I have the main unit.
type Computer
country USA
year 2002
os Linux 2.2
cpu AMD K6-2
speed 300 MHz
ram 64 MB
graphic
colors yes
sound yes
ports USB, Ethernet (2), serial
The Sun Cobalt Qube 3 — The Internet Appliance Server
The Sun Cobalt Qube 3 was a compact, cube-shaped Linux-based internet appliance server produced by Cobalt Networks (acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2000). Designed for small businesses and workgroups that needed email, web hosting, file sharing, and network management without dedicated IT staff, the Qube 3 offered server functionality in an unusually accessible, consumer-friendly package. Its distinctive teal blue cube form factor, simple web-based administration interface, and pre-configured server software made it genuinely approachable for non-technical users who needed network services.
The Internet Appliance Concept
The Cobalt Qube represented the ”internet appliance” concept — dedicated hardware pre-configured for specific tasks, designed to be set up and forgotten rather than continuously managed. At a time when internet connectivity was transforming small business operations but dedicated IT support was beyond most small companies’ means, the Qube offered a practical solution: a box that you plugged in and administered through a web browser, without needing to understand Linux, Apache, or Postfix. This concept anticipated the managed cloud services that would eventually displace dedicated server hardware for small businesses.
Sun’s Acquisition and Decline
Sun Microsystems acquired Cobalt Networks in 2000 for $2 billion — a significant investment that reflected Sun’s ambitions in the small business server market. However, the Cobalt product line was discontinued in 2003 as Sun faced increasing competitive pressure and financial difficulties. The Qube 3 represents this brief but interesting chapter in network computing history — an elegant solution to a real problem, produced by a company (Sun) that was itself struggling to adapt to the changing computing landscape.