It will be interesting to see if Netpliance evolves with its customers to offer faster access. You might have heard of people converting their I-Openers into a Linux or Windows PC through some simple modifications and by mounting an IDE hard drive inside. It's not impossible to hack the I-Opener into a real PC, but it is now much more expensive and inconvenient and probably too much of a hassle for a 200 MHz PC, no matter how nice the screen might be. The Cobalt Qube 2, based on a Linux kernel, is one of the higher-profile thin server offerings. Both RAM and disk storage are user-upgradeable, although the Qube case is a little tricky to open.
Cobalt offers more powerful models from the factory, as well.
A serial port also is provided in case you want to share a 56K connection instead of an Ethernet-based line. Although the device is supposed to be able to sniff out an IP address from a connected DHCP server, it failed to find mine, which was operating through the DSL modem connected to the Qube. If no DHCP server is found, you have to program the Qube using buttons and a small LCD panel found on the back of the unit. After the basic IP information is entered on the back panel, you turn to a browser interface from any PC on the network. Although the Qube has a built-in DHCP server, it is not turned on by default.