Data Evolution Corporation was founded in 2001 and is co-headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A., and Ottawa, Ontario. The company deals with manufacturing computer hardware but also with developing proprietary computer software for mobile data capture solutions.

One of their most well-known and interesting products would be decTOP. decTOP is designed as one of those low-cost (only US$99), stand-alone devices, and also supports the open source operating systems. According to its creators, the design of the decTOP comes from DEC's hardware acquisition of the Personal Internet Communicator division from AMD. The decTOP is actually a complete solution and includes keyboard and mouse, too.

As a flexible device, decTOP also supports Microsoft's Windows. According to Jonathan Scott, "the decTOP has limited specs out of the box, but it's not a bad deal for $100.". Some of its parts, such as the RAM or the hard disk, can be upgraded if you need more.

Highlights:

- AMD Geode GX500 (366MHz) processor
- 128 MB PC2700 DDR (200 pin SODIMM, 1 slot, expandable)
- 10 GB 3.5" IDE hard disk
- 4x USB (1.1, not 2.0), VGA, audio in/out/mic, modem
- power: 12 VDC, 8 W
- iUSB keyboard, USB 2-button mouse, USB ethernet adapter, USB extension cable, AC adapter, telephone cable

However, what caught my attention in this little device was - as you've probably already guessed - the fact that it deals quite well with the OS systems. I was interested in the way it gets along with an Ubuntu version. When I've started digging out on these issues I've found out that decTOP currently has a problem regarding booting. It seems that, when booting, it prompts an error claiming there is no valid boot media. This problem can be solved though by booting to a USB Flash Drive. As it seems there's a problem with the 7.04 alternate installer and you won't be able to install it from a USB key, you're limited to a maximum: namely the 6.06 Ubuntu version.