<s>
A	O
nettop	B-Protocol
(	O
or	O
miniature	B-Protocol
PC	I-Protocol
,	O
Mini	B-Protocol
PC	I-Protocol
or	O
Smart	O
Micro	B-Protocol
PC	I-Protocol
)	O
is	O
a	O
small-sized	O
,	O
inexpensive	O
,	O
low-power	O
,	O
legacy-free	B-Protocol
desktop	B-Device
computer	I-Device
designed	O
for	O
basic	O
tasks	O
such	O
as	O
web	O
browsing	O
,	O
accessing	O
web-based	B-Application
applications	I-Application
,	O
document	O
processing	O
,	O
and	O
audio/video	O
playback	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
word	O
nettop	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
portmanteau	O
of	O
network	O
and	O
desktop	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
desktop	B-Device
counterpart	O
of	O
the	O
netbook	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modern	O
(	O
2020	O
)	O
mini	B-Protocol
PCs	I-Protocol
or	O
small	B-Device
form	I-Device
factor	I-Device
PCs	O
can	O
be	O
much	O
more	O
powerful	O
,	O
being	O
equipped	O
with	O
high-end	O
laptop	B-Device
components	O
or	O
mid-range	O
desktop	B-Device
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compared	O
with	O
ordinary	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
nettops	B-Protocol
are	O
not	O
only	O
smaller	O
and	O
less	O
expensive	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
also	O
consume	O
much	O
less	O
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
CompuLab	O
's	O
fit-PC2	O
consumes	O
no	O
more	O
than	O
8	O
watts	O
of	O
powerxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx1	O
whereas	O
a	O
typical	O
desktop	B-Device
would	O
easily	O
consume	O
more	O
than	O
100	O
watts	O
of	O
power	O
;	O
consequently	O
,	O
nettops	B-Protocol
require	O
significantly	O
less	O
cooling	O
and	O
may	O
even	O
be	O
completely	O
fanless	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
an	O
optical	O
disk	O
drive	O
and	O
use	O
a	O
solid	B-Device
state	I-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
making	O
them	O
completely	O
silent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tradeoff	O
is	O
that	O
the	O
hardware	O
specifications	O
and	O
processing	O
power	O
are	O
usually	O
reduced	O
and	O
hence	O
make	O
nettops	B-Protocol
less	O
appropriate	O
for	O
running	O
complex	O
or	O
resource-intensive	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nettops	B-Protocol
and	O
mini	B-Protocol
PCs	I-Protocol
have	O
what	O
could	O
be	O
considered	O
an	O
unusual	O
history	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
first	O
wave	O
"	O
of	O
such	O
devices	O
,	O
which	O
occurred	O
in	O
the	O
mid	O
to	O
late	O
2000s	O
,	O
were	O
commonly	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
nettops	B-Protocol
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
included	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Acer	B-Protocol
AspireRevo	I-Protocol
seen	O
above	O
,	O
and	O
were	O
commonly	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
kind	O
of	O
"	O
temporary	O
substitute	O
"	O
PC	O
of	O
a	O
lower	O
cost	O
for	O
users	O
needing	O
a	O
second	O
PC	O
or	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
developing	O
countries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
commonly	O
held	O
view	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
was	O
their	O
use	O
as	O
a	O
stepping	O
stone	O
towards	O
a	O
thin-client	B-Device
–	O
based	O
always	O
online	O
computer	O
that	O
would	O
"	O
replace	O
inefficient	O
PCs	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
demand	O
for	O
these	O
devices	O
quickly	O
waned	O
,	O
the	O
industry	O
responded	O
by	O
addressing	O
the	O
chief	O
complaint	O
that	O
these	O
devices	O
would	O
be	O
better	O
as	O
portable	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
new	O
form	O
of	O
laptop	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
result	O
was	O
the	O
netbook	B-Device
,	O
a	O
device	O
which	O
was	O
considered	O
the	O
true	O
future	O
of	O
the	O
nettop	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2009	O
,	O
reports	O
from	O
reviewers	O
were	O
that	O
a	O
netbook	B-Device
of	O
the	O
time	O
and	O
a	O
traditional	O
laptop	B-Device
of	O
the	O
same	O
price	O
were	O
otherwise	O
identical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
implications	O
that	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
standard	O
notebooks	B-Device
should	O
be	O
dropped	O
was	O
a	O
financial	O
liability	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
huge	O
unsold	O
inventories	O
of	O
standard	O
laptops	B-Device
in	O
retail	O
chains	O
and	O
an	O
unfavorable	O
market	O
in	O
which	O
to	O
unload	O
them	O
meant	O
that	O
cannibalisation	O
of	O
laptop	B-Device
sales	O
by	O
netbooks	B-Device
would	O
be	O
financially	O
undesirable	O
for	O
the	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
factors	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
desire	O
to	O
keep	O
netbook	B-Device
sales	O
going	O
to	O
recoup	O
R&D	O
,	O
design	O
and	O
manufacturing	O
costs	O
,	O
were	O
all	O
likely	O
contributing	O
factors	O
of	O
an	O
industry-wide	O
effort	O
to	O
sabotage	O
netbooks	B-Device
through	O
purposefully	O
limited	O
devices	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
sold	O
cheaply	O
while	O
acting	O
as	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
social	O
engineering	O
towards	O
discrediting	O
netbook	B-Device
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
direct	O
lineage	O
between	O
nettops	B-Protocol
and	O
netbooks	B-Device
meant	O
that	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
net-	O
"	O
prefix	O
was	O
considered	O
a	O
failed	O
idea	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Devices	O
such	O
as	O
Chromebooks	O
,	O
tablet	B-Device
PCs	I-Device
,	O
Ultrabooks	B-Device
and	O
other	O
devices	O
responded	O
by	O
branding	O
themselves	O
as	O
a	O
different	O
type	O
of	O
device	O
such	O
as	O
ChromeOS	B-Operating_System
being	O
exclusively	O
a	O
pure	O
web	O
client	O
or	O
the	O
proposal	O
that	O
the	O
ultrabook	B-Device
succeeded	O
by	O
compensating	O
for	O
its	O
lighter	O
weight	O
and	O
otherwise	O
equal-performance	O
parts	O
with	O
a	O
higher	O
price	O
tag	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Via	O
the	O
likely-observed	O
success	O
of	O
the	O
stick	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
combining	O
a	O
system	B-Architecture
on	I-Architecture
a	I-Architecture
chip	I-Architecture
with	O
a	O
single-board	B-Device
computer	I-Device
has	O
led	O
to	O
a	O
continuation	O
of	O
the	O
nettop	B-Protocol
's	O
original	O
product	O
goals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mini	B-Protocol
PCs	I-Protocol
such	O
as	O
the	O
MINIX	O
Z83-4	O
or	O
the	O
Azulle	O
Access	O
Plus	O
are	O
exclusively	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
mini	B-Protocol
PCs	I-Protocol
"	O
,	O
despite	O
being	O
identical	O
or	O
near-identical	O
on	O
paper	O
to	O
the	O
nettop	B-Protocol
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
three	O
platforms	O
that	O
are	O
primarily	O
intended	O
for	O
nettops	B-Protocol
and	O
netbooks	B-Device
:	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
nettops	B-Protocol
have	O
also	O
adopted	O
system-on-a-chip	B-Architecture
designs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
many	O
major	O
parts	O
such	O
as	O
chipsets	O
,	O
video	O
cards	O
and	O
storage	O
devices	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
found	O
on	O
desktops	O
,	O
the	O
CPUs	O
that	O
are	O
put	O
inside	O
nettops	B-Protocol
are	O
the	O
fundamental	O
component	O
that	O
differentiate	O
them	O
from	O
normal	O
desktops	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
list	O
below	O
contains	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
hardware	O
components	O
that	O
a	O
typical	O
nettop	B-Protocol
may	O
be	O
assembled	O
from	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intel	O
's	O
Atom	B-Device
processor	I-Device
has	O
been	O
adopted	O
by	O
several	O
hardware	O
manufacturers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
ASUS	O
,	O
MSI	O
,	O
and	O
Sony	O
,	O
for	O
nettops	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nvidia	O
has	O
also	O
released	O
its	O
first	O
generation	O
ION	O
platform	O
,	O
which	O
puts	O
GeForce	O
9400M	O
Motherboard	O
GPU	O
alongside	O
the	O
Atom	B-Device
processor	I-Device
to	O
provide	O
better	O
high	O
definition	O
video	O
playback	O
ability	O
and	O
lower	O
power	O
consumption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
further	O
reduce	O
the	O
manufacturing	O
cost	O
and	O
improve	O
power	O
efficiency	O
,	O
many	O
manufacturers	O
and	O
start-up	O
companies	O
have	O
chosen	O
to	O
use	O
CPUs	O
that	O
were	O
originally	O
targeted	O
at	O
embedded	O
computing	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
AMD	O
's	O
Geode	B-Device
and	O
ARM	B-Architecture
Cortex-based	O
CPUs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
net-top	O
models	O
are	O
x86-processor-based	O
and	O
as	O
such	O
are	O
capable	O
of	O
running	O
standard	O
PC	O
OSes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
designed	O
specifically	O
for	O
nettops	B-Protocol
and	O
other	O
machines	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
performance	O
class	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
high-end	O
nettops	B-Protocol
are	O
capable	O
of	O
running	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	O
's	O
ChromeOS	B-Operating_System
and	O
Android	B-Application
are	O
other	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
Android	I-Application
was	O
originally	O
designed	O
for	O
smartphones	B-Application
,	O
it	O
has	O
also	O
taken	O
a	O
seat	O
in	O
the	O
nettop	B-Protocol
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	O
suitable	O
for	O
nettops	B-Protocol
is	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
is	O
beginning	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
favorite	O
choice	O
of	O
nettop	B-Protocol
users	O
(	O
considering	O
the	O
high	O
commercial	O
use	O
of	O
these	O
machines	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
flexibility	O
and	O
low-requirement	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
OS	B-General_Concept
are	O
perfect	O
for	O
the	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nettops	B-Protocol
fell	O
into	O
Intel	O
's	O
category	O
of	O
"	O
Basic	O
PC	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
usually	O
cost	O
from	O
$100	O
to	O
$299	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intel	O
described	O
nettops	B-Protocol
as	O
a	O
large	O
potential	O
market	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nettops	B-Protocol
were	O
said	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
serve	O
as	O
an	O
affordable	O
first	O
computer	O
for	O
people	O
in	O
developing	O
countries	O
,	O
or	O
as	O
an	O
environmentally	O
friendly	O
choice	O
as	O
a	O
secondary	O
computer	O
for	O
people	O
in	O
developed	O
countries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
successes	O
with	O
Stick	B-Device
PCs	I-Device
and	O
Linux	O
Mint-based	O
Nettop-like	O
computers	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
continued	O
success	O
of	O
the	O
Mac	B-Device
Mini	I-Device
,	O
the	O
idea	O
was	O
possibly	O
unintentionally	O
revived	O
as	O
Mini	B-Protocol
PCs	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
continue	O
to	O
be	O
sold	O
through	O
online	O
retailers	O
as	O
of	O
August	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
