The FiOv2 Unveiled - The Second Gen. Franken Opener

Just as many are considering the iOpener "fad" dead, I am not convinced. Although the kiss of death has been dealt to the iOpener hacking hobby due in no small part to Netpliances business tactics, there is still some life to this hobby.

The Reasons this may be the final iO hacking article you will see

As word of the hackings done on other sites, as well as the Franken Opener on this site was flying around the net Netpliance was not amused. They based their business on the sales of the internet service more then the appliances themselfs.   They were selling iOpeners that cost 300$ to make for a $200 loss per sale that didn't buy the internet service.    Over time they changed and modified the iO to make it "hack proof". They went in versions, V1 through V5.  V1 was the original and was what the original Franken Opener was based on. V2 through V3 was Netpliances attempts of locking out the "hackers" by means of putting in a castrated BIOS that cant boot a hard drive, and gluing the BIOS into the board.  In V4 they started using Torx Screws with the Castrated BIOS, but that was largely it.  With the hardware changes they Implemented a TOS contract that would require the buyer to sign a term of service with the company or pay 500$ extra. V5 iO's was the first real hardware change, they used a new sound device ( a VIA one) that wasn't native to Win 9x OS's. So you couldn't really use the sound onboard.  There have been reports of other lock downs to stop HD's from booting also.  July 1st Netpliance changed the business plan, they now charge 399$ per iO. + Internet service.  This not only lessens the possibility of finding cheap iO's, but also ( I believe) Will be the death blow for this badly managed company. Who would pay 399$ to use a device that can do half of what a PC for the same price can from a Computer Renaissance or something?

Enough of that boring crap, lets get onto the good stuff.

I recommend you read the Original Franken Opener article before this one I am not going into technical detail like I did in the Franken Opener one. ( I am assuming you read it)

So What is in the FiOv2?

From the specs it seems like a lesser machine then the Franken Opener, and it is. Its small, sleek, and portable.  The Franken Opener was a beast to move around, it was heavy, and loud ( the fans).

Here is the new Franken iOpener V2:

Ok so that's not the New iO.. but it is inside.  I made it portable enough so that I can move it from job site to job site in this case..  that is a normal hard-shell padded briefcase

And there it is. Everything it needs to run on a network in the box.