Making A Easy-To-Setup $50 Linux Multi-Seat Computer

Running LibreOffice, Firefox, and other normal desktop applications were fine for this multi-seat configuration. The lack of accelerated graphics obviously means this will not work out for gaming or other intense work at this point since it is all running off the CPU and then transferred over a USB 2.0 bus. When playing YouTube videos with the current DisplayLink graphics, the performance ranged from being satisfactory for light video playback to being sluggish if trying to watch anything HD or actually trying to enjoy a movie. Below are a few videos I recorded to show what the current DisplayLink graphics experience is like on the desktop from Plugable's Core i5 system that was shared eight ways.

I was also given four of the Plugable terminals (two of each model), so expect some interesting tests coming up on Phoronix for multi-seat computing as well as looking more closely at the DisplayLink Linux graphics performance under various configurations. Embedded below is also a video from the Linux Plumbers Conference where Plugable's Bernie Thompson was talking about Linux multi-seat computing.

If you're interested in low-cost computing, multi-seat Linux desktops, or just supporting an interesting open-source cause, head on over to the Kickstarter page. Other information is also available on the Plugable web-site.

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