Build your Own Ultra Portable PC

VIA Technologies, a maker of Intel-compatible processors, created a reference design for ultra-portable computers based on its chips. That's not unusual. What is unusual is that the company then posted the design files for the PC under a Creative Commons license. That means that anyone with a little design skill can download the files, change the design, and start building and selling ultra portable PCs.

It's not really that easy, of course, but VIA says it will even help passionate PC designers find Asian manufacturers to turn the design files into actual products. In a market where the the $400 Linux-based Eee PC is finally starting to dig in, VIA's move could make excellent business sense.

But you're probably more interested in the reference design itself. The PC would weigh 2.2 pounds, feature an 8.9 inch screen, a web cam, up to 2 GB of RAM, an 80 GB or larger hard drive, three USB ports and built-in Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. VIA hopes that budding notebook designers will take the reference design and make it more beautiful, as cell phone designers and manufacturers have done.

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