks that were called tea in the US. *shudder*

Peter

You only get an ooh with typhoo!

I'd also say smells great, tastes awful. I do, however, like frapaccinos (or however you spell it). Those taste fantastic, but so does just about anything else if you add a ton of sugar.

My wife loves tea. She gets pretty good stuff. Twinings, Typhoo, Taylor of Harrogate, plus a bunch of others that I can't think of off the top of my head. They're usually pretty easily available at the grocery, but more often than not at a restaurant you get industrial grade tea. Or Lipton's. Regardless, not something designed to be heated and drunk. But sometimes some restaurants will have real tea. Seldom do you get a teapot, though. She's friends with some folks who run a tearoom, though, and you do get one there.

Seldom do you get a teapot, though.

Even the cheapest Chinese restaurants generally make whole-leaf oolong or jasmine tea and give it to you in a teapot.

That's true. Well, beyond food-court "Chinese", anyway.

>> It appears to be difficult to make a good cup of joe. Perhaps
>> the problem is that all the packaging says 2 Tbsp / 6 oz.
>> cup. Making coffee that strong is just wrong.

>Anything less than the ratio you describe is called tea.
>A good rule to live by...You should never NEVER be able to
>see through your coffee.

Hmm, then something is wrong with my drip pot or my tablespoon measures. I usually make 1.25-1.5 Tbsp / 6oz cup. Can't see through that at all.

If I go to 2Tbsp, it becomes muddy and impossible to drink.

-brendan

My wife loves tea. She gets pretty good stuff. Twinings, Typhoo, Taylor of Harrogate

Very nice. I admit I was being a bit unfair, for rhetorical purposes: there are lots of places in the US where you can get really good tea. There are also lots of places where you can't, though, such as the old Sonicblue/Rio building in Santa Clara, and the unnamed hotel in this classic account (search for "California") of lack of understanding of how to make a proper cup of tea (i.e. that the water must hit the tea while still very near boiling).

The last time I was in the US I was introduced to the masala chai latte (or just "chai latte" despite the fact that "masala" -- "spiced" -- is really the operative word). It's not tea as we know it, but it's much more widely available, and is a splendid thing in its own right.

Peter

Whenever I make my tea (usually only when I'm sick) it's jasmine with one of those little mesh balls that screw apart for you to put your tea leaves in. We buy our tea from a local asian store when where we get our rice, and one can of jasmine tea lasts us about as long as a 25lb bag of rice.

I make a mug of coffee every day with a coffee press. Paper-filtered coffee filters the oils in the coffee which give it flavor. A good machine like those mentioned above do not filter the oils, a good way to tell is if you get a small layer of creme on the top of the coffee when you pour it. The press is much easier to use for a small batch, and it's easier to clean, too.

I don't mind good coffee, and used to drink ten or so cups a day, but gave up about 12 years ago. Now if I have one coffee I can fly all week.

That said, some evenings I have had 12 cans of red bull, and go fairly mental

Can't stand tea though - astonished anyone can drink it (exclusion being Chinese tea, which is pretty nice, but very different to something like Earl Grey)