The Plat'Home OpenBlockS is featured prominently in the O'Reilly book "Small Form Factor PCs" by Matthew Weaver and Duane Wessels (of squid proxy fame).The book's chapter 7 describes in detail how to configure the OpenBlockS as a small, carry-everywhere firewall to hook between a PC and the Internet. A handy example they mention is when installing new Windows machines: Between the first connection to the Internet and the time all patches are installed, the machine is vulnerable to attacks. A handy tool for everyone in onsite first-level support.
The explanations are detailed and hands-on. Even though it's filled to the brim with shell commands and console output the text is informative and easy to read. There is even a guide how to solder a cable to power the unit from a USB port (no, this is not covered by our warranty).
As the guide was written in 2006, it mentiones that all documentation is only available in Japanese. Even though the author claims it was fun to figure it all out, we want to make your life a little easier.
You don't have to worry about Japanese anymore, everything you need is available in English now: firmware, manuals, FAQ and support.
We're glad that the authors discovered our MicroServer and we wholeheartedly recommend this book. If you have a hacking streak and need a small firewall box to carry everywhere, this is for you!
Get your own OpenBlockS at the SysKey Web Shop, and the book at O'Reilly: "Small Form Factor PCs"
I'd like to thank Matt Sarrel for pointing the book out to me.
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