The Amstrad E3 is a cheap (£14.99 at the time of writing) videophone, which runs Linux.

More info:

• E3_Getting_Started - how to get started running a recent Linux on your E3

• E3_IO_Ports

• E3_Buying_one - where to buy and how much they'll cost

• E3_Hardware

• E3_Status - where we are with our efforts

• E3_Keymaps - how we intend to map all the keys on the E3

• E3_Sound - work on getting sound fully supported

• E3_Miscellanea - other information related to E3

• E3_General_Information - information more generally related to our project

External links:

• http://www.earth.li/~noodles/hardware-e3.html

• http://www.earth.li/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/e3-hacking

• http://inputplus.co.uk/ralph/emailer/

• http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/omap5910.html

• http://www.pavier.co.uk/e3_index.html

Simple Serial Cable:

In case other people are as useless as I am at building serial cables - here is the pin out I'm using to connect my E3 to a 9-Pin D serial port on my PC.

• Pin2 -> Tip

• Pin3 -> Ring

• Pin5 -> Sleeve

Or you can use a level shifter, a universal (i.e. E2/E3) design is available here http://www.cambridgewargames.org.uk/members/andy/emailer/

Or, if you're handy with a soldering iron Serial_cable_for_the_paranoid provides some over-voltage protection for the E3.