Groovix is:

• EASY - turn it on and start using it without any configuration. Add-ons and upgrades are a snap
• ECONOMICAL - exclusive SLIM feature allows multiple users and saves money, time, space, noise, and electricity
• FAST - fast hard drives and lots of RAM give you speed where it really counts
• STABLE - our tested hardware and software combination results in fewer bugs and hassle for the consumer
• FLEXIBLE - DVI video and TV-OUT connections let you view the full potential of your computer
• QUIET - Antec Quiet Edition Case, and quiet CPU cooling allows for peaceful computing
• ERGONOMIC - Logitech keyboards and mice give you ergonomic quality
• RELIABLE - award winning, brand name components will keep running reliably for years

Why is Groovix different than other computers?

Groovix is a Complete Open Source Solution

Groovix computers combine open source software with quality Linux-friendly hardware to create a low-cost, stable, no hassle Linux solution. While Linux has many advantages, it is not always easy to select the right hardware and software and configure it optimally. Internet message boards are filled with frustrated computer users' questions of "How do I make this device work with this software?" Instead of each individual user trying to install a different version of Linux on different hardware, it makes a lot more sense for someone to create an optimal configuration and make it available to everyone at a reasonable cost. Groovix is that optimal configuration, and since it is based on truly free software and standard hardware, it can be openly adopted by everyone without fear of getting locked in to one supplier.

Innovative Features

Groovix systems have the capability for simultaneous local users to take advantage of today's overpowered processors. This means that with only one computer, you can have two or three people using it at once with three distinct mice, keyboards, speakers, and monitors. This saves money, space, electricity, noise, and most importantly, your time. Think of all the time you would spend configuring, maintaining, upgrading, and fixing several separate machines. If you have multiple people in your house or office, you could try buying several very inexpensive computers, but you would be disappointed with the quality of the hardware and the speed of any one individual computer. With a Groovix multi-user system, you can even have three users running business applications, browsing the web or playing a 3-D game at once! Since Groovix systems use free software, there is no problem running multiple versions of software at once, which would be a huge cost if you tried to do this using traditionally licensed "for a single user only" software.

• Accessing your removable media devices like CDs, DVDs, USB drives, and USB cameras, has been traditionally cumbersome using Linux. While the major desktop software suites like KDE and GNOME are working on solving that, Groovix offers a simple solution to allow you to easily manage all of your removable devices.
• All Groovix machines have DVI digital video, S-VIDEO TV-out, and standard VGA monitor connections on each video card so you can use your Groovix machines with the latest digital LCD flat panel monitors, standard televisions, or regular old CRT monitors.
• Groovix uses LVM, the Logical Volume Manager. Partitions are managed logically instead of physically, so you don't have to shutdown your computer and re-partition your hard drive to change partition sizes. If you add a new hard drive, you can easily add storage space to your existing partitions so that your directory structure is not changed. Having separate partitions is good for security and makes backup easier, but it can be a pain to manage and guess at what sizes of partitions you might need. LVM gives you the benefits of partitioning without the hassle.
• Groovix also includes all the normal features you'd expect in a computer like making CDs and DVDs, word processing, spreadsheets, internet browsing, games, graphics, e-mail, media players, and many more functions.

Certified Configurations

Most hardware and software manufacturers boost compatibility with everything under the sun, and in doing so, it is impossible to test every possible configuration thoroughly. Groovix is different because we have qualified a select group of hardware and software to ensure that you are getting a testing combination. Any piece of hardware or software on our certification list is guaranteed to work. When you need help, our support staff will have access to the exact same system you are running to quickly resolve any issues. Because Groovix is a completely open system, you are free to use any hardware or software in the world, but of course the results cannot be guaranteed.

True Performance

Groovix systems use award-winning hardware, reviewed both by industry web sites and personally by Groovix engineers. We put an emphasis on true performance, not technology buzzwords. For example, we know that hard drives are one of the key bottlenecks in computer performance today, so we use the fastest hard drives available instead of advertising huge hard drive capacities that users may or may not need. Processors today are more than fast enough for the average computer user and sit idle most of the time, so we offer multi-user capabilities to take advantage of the extra processing power. We include generous amounts of system memory compared to most companies selling computers, even though RAM is relatively expensive. Inadequate RAM can bring a computer to a grinding halt no matter how fast the processor is.

Value

Groovix systems are designed to give you the most computer for your money. The simultaneous local multi-user features will save you hundreds of dollars compared to separate computers. Since, we use standard parts, upgrades and repairs will cost less. The vast library of free software will save hundreds compared to traditionally licensed software.

Software

Because Groovix computers use Debian GNU/Linux software, you will be using the same software as millions of other people around the world. According to distrowatch.com, Debian GNU/Linux is "perhaps the purest form of the ideals that started the free software movement." Groovix is not yet another "Linux distribution", it simply provides a pre-installed, configured, and tested version of Debian along with some additional value added GPL-licensed scripts to enable new features like simultaneous local multiple users and easy media access.

Compatibility

Groovix maintains a list of compatible hardware. If a piece of hardware is listed by us, that means that it guaranteed by us to work with your Groovix system. We select hardware based on Linux compatibility, how supportive the manufacturer is of Open Source software, features, and price. Of course, you can try using any hardware you wish, but support for non-guaranteed devices is not included with a Groovix system.

Upgrades

We've designed the Groovix system for optimal performance with the need for minimal software and hardware upgrades. As new technology becomes available we'll incorporate it into the Groovix system. You can subscribe to Groovix software updates for $49 per year and be assured your Groovix system is operating with latest open source innovations.